School Chaplains             

Our School Chaplains

Hello, we are the Holy Ghost Chaplains. We have worked together this year to assist promoting our  catholic faith in school, leading our peers during prayer and inspire all to follow in Jesus’ footsteps through our role as servant leaders. 

We have lots of ideas on how to live out our faith, and actively show this to the whole school community. Throughout the year we aim to support our community, focusing on local, national and international charities, through fundraising and campaigning activities.  

Last year we visited Southwark Cathedral for Mass, led the school's Rosery celebrations, organised and led Holy Days of Obligations and important periods of worship, liturgy and word sessions in school and at Church; fundraised for the Trussell Trust, lead the CAFOD Big Lent Walk Fundraiser and assist promoting the catholic values of our school. 

This year we hope to achieve all of this again and more! 

 The Month of the Rosary

This year, to celebrate the Month of the Rosary, we created and led a whole school Liturgy and Word, teaching our school the importance of why we pray the Rosary and how we pray the Rosary. We then each lead a Rosary prayer session in another class and said the Hail Mary to our Reception children. We also invited parents to our early morning Rosary session to pray the Rosary alongside Father Ola. In school, each pupil created their own drawing of one of the Mysteries of the Rosary for homework and created a class book on the Rosary.  

 

All Saints Day

On the 1st November 2023 for All Saints Day, we celebrated by going to Mass at Holy Ghost Church, where Year 5 led our Liturgy and read the Bidding Prayers we had written. We then took time in the afternoon t celebrate our own class saints. 

Reception - St Thomas of Assisi

Year 1 - St Martin de Porres

Year 2 - St John Paul 11

Year 3 - St Teresa of Avillia

Year 4 - Sister Thea Bowman

Year 5 - St Therese of Liseaux

Year 6 - St Oscar Romero 

 

Advent 

On Monday 4th November, Father Ola joined us to lead an Advent Liturgy for our school. The school came together to celebrate the beginning of the Advent period and learn how we can prepare for the coming of Christ. Father Ola read the reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke and spoke to the school about the importance of opening our hearts to God. We then discussed how we as a school would prepare during this special period by doing the following:

 1) Following Jesus’ teachings.

2) Reaching out to help others, as Jesus taught us. This is solidarity.

                                          3) Welcoming Jesus into our hearts through prayer. 

 

We discussed the importance of the symbolism of the Advent wreath and the meaning behind it and each candle. The wreath, which is made of various evergreens, signifies continuous life. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolises the eternity of God and the everlasting life we find in Christ.

 

For Advent, we devised two whole-school initiatives to aid us in preparing for the birth of Jesus.

The first initiative was an Advent promise wreath. Each child in the school wrote down one thing they would do this Advent to help them follow Jesus' teachings. These promises were compiled and transformed into Advent wreaths, which we placed around the school.

The second initiative was an Advent prayer box. As engaging in prayer is an integral part of our Advent preparation, we decided to put our own spin on an Advent calendar. Each child in the school wrote down their own short prayer, and each day a prayer is selected from the box to be recited with the whole class.

 

 

 

 

 Advent Food Drive

In preparation for the advent season, our school is actively engaged in fostering a sense of community and solidarity. As Chaplains, we took the initiative to orchestrate an Advent food drive aimed at collecting contributions for the Wandsworth Foodbank. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the families who generously participated in this endeavor. The response was truly remarkable, and we were deeply touched by the overwhelming support and the significant amount of donations we were able to gather.

 

 

 Lent

At the start of our Lenten season, we extended a warm welcome to Father Richard and Father Ariel to conduct a Lenten liturgy for the entire school community. During the session, we delved into the significance of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving for Lent, reflecting on a gospel passage highlighting the importance of aiding others. Following this, as chaplains, we introduced several Lenten initiatives aimed at involving the entire school community: the Big Lent Walk, prayer cubes, and acts jars.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Big Lent Walk

As a school community, we're actively participating in the Big Lent Walk initiative. Our collective goal is to walk 200km this half term, with the intention of raising funds for CAFOD, a charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged individuals abroad. If you'd like to contribute to our cause, please consider visiting the following website to make a donation: donate.justgiving.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday Word

As chaplains, we initiated the Wednesday Word program within our school community. Each Wednesday, we engage with students in their classrooms to explore the forthcoming gospel and delve into the significance of the liturgy. Subsequently, every student receives a copy of the Wednesday Word to take home. They have the option to participate in the activities provided on the sheet, with the opportunity to win a special prize offered by Miss Murphy.