Our Vision

St. Angela of the Cross Primary School recognises the importance of becoming a sustainable school for the benefit of the Earth’s environmental health. By managing resources responsibly and embedding sustainable education and practices, we empower our students and school community to become environmental heroes—people who care for, protect, and advocate for our common home.

We honour and draw upon the knowledge of First Nations peoples and their deep, enduring relationship with Country, recognising the wisdom of caring for land, water and living things. We believe that fostering a positive attitude, responsibility and appreciation for sustainable environmental practices is vital to the development of our students, contributes to the health of our community, and reduces our impact on the Earth.

Guided by the vision of Laudato Si’, the encyclical written by Pope Francis, we are called to recognise our responsibility as stewards of creation. At St. Angela of the Cross Primary School, we strive to inspire action, community engagement and meaningful environmental change by forming every student as a hero for the environment, living out the Laudato Si’ Action Goals through faith, learning and action.

The Vatican offers seven Laudato Si’ goals or ways of measuring ecology in the spirit of Laudato Si’, caring for our common home, which are:

Response to the Cry of the Earth
Response to the Cry of the Poor
Ecological Economics
Adopting Sustainable Lifestyles
Ecological Education
Ecological spirituality
Community resilience and empowerment

The Response to the Cry of the Earth is a call to protect our common home for the wellbeing of all, as we equitably address the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and ecological sustainability. The Response to the Cry of the Poor is a call to promote eco-justice, aware that we are called to defend human life from conception to death, and all forms of life on Earth. Ecological Economics acknowledges that the economy is a sub-system of human society, which itself is embedded within the biosphere–our common home. The Adoption of Sustainable Lifestyles is grounded in the idea of sufficiency, and promoting sobriety in the use of resources and energy.Ecological Education is about rethinking and redesigning curricular and institutional reform in the spirit of integral ecology in order to foster ecological awareness and transformative action.Ecological Spirituality springs from a profound ecological conversion and helps us to “discover God in all things”, both in the beauty of creation and in the sighs of the sick and the groans of the afflicted, aware that the life of the spirit is not dissociated from worldly realities. Community resilience and empowerment envisage a synodal journey of community engagement and participatory action at various levels.

We strive to care for our common home through our whole wide school expectations of respect and through persistence, as we work towards meeting the Laudato Si’ Action Goals.

Resource Smart Schools

We’re excited to announce that St. Angela’s School is now working with ResourceSmart Schools to further enhance our sustainability efforts! This partnership will help us track and improve our environmental practices, from reducing waste to saving energy and water. Together, we’ll create a greener, more sustainable school, inspiring our students to take action for the planet!

CHAT Leadership Team

The C.H.A.T Team at St. Angela's School is a student-led group dedicated to promoting and enacting sustainability within the school. Our sustainability action team is named after Pope Francis' second encyclical where the focus is caring for our common home- Earth and our community. CHAT stands for Caring, Helping and Acting Together, which underpins the goals of our team.

The team is made up of two representatives from each class, ensuring that every grade level has a voice in the school’s sustainability efforts. The primary goal of the C.H.A.T Team is to encourage and lead sustainable practices in the classroom and across the school environment.

Key Responsibilities

Promote Sustainable Actions

The C.H.A.T Team plays a vital role in reminding students and staff about key sustainability actions, such as composting, recycling, and reusing. They work to ensure that these practices are consistently enacted within the classroom environment, helping to create a more eco-friendly school culture.

Classroom Reminders

The team provides gentle reminders to peers about the importance of sustainable habits. This can include promoting the correct disposal of waste, encouraging the use of reusable containers, and ensuring that composting and recycling systems are being used effectively.

Audits and Data Collection

C.H.A.T Team members are invited to participate in sustainability audits in collaboration with the ResourceSmart Schools program. This includes waste audits, energy usage assessments, and biodiversity monitoring. By engaging in these audits, students gain valuable hands-on experience in data collection and analysis, directly contributing to the school’s sustainability goals.

Leadership and Awareness

As ambassadors of sustainability, the C.H.A.T Team members take on leadership roles within the school, inspiring their classmates to adopt eco-friendly habits and participate in sustainability initiatives. Their work fosters a sense of responsibility and collective action, demonstrating that small changes can lead to big environmental impacts.

Biodiversity

Waste

Energy

Water

A Prayer for our Earth

All powerful God,

you are present in the universe

and in the smallest of your creatures.

You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.

Pour out upon us the power of your love,

that we may protect life and beauty.

Fill us with your peace, that we may live

as brothers and sisters, harming no one.

O God of the poor,

help us to rescue the abandoned

and forgotten of this earth,

so precious in your eyes.

Bring healing to our lives,

that we may protect the world and not prey on it,

that we may sow beauty,

not pollution and destruction.

Touch the hearts

of those who look only for gain

at the expense of the poor and the earth.

Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,

to be filled with awe and contemplation,

to recognize that we are profoundly united

with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light.

We thank you for being with us each day.

Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle,

for justice, love and peace.

Amen.

What is L'audato Si'?

Pope Francis' Letter- Upper Primary

Pope Francis has written a letter addressed to every person on this planet, asking us all to protect our common home, the earth. In his encyclical, Laudato Si', Pope Francis speaks openly about the devastating effects of climate change on people and the planet. He says that climate change is real, urgent and it must be tackled, asking us to remember that the climate is "a common good, belonging to all and meant for all".

Pope Francis' Letter - Lower Primary

Catholic Earthcare Schools Action Plan.pdf

Laudato Si' Action Plan

Living Laudato Si’ means embracing a way of life that respects and cares for our common home, the Earth. Inspired by Pope Francis' encyclical, it calls us to reflect on how our actions impact the environment and the most vulnerable among us. By making thoughtful choices—reducing waste, conserving energy, supporting sustainable practices, and nurturing a spirit of gratitude and simplicity—we honour God's creation and contribute to a more just and compassionate world.