School Chaplains             

Our School Chaplains

Hello, we are the eight Holy Ghost Chaplains.

Within the school our role is to promote Catholic Social Teaching and to inspire others to live in God's image. Some of our key ways to embed Catholic Social Teaching is by leading our peers through prayers and sharing the weekly Wednesday Word, a fun task to complete, with an extract from the Gospel to spread the word of God. 

We lead whole school initiatives and assist with fundraising for worldwide charities such as CAFOD. We also have  partner school in Malawi to which we donate resources and clothing. 

In recent years, we have attended Southwark Cathedral for a special Mass with the Bishop, led feast days and sessions with classes, where we have discussed the meaning and importance of the Catholic faith. We have also participated in fundraising events such as the CAFOD Big Lent Walk. Every Thursday one of our classes attend Mass at the Holy Ghost Church. 

Our goal this year is to continue striving to be role models for the children of our school and walk with God. 

Arun (Y6)

Lenten Initiatives 

Our chaplains presented their Lenten initiatives to the whole school. They designed these initiatives around the three core principles of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

The initiatives include:

• Random Acts of Kindness: Each week, children will pick a name from the lolly stick jar and perform a random act of kindness for that person. On Fridays, they will reveal themselves and try to guess who was behind their act of kindness.
• Prayer Cubes: Children will create prayer cubes, writing their personal intentions on each face. KS1 will make a shared class prayer cube with general intentions such as "for the sick" and "for my family."
• Scripture Jars: KS2 students will write down meaningful scripture verses on slips of paper and place them in a jar. Each day, a verse will be selected for reflection. KS1 will do the same but with their favorite Bible stories.

These initiatives encourage us to deepen our faith and prepare our hearts for Easter.

Prayer Grotto

Our pupil chaplains have been actively involved in introducing the school community to our new prayer grotto. This special space was created with the intention of providing a peaceful and calming environment on the playground where children can take time to pray, reflect, and find moments of stillness amidst the busyness of the school day.

Through their leadership, the chaplains have been guiding their peers in understanding how to use the grotto respectfully, whether for personal prayer, quiet contemplation, or group reflections. Their dedication has helped to make this a meaningful and accessible space for all, reinforcing the importance of faith and mindfulness in our daily lives.

We hope that this grotto becomes a cherished part of our school, offering a sanctuary where pupils can connect with their spirituality and find comfort in moments of prayer and reflection.

Advent 

On Wednesday 4th December, Father Ariel 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 Ariel 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 Catholic Social 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 a whole school-initiative to prepare our hearts for Christ. This was an Advent promise wreath where each class would come up with four Advent promises that they would follow when each candle was lit. 

The Month of the Rosary

Pope St John XXIII said, "The Rosary is a school for learning true Christian perfection". The Rosary draws it's mysteries from the New Testament and is centred on the great events of the Incarnation and Redemption with each decade referring to an event in the life if Jesus and Mary. The Mysteries of the Rosary give us “thumbnails” of the life of Christ and his Mother.

• The Joyful Mysteries are taken mostly from Saint Luke’s Gospel in the New Testament. They involve the joyful events of Jesus’ childhood.
• The Luminous Mysteries bring a deeper understanding to the public life of Jesus. They fill in the blanks between the childhood of Jesus and His suffering and death on the cross.
• The Sorrowful Mysteries remind us of how much Jesus loves us. They recall how He suffered and died just for us.
• The Glorious Mysteries tell us what happened after Jesus died-His Resurrection, the descent of the Holy Spirit and the love Jesus had for his Mother.

During the Month of the Rosary, we encouraged students across the school to participate in activities focused on the Rosary. The children in Year 1 created their own rosaries, gaining an understanding of the repetitive nature of this prayer form through the sequence of beads they used. 

During this month we were fortunate for the following events to take place:

• Praying the Rosary with our class chaplains.
• Praying the Rosary in Church where all parents were invited.

Our school Collective Worship for the Month of the Rosary

Two of our Pupil Chaplains led the entire school in a meaningful and reflective collective worship to mark the beginning of the Month of the Rosary. During the service, they guided students and staff through the steps of praying the Rosary, sharing the links to the different mysteries and how this traditional prayer can help deepen our connection with God. 

Their leadership and faith inspired everyone to join in this special form of prayer, creating a sense of unity and devotion as we reflect on prayer throughout this sacred month. 

Our Holy Ghost Family Rosary 

During October, the month dedicated to the Holy Rosary, our Chaplains led a special Family Rosary in the Holy Ghost church, inviting students and families to gather in prayer. This tradition honoured Our Lady, encouraged communal reflection, and deepened faith through the Rosary's meditative mysteries.

Wednesday Word

Each Wednesday, our school chaplains visit classes to share and reflect on the Gospel through the Wednesday Word. They engage students with thought-provoking questions, encouraging them to deepen their understanding and reflection on the Word of God.