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Catholic Life & Mission, Gospel Virtues & Values

Our Mission 

 

Inspired by the teachings of Christ, our Mission is to build his kingdom here on earth, at our school of sanctuary, where everyone is welcome. 

 

Through Catholic Social Teaching and encompassing our Gospel Virtues, we want everyone to be empowered to turn concern into action, serving our community and beyond, knowing that everyone is made in the image & likeness of Christ. 

 

We aim, as Jesus did, to inspire the next generation of disciples, who will spread the Gospel and make the world a better place, by providing opportunities to become closer to Christ, every day. 

 “Families are the first place where the values of love and fraternity, togetherness and sharing, concern and care for others are lived out and handed on” (Pope Francis – Fratelli Tutti, §114).

The Christ in me, recognises the Christ in you!

 

This is evident as soon as you step through the doors and see that Christ is at the centre of our school. We all work hard to make sure that everyone is treated with care and respect, and everyone is made to feel special and helped to realise their God-given talents. Every member of our school community is welcomed and valued, Catholic and non-Catholics alike.

 

Our rich 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.

 

We have daily acts of Liturgy & Prayer including hymn practices and prayer services, and our children also pray regularly throughout the day in their classrooms. Parents are invited to join us for special prayer services led by different classes.

 

The whole school attends Mass on Thursday mornings led by Fr Stefan. Children read, sing and pray together and make our Masses beautiful celebrations of the Eucharist.

Gospel values are the way in which we demonstrate the values which Jesus teaches us through the Gospels. "How we behave towards others." Virtues allow us not only to perform good acts, but to "give the best of yourself." Gospel values are things which we display, virtues are what we develop spiritually.

Gospel Virtues

As part of the Archdiocese of Birmingham, we have embraced the Catholic Schools’ Pupil Profile, which teaches our children eight pairs of virtues that enable them to grow as individuals in God's image. 

The virtues are Grateful and generous , Attentive and discerning, Compassionate and loving, Faith-filled and hopeful , Eloquent and truthful , Learned and wise, Curious and active , and Intentional and prophetic.

 

Grateful for their gifts, for the gift of other people, and the blessings of each day; and generous with their gifts, now and in the future and being generous in the service of others.

 

Attentive to their experience and vocation; and discerning about the choices they make and the effects of those choices through reflection, decision making, teaching, prayer and retreats; and through the practice and example of school leaders and staff.

 

Eloquent and truthful in what they say of themselves and the relations between people, and the world. They develop eloquent language which can be used to understand and articulate their emotions, beliefs, and questions.

 

They are encouraged by the example of their teachers to be truthful in how they represent themselves and speak about the world.

Compassionate towards others, near and far, especially the less fortunate, and loving by their just actions and forgiving words.

 

Faith-filled in their beliefs and hopeful for the future... by passing on the living and faith-filled tradition of Jesus Christ; by having persevering faith in the pupils, and by encouraging them to have faith and hope in themselves and others.

Curious about everything and active in their engagement with the world, changing what they can for the better. Children are curious about the universe and all human activity and take increasing responsibility for their own learning through the opportunities provided for them in the life of the school, the Church, and the wider community.

 

Join us on our journey, as Pilgrims of Hope for the Jubilee Year! πŸ™πŸ’œπŸ™ Thank you to @schoolsignscouk for providing us with our lovely banner! We are very excited about the year ahead! πŸ’œπŸ’œπŸ’œ

Y6 & the choir are representing OLSK as we join with other Halesowen Primary schools at St John’s Church for the HTLC Carol service! πŸŽ„πŸŽ΅πŸŽ„ Well done, our head girl, who read her reading so beautifully at the HTLC Carol service this afternoon! πŸŽ„β€οΈ

Congratulations πŸ₯³ to Posi, Tolano, Jason & Shawn, who received the Sacrament of Baptism in church this afternoon. πŸ™πŸ’œπŸ™ We were honoured to be asked to be your Godmothers. ❀️ We are so proud of you all! πŸ₯° love from Mrs F & Mrs T!

Pilgrims on a Journey! πŸ™πŸ’™πŸ™ As part of our Catholic Mission for staff formation, we have spent the day at Worcester Cathedral. We enjoyed a wonderful tour with very knowledgeable guides, who talked about the history of the cathedral. Staff had time for quiet reflection built into our day and enjoyed spending quality time in prayer. We also had the opportunity to listen to two people from the cathedral about their pilgrimage to different places around the world! 🌍 ❀️

Harvest Festival: Thank you to all our wonderful families who donated food for the Black Country Food Bank! πŸ™πŸ’™πŸ™ Those who are hungry, will be able to eat, because of you! β€οΈπŸ™β€οΈ #family&community

It was an honour to join Y6 for Mass at St Mary’s in Harvington today! Monsignor John Moran was very impressed with their reverence and respect during the Mass πŸ™πŸ’™πŸ™ Thank you to those who read the Scriptures and to JoJo who served at the Altar of the Lord! πŸ’™

Mrs Finnegan meets His Holiness, Pope Francis, in Rome

Today we welcomed Jithin, a seminarian from Oscott College, into school. He was extremely impressed when the children showed him around & told him all the amazing things we learn πŸ™πŸ’™πŸ™ We look forward to seeing him in school again very soon! πŸ’™πŸ’™

Father Stefan presented Mrs Sweeney with a special award from Birmingham Catholic Archdiocese to celebrate her many years of dedicated service to Catholic Education as she leaves OLSK for her long & happy retirement! πŸ’œπŸ™πŸΎβ€οΈ

Our wonderful Minnie Vinnes are Turning Concern into Action, by supporting Mary Stevens Hospice, by collecting toys for them to sell at their Summer Fair! Thank you to all the parents who donated the toys. #gratefulandgenerous!

Y6 were delighted to have Bishop David visit us this afternoon after he was too ill for our Confirmation! βœοΈπŸ™πŸ»

On Friday, we had our amazing rights and responsibilities art exhibition about the theme β€˜home’. Thank you to all our parents who visited and our wonderful choir who sang beautifully

Looking after Gods earth is so important! Did you know we can waste 10% of our energy by leaving items on over the week-end? We made a check list for Mr Cooper so he can make sure we've turned everything off. Thank you#EnergySparks.

Y2 are thinking about our CST for this term β€˜rights and responsibilities’ and what our responsibilities are in forest school. We decided it is our responsibility to be a good steward and look after God’s creation. Litter picking and clearing forest school it is! πŸƒ

Congratulations to Year Three who made their First Holy Communion yesterday. We are very proud of you all πŸ™πŸ»

What a wonderful day we have had with Emily from @danlifemusic! We have enjoyed times of prayer, learnt lots about the Holy Spirit and had so much fun!

Y6 started their afternoon retreat with Emily by reading the affirmations that their classmates had written before lunch. What an inspiring bunch of children we have & what lovely things they wrote about each other! ❀️πŸ₯°

The Caritas Ambassadors have been busy planning this year’s art exhibition! we are thinking about this half term’s CST- rights and responsibilities and you will see the theme of β€˜home’ in our art work. We hope you can join us on Friday 21st June at2:30pm!

It was great to welcome Y6 parents for a Confirmation workshop yesterday! We had a lovely time learning all about the Fruits of the Holy Spirit!

Year Three are having a wonderful First Holy Communion Retreat day with Dan @danonelifemusic We have reflected upon the important words from The Last Supper and have given thanks to God. Thank you Dan, we are having such a spiritual day πŸ™πŸ»

Year Three made unleavened bread today as part of their sacramental preparation to receive First Holy Communion on Saturday!

Praying the Rosary in your pjs is just the best! πŸ™β˜ΊοΈπŸ™ Liturgy leaders from Y6 led the Rosary in Mary Chapel with the younger children from Pre-School & YR today! ❀️❀️❀️

Fr J and his assistant Millie came to see me this afternoon to celebrate all their learning! ❀️ Jonathon’s parents made his vestments for when he’s saying β€˜Mass’ at home & Millie wants to be a Mini Vinnie! How fabulous!πŸ™β€οΈπŸ™

A beautiful Family Mass, led by the staff & children in Y2 this morning! There were absolutely fab with their readings; Fr said they didn’t need the microphone 🎀 πŸ˜‚ Lots of wonderful comments from all the parishioners who joined us for Holy Mass! #faith filled community! β€οΈπŸ™β€οΈ

In Holy Mass this morning, Fr Stefan blessed our new class Saints! St Peter, St Paul & St Francis of Assisi. The liturgy leaders from Y6, presented the classes with their new Saints for their class altars. πŸ™πŸ’œπŸ™

Bible Group stood in Solidarity with Refugees at their Prayer Service today. Liturgy Leaders from Y6, welcomed Pre School & YR to their group today to offer prayers for those less fortunate than themselves as part of our School of Sanctuary work.

Pre-School reenacted the fourth station of cross, where Jesus meets his Mother Mary πŸ™πŸ’œπŸ™

The Caritas Ambassadors showing true servant leadership this afternoon, giving up their lunchtime to volunteer at the Halesowen Welcome Group 🧑

What an honour & a privilege it was to meet His Grace this morning at Holy Mass. πŸ™πŸ˜‡πŸ™ He asked me to pass on all his thanks to our Govs & staff, for all they do to support our families & our wider Catholic faith community! πŸ’œHow wonderful! Thank you to all our lovely families who joined us for both Masses this weekend. πŸ’œ

Thank you to our Altar Servers who serve in church every weekend and help Father Stefan each week at school Masses. You are true disciples of Jesus! If you would like to join this team, please talk to Father Stefan. πŸ™

Every week our Pre-School prayer bag is sent home with a different child. This is a lovey opportunity for the children to set up their own prayer area and share prayers and Bible stories with their family πŸ™

Thank you to all our children in in Y6, for leading us in Remembrance Mass in church this morning! You are a credit to your parents & great ambassadors for our school. πŸ™πŸ’™πŸ™ Look at all the wonderful Remembrance Art, that the children created to dress the Altar this morning- amazingly talented children. πŸŽ¨πŸ–ŒοΈWell done Mr Hyde & Mrs P, for preparing the children so well. Thank you to all our families who joined us for this special Mass! πŸ’™ It was so wonderful to see you all πŸ’•

So exciting to see our school choir going from strength to strength. They are practising Christmas songs to sing at the Welcome Group & will be performing in Halesowen Town Centre around the town Christmas Tree with Earls High School.

Developing Staff Formation through Catholic Social Teaching at Harvington Hall today! What a great man St Nicholas Owen was! The staff enjoyed a wonderful retreat at Harvington Hall! We started with Mass in the church & then a tour of the house & a talk about St Nicholas Owen. Absolutely fabulous day! Thank you to Monsignor John Moran for leading us in the celebration of the Eucharist this morning, as part of our Staff Retreat, and talking to us about the work of St Nicholas Owen!

Today welcomed our lovely grandparents to school for cake and coffee as part of our family and community CST learning this half term. Our Caritas Ambassadors were great hosts πŸ’• In the words of Pope Francis β€˜grandparents are a treasure in the family’.

Huge Congratulations to Angel in Y6 who received her First Holy Communion today! What a special moment, as she chose to receive the Eucharist for the very first time, in school with all her friends supporting her! It was a beautiful moment for her & her family: her mom right by her side! πŸ™πŸ˜‡πŸ™

What a lovely surprise I had this morning! One of our beautiful young girls has donated her pocket money to school fund How amazing is she! We are so proud of her! #generous&grateful πŸ’•πŸ’•πŸ’• 

Today we joined with 1 million children around the world to pray the Rosary as part of the @acn_international campaign. We used our Rosary Beads with our prayer partners and focussed on the Luminous mysteries.

This morning Pre-School and Reception joined together to learn about Pope Francis’s initiative to Campaign for Peace and Unity. πŸ™πŸ»πŸ“Ώ

What do our Y6 leavers think about their life at OLSK? Follow the link to find out more....

https://www.our-lady.dudley.sch.uk/2023-1/

Our Lenten Journey with Jesus, to the Cross

Mini Vinnies turn their concern into action! πŸ’• We raised funds for the thousands of people in Syria & Turkey, who have died, with many more injured in the aftermath of the earthquakes.
 

All of the staff & the children wore their own clothes and donated £1 each & families donated cakes for the children to sell in school. All funds raised, will be sent to the aid relief to support the survivors and their families. 
 

Every prayer, every gift, every action brings hope to people hit by disaster. πŸ™πŸ’•

At the beginning of the New Year, the staff spent time in prayer and reflection at our mother church, St Chads Cathedral.


There was a tour of the building, finding out all about the history & saints interred there. Mrs Finnegan & Mrs Turner were asked to read at the Mass of the Epiphany and Mrs Mitchell & Miss Meese brought up the gifts for the offertory. πŸ’’

 

What a lovely way to start the new year, offering our prayers for a successful and happy 2023 as well as prayers for our staff, children and families. πŸ™

Virtues and Values

As Catholics we believe in the importance of developing a virtuous life. The Catechism describes a virtue as 'an interior disposition, a positive habit, a passion that has been placed at the service of the good.'

   

Each half term the focus changes and schools across the Archdiocese focus upon the same set of virtues at the same time. The Profile also provides a thematic focus for Collective Worship and SMVSC over a specified length of time. Whilst all of the aspects of the profile are being touched upon the school can really emphasise and experience a particular pair of virtues throughout a half term.

Pupils at Our Lady & St Kenelm are growing to be:

 

 

Grateful for their own gifts, for the gift of other people, and for the blessings of each day; and generous with their gifts, becoming men and women for others.


 

Attentive to their experience and to their vocation; and discerning about the choices they make and the effects of those choices.

 

Compassionate towards others, near and far, especially the less fortunate; and loving by their just actions and forgiving words.


 

Faith-filled in their beliefs and hopeful for the future.


 

Eloquent and truthful in what they say of themselves, the relations between people, and the world.


 

Learned, finding God in all things; and wise in the ways they use their learning for the common good.


 

Curious about everything; and active in their engagement with the world, changing what they can for the better.


 

Intentional in the way they live and use the resources of the earth, guided by conscience; and prophetic in the example they set to others.

Liturgy & Prayer Policy

Scripture is at the centre of everything the Church does. The word of God shapes our prayer and worship. The Bible shows us how to understand the world, how we are called to live and relate to each other.

 

 

 

God who Speaks Prayer πŸ™ πŸ™πŸ™

 

Living God, 
you walk alongside us
and speak to us throughout the Scriptures.
Your Son, Jesus Christ, listens to our hopes and fears
and shows us how to live for one another.
Send us the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds
so that we may be your witnesses throughout the world.

Amen

V. Your word is our path and your truth is our light.
R. This day and every day.

Catholic Life, Gospel and British Values at OLSK


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