Our School Prayer 

Father,

Please guide us through our education at school and at home.  

May Jesus, our families and our friends inspire us to do good things for others. 

Help us to celebrate the love, kindness and respect that we share. 

May St Thomas More guide and protect us always.

Amen. 

At St Thomas More Catholic Primary School children and adults are invited to participate in collective worship daily. It is a core part of the school day and is led by both adults and children.  

Children, staff and parents participate in Collective Worship throughout the year. These include:

• Masses and class-led Liturgies
• Use of Ten Ten Resources
• Chaplaincy Team Leading Collective Worship
• Values Collective Worship
• Singing Assembly/Hymn Practise
• Celebration Assembly

On Tuesday 21st May, Steve, from Aid to the Church in Need, came into school to pray the Rosary with each class. We began with a whole school assembly and met the character Maisy Milk. Steve then visited each class and talked about the Rosary and the prayed the Rosary. 

Steve said, 'a kind thought is a prayer.'

The month of May is a special month as we remember Mary, the mother of Jesus and our mother too. On the 1st May we came together as a school to remember Mary and celebrate her. Each class created flowers and brought them along to the procession. We began in the hall, where the Chaplaincy Team reminded us of the importance of May and Mary, each class then processed to the prayer garden to lay their flowers and images. We ended with the Hail Mary. 

Year 4 have created a thoughtful display as part of their Remembrance Day learning. Using black and white photo's the importance of the 'Poppy' is highlighted in the palm of their hands. Year 4 really enjoyed creating this art piece and were proud of how it turned out. 

2022 - 2023

Today we gathered as a whole school to think about Mary. Each child drew a portrait of Mary to bring to the procession. We began in the school hall, then processed to the prayer garden where we placed our images and took some time to reflect. 

On Tuesday the 7^th March Chaplaincy Team led us in our Lent Reconciliation Service. 

In this season of Lent, we gathered together to ask God’s forgiveness for any wrong that we may have done. We listened to the story of Zacchaeus and thought about what we can learn from his example. We took some time to say sorry and consider the promise we would make during this time of Lent. 

Each class was given a prayer bag. These can be taken home by a child so they can use them at home.

The Chaplaincy Team planned a prayer afternoon. They thought of lots of different ways to prayer and then led the sessions to the rest of the school.

On the 7th February Roctopus came into our school and each class was able to create a brand new song. We began by picking the chords—we selected FGAD. Then we came up with lyrics and dance moves. Our song was based on our school virtues—DILLIGENT and ATTENTIVE. When writing our lyrics we thought about situations when we find things tricky and have to show diligence and try our best. We considered the struggle and the solution. After writing the lyrics, we created dance moves. We had lots of fun practicing  our dance moves while we learnt the song. Finally, we recorded our song for a music video. 

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them.” – Laurence Binyon

Year 3 led the first liturgy of the year. Their liturgy was all about Harvest. 

2021 - 2022  

Today was a very special day at St Thomas More. Bishop Declan visited our school to officially open and bless our Prayer Garden. We began the service by amazing him with our singing in a Liturgy led by Mrs Tippen.

We then lined a path for Bishop Declan to walk down to our prayer garden for the opening and blessing.

It was a truly beautiful service.  We are very thankful to Bishop Declan for making the visit to our school.

He then visited us in our classrooms to see the wonderful work we do in our school.

On Wednesday the 22^nd June, we came together as a school to celebrate the Feast Day of St Thomas More. This is an important day to remember the unwavering faith the saint of our school showed to God. We spent the morning learning about St Thomas More. Some classes created timelines, while others created self -portraits with stained glass windows, and others looked at the qualities of him to create meaningful wordles. We then came together as a school in a service dedicated to St Thomas More. To finish our day, each class visited the prayer garden with an offering, which was left at the foot of the St Thomas More statue. It was the perfect way to end our day of reflection! 

As part of their RE lessons, Year 6 created Modern Day versions of the Stations of the Cross. They are displayed alongside the traditional stations of the cross. 

On Tuesday 8^th  March we came together as a school to reflect during our Lent Reconciliation Service led by the Chaplaincy Team. We gathered together to ask God’s forgiveness for any wrong that we may have done. We listened to the story of Zacchaeus and thought about the changes we can make.

Each member of staff and child began the year by looking at the structure of a psalm to then write their own. Here are a few that have been displayed. 

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. From Matthew Chapter 5: Verse 9

Year 4 led a beautifully reflective Remembrance Day Liturgy where we focused on what we remember, why we remember and how we remember.  We talked about the difference between service and sacrifice.  We led remembrance prayers and read scripture.  Our favourite part was the Poppy Prayer:

A Poppy prayer

Poppies are bright and cheerful flowers: say thank you to God for the lives of those who have died in war, remembering all the joy they brought to families and friends, and all the good things they did for their home and their country.

Now look at the red petals: red reminds us of danger and harm. Ask God to be close to those who are still facing danger each day, to give courage to the armed forces, and compassion to all who help others.

Place your whole hand over the poppy: poppies are also fragile and need to be handled gently. God cares for those who are hurting and those who are sad. Ask God to comfort all who are grieving the loss of someone they love.

Finally place a finger on the centre of the poppy: ask God to help you play your part in working for peace in the world.