The teachings of the Catholic Church underpin everything at St Mary's. There are daily opportunities for prayer and worship, where children learn the traditional prayers as well as being encouraged to develop their own prayer life. There is no requirement for children to be Catholic to attend St Mary's. Children can have a different faith, or have no faith at all. They are simply introduced to what it means to have a faith and are encouraged to ask questions, to be curious and to reflect on their personal spiritual or faith journey. There are daily Acts of Worship; some planned more formally and many completely designed and led by the children. Father Philip is the Parish Priest and regularly visits the school for these events. He leads regular liturgies and Masses, where scripture is celebrated in a child-friendly and age-appropriate way.
The school teaches RE through a scheme called Come and See, which follows the church's liturgical year. It is a series of topics to teach elements of the Catholic faith, as well as other main religions of the world: Sikhism, Hinduism, Judaism and Islam.
Gospel Values
There are 8 values, based on the Beatitudes in Matthew's Gospel. They are explored and practiced every day in school, in order for every child and adult to be the best person they can be, following the teachings of Jesus.
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Humility - seeing life as a gift
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Compassion - having empathy
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Kindness - gentleness
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Justice - working for a fairer world
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Forgiveness - reconciling with self and others
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Integrity - do what you say
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Peace - committed to peace making and non-violence
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Courage - standing up for the truth
In recent years, the Diocese of Plymouth has introduced GIFT (Growing in Faith Together) Chaplaincy Teams. These are teams of children working with adults in our Parish to support our local community and to develop journeys in faith.
Our Year 5 and 6 children in the St Mary's Chaplaincy Team plan a series of activities for the year and choose our charity to suport. They take part in the Integenerational Links program by visiting and supporting our local care home every term.
We send our love and prayers to the 10 children from our Parish, who have started their preparation for their First Holy Communion.
In order to prepare for the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the children will follow the program 'I belong'. This is completed over a series of sessions in our Parish church and their parents will support them on every step of the journey. Once the children have completed their learning, they will receive Communion for the first time in a special Mass on the 19th of June.