School’s out for the summer!

Tuesday 19th July 2022

Looking back on a term of spirituality and care for community and common home

As another school year draws to a close, we are delighted to share some of the fantastic work our schools have been doing.

Once again, our young people are leading the way in taking action to combat our environmental emergency, with countless examples of fantastic work from schools right across the diocese. As always, prayer and spirituality plays a central role in all of our schools, whilst fundraising and charitable endeavours highlight how schools are putting their faith into action.

We wish all of our staff, pupils, and their families a peaceful, well-deserved break. If you have any news you would like to share, please get in touch at communications@dioceseofsalford.org.uk

Caring for our Common Home

Students from secondary schools across the diocese came together at the Laudato Si’ Centre last week to take part in an inspiring environmental project to share ideas and solutions to our environmental emergency. The summit is part of a pilot programme delivered by the Guardians of Creation project, an initiative that strives to implement sustainability within a diocesan setting and engage with educators to spark that transition to a culture of sustainability. Click here to read more.

This follows on from an event at the Laudato Si’ Centre in June, where primary schools gathered in Laudato Si’ Week to teach each other about some of the challenges our planet is facing and how we can take action to help. Click here to read more.

St Chad’s RC Primary in Manchester been awarded the Eco-Schools Green Flag with distinction. This international accreditation rewards and celebrates the achievements of young people in the hope of nurturing a new generation of innovative and inspiring environmentalists. The school has embraced a culture of learning more about caring for our common home and have put this into practice at school and home, including adopting a new eco-code.

Meanwhile, Our Lady’s RC Primary School in Aspull and St Bernadette’s RCP in Whitefield have taken on litter-picking missions to help keep their communities clean and tidy, to let their beautiful natural environments shine, and to protect local wildlife.

The Eco-Club at Holly Mount RC Primary School in Bury have been setting a new standard for soft plastics. Children from the school have been bringing in empty crisp packets to school for recycling through the soft plastics initiative from The Co-operative Stores.

Year 2 children from St Michael’s RC Primary School in Whitefield have been learning more about how faith, ecology, and environmental action are interlinked. From looking at the world around them to studying more about God the Creator through scripture, the class have been discovering more about the Christian call to caring for our common home.

Prayer and Spirituality

This term has been one of huge celebration as hundreds of children across the diocese made their First Holy Communion. It was so wonderful to share in this happy occasion with families in all of our schools and parishes, and we ask you to keep these young people in your prayers as they continue their journey of faith.

Looking ahead, St Gilbert’s Primary School welcomed a visit from Sister Anna from the Daughters of Divine Charity, who worked with the pupils to explore a little more about the Sacrament of Confirmation, what it means for us as Catholics, and how it sustains us for a life in Christ.

As ever, prayer plays a central role in the life of our schools. This term, pupils at Mount St Joseph Primary School in Bolton enjoyed writing bidding prayers for Mass as part of their chaplaincy day.

Caring for others

We’re so proud of all of our wonderful schools and the work they do to put our faith into action. Our schools work tirelessly to support and fundraise for a wide range of different charities, from faith-based charities such as CAFOD and our own diocesan charity Caritas Salford, to foodbanks, health-based charities, and more.

This term alone, St Antony’s Roman Catholic School in Urmston headed to Sibiu in Romania to work with children facing a range of different challenges, after spending nine months fundraising to support their visit and their work. This latest endeavour follows a number of charitable projects, including donating science books to schools overseas, raising funds for CAFOD, and supporting Caritas Salford’s St Joseph’s Penny Appeal in Lent.

In June, The Divine Mercy Roman Catholic Primary School marked Refugee Week by writing to Boris Johnson and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to call for more support for people seeking asylum in the UK and our diocese. The pupils were delighted to receive a response from No.10 just this week!

Meanwhile, St Joseph’s RC Primary School in Shaw welcomed a visit from CAFOD, who led a workshop that explored more about hunger and malnutrition around the world. Pupils also took part in an assembly and discovered more about our spiritual call as Christians to care for our brothers and sisters around the world, as well as practical steps to enable us to do so.