Catholic Life 2025-26

Week Beginning: 24th November 2025

Confirmation for Catholic Year 5 and Year 6 children

Last night, eleven Year 5 children, thirteen Year 6 children and one member of staff were at St. Teresa’s Church for the sacrament of Confirmation celebrated by Bishop David Evans. It was an important occasion in the faith lives of those receiving the sacrament
and their families. Bishop David came into school on Thursday afternoon to meet with the children prior to last night’s Confirmation Mass.
Thank you to Miss Walk and Miss Gold for preparing the children, thank you to Miss Shirley, supported by Mrs Gillam, for preparing the mass and to Bishop David, Fr. Peter and Fr. Michael for celebrating the Confirmation Mass. Thank you to the families, other children, staff and parishioners who joined us for this highlight in our school year.

Congratulations to; Divine, An, Florence, Shalom, Phoenix, Viktor, Kimora, Laura, Lainey, Logan M, Anthony, Hoang, Kimi, Nifemi, Zane, Dominik, Troy, Lumaya, Ashay’a, Tomek, Antoni, Theo, Aaliyah, Senay and Miss Kaza. 

Week Beginning: 17th November 2025

Year of Hope Jubilee Finale Livestream

This morning the children joined schools throughout the Archdiocese of Birmingham for the Year of Hope Jubilee Finale. Schools were asked to share activities that took place during the year. Mrs Gillam shared through the group chat on the livestream that the children organised a sponsored walk in the Spring Term. The Infant children walked one mile and the Junior children walked two miles. The School Council used
their maths skills to measure the distance and calculate how many laps would be needed to reach a mile. (It was 13 laps of the Junior playground!). The children invited the governors, parents, carers and parishioners to participate.

A lot of fun was had! At the end of each lap pictures of hope were displayed to remind the everyone why they were
doing the sponsored walk.

How did our sponsored walk link to Catholic Social Teaching?

Solidarity:
Sponsored walks are a way to show solidarity with vulnerable people around the world. We walk in the shoes of those who must walk long distances for water or to escape danger, connecting the act of walking with a global awareness of others' struggles.
Option for the Poor:
Funds raised support charities that are working to alleviate poverty and suffering, which aligns with the Church's commitment to helping the poor and vulnerable.

How will we continue to live the themes of Jubilee and respond to our mission to form Christ-centred pilgrims of hope with kind hearts, questioning minds, a thirst for knowledge and a hunger for justice?

Care for creation:
Whole School Retreat- a day on Care for creation (planting, singing, prayer writing, protecting wildlife workshop, artwork).
Litter picking - ongoing problem in the area, children will continue to do their part and encourage adults to support.
Food compost - children will continue to add to their DIY compost bin and use the rich soil in a gardening club in the spring. Veolia workshops - guest speakers to teach children about recycling and how we can minimise food waste. Children to participate in workshops where they will be given the opportunity to debate and justify their views on recycling.
Managing Debt - Father Hudson support worker - to lead a family assembly on what her job role is and how she supports families.
Rest and worship - Mindfulness training for staff and given time to try the activities.
Celebration of the Word - encourage and provide children with time to meditate and reflect on God’s Word and how we can bring hope into someone else’s life.
Food poverty - Foodbank- we have an alumni link who work for the foodbank we donate food to. Invite past parent and student in to talk to children about their role and how food donated help people in need.
Curriculum links - English- Jack Manroe- a recipe book on how to make the most of the food you’ve got. Science- How
we can eat healthy and how to grow our own vegetables.

Week Beginning: 3rd November 2025

In November, We Remember

During November, we give special thoughts and prayers to loved ones who have died. In school we have an area in the entrance hall for children to note down the names of those they wish to be remembered in prayer. Please do continue to keep our deceased loved ones in your prayers.

This afternoon, our Faith Ambassadors, Liepa, Isaac, Umme-Haani, Jamar, Khari, Nebyou, India-Rose, Florence, Hoang, Nifemi and Lumaya led the school community on prayerful reflection for those who have died. This included distributing the handmade flowers made by the sisters yesterday to each class. Children are invited to write the names of deceased loved ones on the leaves of these flowers and place them on the prayer table in the entrance hall.

Please keep Fr. Simon Hall who recently passed away in your prayers. Fr. Simon was the parish priest for our parish for several years up until the summer of 2013. He passed away on 29th October at the age of forty-eight. Eternal Rest grant unto him O Lord.

Sisters Minor of St. Francis

As well as supporting our mass in school, Sr. Mariam and Sr. Catalina were working in school, including making paper flowers for part of our Holy Souls liturgy this afternoon. Thank you to Sr. Mariam and Sr. Catalina for their time and support.

Week Beginning: 20th October 2025

October; the month of the Rosary

As October is the month of the Rosary, our Faith Ambassadors lead the school community in praying a decade of the Rosary at 3.00 p.m. on Friday afternoons. Today marks the fourth Friday in October. Today’s praying of the Rosary was a little different to usual with the Hail Mary being shared in different languages to celebrate cultures in our school community which is apt for United Nations Day.

Phoenix, Anthony, Kimi, Theo, Troy, Ava, Mehnoor, Aiden, Anna, Quoc-Anh, Tae, Pio, Cecilia, Noah and Mia N led a Hail Mary in Vietnamese.

Dominik, Antoni, Tomek, Dawid D, Ulysses, Julia and Laura S led a Hail Mary in Polish.

Viktor led a Hail Mary in French.

Matiwos led a Hail Mary in Italian.

Lily led a Hail Mary in Malayalam.

The children also signed a Hail Mary in British Sign Language.

Thank you to Miss Shirley, Mrs Gillam, Mrs Paciorek and all who played a role in this special praying of a decade of the Rosary.

Harvest Mass

Thank you to Fr. Peter for leading our Harvest Mass yesterday morning. Thank you to Nifemi, Eva, Khadijah, Jayden, Zane, Amelia, Daya and Adam of Year 6 for leading readings and bidding prayers and to Mariam and Aaron for bringing the gifts to the altar during the Offertory
Procession. Thank you also to Logan and Aaron for managing the audio-visual unit and thank you to our altar servers; Senay, Hoang, Dominik and Viktor and to our welcomers Rayan and Layla.

Thank you to Mrs Paciorek for preparing and leading the music supported by Sr. Miriam and Sr. Michela and thank you to Miss Walk for preparing the mass for the children. The items that you generously donated were collected by Fiona and Rani from Birmingham Care
Group.

https://www.birminghamcaregroup.org/ yesterday for distribution to those in need.

Week Beginning: 29th September 2025

Annual Mass of Thanksgiving for the Guild of St Stephen

Altar servers and their families were invited to join this year's Annual Mass of Thanksgiving for the Guild of St Stephen which was celebrated by Bishop David Evans last Saturday 4th October at 12.00 noon at St Chad’s Cathedral. Three of our altar servers, Hoang, Senay and Dominik and their families attended. Past pupils and altar servers, Mia and Matthew also attended. These five altar servers participated in the mass. Essey, another past pupil who is an altar server also attended. Thank you to each of these children for the role they place in serving the Church
and their faith. Thank you to their families for their support for their children as altar servers. Thank you to Mrs Gillam who also attended this mass on behalf of the school.

October; the month of the Rosary

As October is the month of the Rosary, the newly appointed Faith Ambassadors (see below) led the school community in a decade of the Rosary, a traditional Catholic prayer, at 3.00 p.m. this afternoon. This prayer will be shared by the school community for the next three Friday afternoons at the same time. All are welcome to join us.

St. Teresa’s Feast day Mass

Fr Peter invited the children and staff of the Junior classes to St. Teresa’s Catholic Church on Wellington Road for the 10.00 a.m. parish mass on Wednesday 1st October. This is the date the global Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St Therese of Lisieux, our parish patroness.
Thank you to Logan S, Kwesi, Kimora, Viktor and Shalom who led the Prayers of Intercession (Bidding Prayers). Thank you to Divine and Lumaya for bringing forward the bread and wine at the Offertory Procession. Thank you to Hoang and Dominik, our altar servers who worked alongside the parish’s senior altar server, Mr Close. Thank you to Mr Roche for playing the organ and to Mrs Paciorek for preparing the children with the hymns sung at mass. Thank you to the staff of the Junior classes and to Miss Bonner and Miss Bishton for taking the children safely to and from the church.
I was very proud of the reverence and participation of the children in Mass. This was enhanced by the number of parishioners who spoke with me after mass praising the children and the school as a whole. This was added to with a lovely letter from a couple of parishioners praising all involved in Wednesday morning’s mass and helping to make the parish feast day so special.

Week Beginning: 22nd September 2025

MacMillan Coffee Morning

Thank you to all who donated cakes and biscuits and then donated money to buy them back gain for our ‘green’ themed day for MacMillan Cancer Support this morning. Many families donated far more than the £1 requested either directly to school or through ParentPay. The grand
total for the money raised for this cause will be announced in next week’s newsletter – thank you for your generosity. It was lovely to see so many parents and family members in the hall this morning and thank you to Miss Bishton, Miss Pendley and Miss DuQuesnay, who helped
serving teas, coffees and cakes. Thank you to Diya J, Lumaya, Roshan and Shahnain, our P.E.and Stage monitors, for helping to tidy the hall at the end.

This event was very well attended by parents/carers and family members. We had enough surplus to have a cake sale
after school last Friday with Mrs Connell and Miss Bishton. This brought the total raised for Macmillan Cancer support to £493. Thank you to all who contributed to these events.

If you were unable to attend, you are still welcome to donate in support of this worthwhile cause at the school office
or on Parentpay. Donations can also be made on MacMillan’s fundraising page using the following link http://www.justgiving.com/cm25002305 or by scanning the QR code on the posters around school.

Overnight experience

Last Friday night, fifty-six Junior children came to school at 8.00 p.m. and stayed until 8.00 a.m. on Saturday morning for an ‘Overnight Experience’ at St. Teresa’s School. This initiative is linked to the focus of ‘Dignity of the Human Person’, the
theme running across our curriculum this term.

The children had a simple supper of biscuits and hot chocolate. The twenty-one children from Year 3 and Year 4 who joined us slept on mats, in sleeping bags or under blankets and duvets in the hall; this was to reflect finding shelter indoors.

The thirty-five Year 5 and Year 6 children made temporary shelters from large pieces of cardboard and slept outside at the back of the school site. In the morning, breakfast was toast and water. This experience was to enable the children to gain an understanding and empathy for the challenges facing the homeless.

The children who participated were amazing. They embraced the opportunity fully and, despite the hardship, behaved wonderfully. Thank you to the parents and carers who allowed their children to participate. A particular thank you to the staff who led the event; Miss Gibbon, Mrs Jones, Mrs Patel and Mrs Murdock, who stayed for part of the event and to Mrs Allport, Mrs Gillam, Miss Bennett and Miss Gold who joined me for the whole of the Overnight Experience to give the children this unique insight to the life less fortunate people lead

Week Beginning: 15th September 2025

Education Sunday Mass at St. Teresa's Church

Thank you to Kwesi, Shalom, Phoenix, Laura, Lumaya, Dominik, Hoang, Kimi, Aaliyah, Florence, Senay, Viktor, Logan S, Quinn, Kofi, Logan O, Nebyou, Liepa, Ulysses, Cecilia, Adwoa, Helma, Orion, their families and the staff who joined the parishioners at Mass last Sunday morning’s to mark The Exaltation of The Holy Cross and Education Sunday.

It was also lovely to see past pupils, Gabriel, Edward, Essey and Mason. This mass at our parish church was an opportunity to reflect on the importance of education in our lives and to bring the school and parish communities together.