St Thomas More Catholic Primary School

Celebration of the Word

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Celebration of the Word is an integral part of school life at St Thomas More and is central to the Catholic tradition. It provides opportunities for our community to contemplate the mystery of God, reflect on spiritual and moral issues, experience a sense of belonging and grow in liturgical understanding. 

At St Thomas More, we use a four-part approach to Celebration of the Word, taking the mass as a perfect example of this.

1.      Gather – We welcome everyone and prepare ourselves to get closer to God.

2.      Word – We experience a piece of scripture using methods such as drama,
art, music, movement, silence, story, song and poetry to bring it to life.

3.      Response – We consider what we have seen and heard and how it relates to us.

4.      Mission – We rejoice and go forth to live out the Gospel of the Lord in our lives.

On Monday, we gather together as a school for our assembly to share the Gospel and think about its meaning to us and how to live out the Word of the Lord in our lives. 

Our aim is for all children who leave our school to feel confident in leading prayer and to support with this, all classrooms have:

·         Interactive resources, such as stones, shells, plants and music

·         Resources related to the time of Liturgical year (Rosary beads in October, wreath during Advent etc.)

·         Children’s Bible and/or Good News Bible 

The timetable of Collective Worship in our school is as follows:-

As well as regular, weekly Celebration of the Word, we hold celebrations in line with the church liturgical year including , Advent and Lent services, Christingle, Advent Wreaths blessing, Remembrance and Holy Week services.

Children are taught to participate fully in Celebration of the Word and are encouraged to plan and lead as appropriate to their age. 
This is an integral part of our RE curriculum.