At Sacred Heart, our faith is central to everything we do and we show this in many ways. We have regular assemblies, masses and liturgies to which parents are always welcome. Fr Kelly also visits every class to support our RE curriculum and each class has regular visits to explore our own parish church.
Our curriculum and ethos instil the Gospel values in our children, teaching them to be kind, caring, forgiving and respectful young people. Links are made between the teachings of Jesus and how we behave and treat others in our own lives.The curriculum we follow is based around the ‘Come and See’ scheme as recommended by the Bishop’s Conference. More information can be found in the RE Curriculum section.
We expect all children to participate in various RE activities, and we always aim to include all children wherever appropriate. All children have opportunities to lead and participate in prayers, readings and singing whatever their religion. We embrace the culture and heritage of all children and follow a planned programme of work to raise multi-cultural awareness.
Prayer
Prayer is an integral part of school life. In school we pray in lots of different ways:
- During the week pupils from all year groups gather together at assemblies and services.
- Prayer at regular intervals throughout the day.
- There are regular circle times and prayer services in classrooms.
- Each classroom has a dedicated prayer area which includes words from Scripture, Liturgical images, artefacts and prayers.
- Time and opportunities are given for personal prayer.
- Weekly participation in Mass.
- Lunchtime prayer groups are held for pupils (Rosary group, Advent, Lent).
- During Lent Fr Kelly leads prayer sessions in our Forest School, which we use as the Prayer Garden so we feel close to nature with God
We work hard to include families in the prayer life of our school by encouraging them to attend assemblies and prayer services throughout the year
We have a house point system, which involves four houses. These houses were named after the four books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Upon entry each pupil is allocated to a house which is represented by a different colour.
A pupil can obtain house points for excellent homework, good attendance, being polite, showing kindness, being a good example, trying their best in class, good manners in the dining hall, just showing a little extra effort and good behaviour in and out of the classroom.
Each week the points are counted and, during Assembly, children are told the scores to date. At the end of each week the winners earn rewards, such as extended playtime, and at the end of the year the winners have the House Points Trophy placed on their shield, which is on display in the Hall.
Saint Matthew
Saint Mark
Saint Luke
Saint John
In order to develop the faith life of the school, we have a beautiful Spiritual Prayer Garden that all children and adults are welcome to use when they would like time be calm and quiet. The area is also used for reflection and stories.
The garden is located within our Forest School environment and our children helped with deciding what kind of things they would like in it. There are lots of different things to look for which represents God’s wonderful world. The children are allowed to use the garden at lunch times as a choice when they would like some quiet time.
In July 2017, we officially named the space our ‘Fr Kelly Prayer Garden’ in honour of our lovely Parish Priest who retired after a number of years. Fr Kelly was a huge asset to our school and parish community in so many ways. We won’t forget his generosity and caring nature towards our parents, staff and children. The children sang songs, presented cards and finally unveiled our leaving gift to Fr Kelly. The Prayer Garden cross will stand a testament to all he has achieved in our parish and Fr Kelly blessed the cross before he left. I would like to thank personally all the parishioners that joined us today for the luncheon and activities.
To see what has been going on recently in our Prayer Garden take a look at our Catholic Life blog!
We support lots of charities throughout the year and staff, children and their families are always extremely generous in their support of others. Money is raised through fund raising events, fairs and charitable donations from the school community. In recent years we have made donations to Cafod, Jeans for Genes, Save the Children and The Poppy Appeal.
We also support Newcastle Food Bank by collecting and donating food during Harvest time, more information can be found here… In addition to this we have two international links that we support Project Iringa and the Bauleni School in Zambia.
Charity Tea Party: We will be having our annual charity tea party in the yard this year. The last two have been very successful and the weather has been lovely, so fingers crossed for this year. The money will be donated to Catherine Sheen’s chosen charities in her memory.
Lenten Sporting Overseas Challenge: This year we have something a little different as the whole school will take part in a sponsored walk / run challenge on our school cross country course. The children will complete as many laps as they want in 30 minutes of fun with the whole school – all money raised will support # Project Iringa in Tanzania and our new playtime benching.
Red Nose Day: In March we supported Red Nose Day by coming to school with silly hair and managed to raise a fantastic £71.95!
Christmas Jumper Day: In December all pupils and staff took part in Christmas Jumper Day. Everyone wore their silliest, sparkliest or cosiest Christmas woollies and raised a fantastic £81.97, to help save children’s lives around the world. All monies raised were split between Save the Children and the children in Zambia, which the school sponsor.
Poppy Appeal: We managed to raise a fantastic £132.28 from selling the poppies in school in November. Thank you to all who helped support a great cause.
Children in Need: We raised £103.10 for Children in Need in November with a Non-Uniform Day. This year’s theme was Heroes and children (and staff) came to school dressed as their favourite superhero or real life heroes (soldiers, nurses, the fire brigade etc). We will also had a very special Super Hero Lunch which included Ninja Turtle Pizza’s!
Wear it Pink: We held a non-uniform day in October and raised £93.96 for the it Pink charity, whose mission is to beat breast cancer. Children and staff came to school in normal non-uniform but with the added addition of lots of pink, it ranged from full outfits to just a couple of small items!
Jeans Genes: In September staff and children wore their jeans to school on Jeans for Genes Day in return for a suggested donation and managed to raise £100.70! Sometimes a tiny difference in someone’s genes can cause problems with the way their body works. There are more than 4000 recognised genetic disorders, and many more that doctors have yet to give a name to. Every half hour a baby is born in the UK with a genetic birth defect or disorder which could seriously affect their lives. Jeans for Genes helps to provide help, support and information for children and their families, and invests in ground breaking research into genetic conditions.
St Thomas More Partnership of Schools