St Bernadette Catholic Primary School: RE Newsletter

The official Jubilee logo.

The logo shows four stylized figures, representing all of humanity, coming from the four corners of the earth. They embrace each other to indicate the solidarity and fraternity which should unite all peoples. The figure at the front is holding onto the cross.

Welcome to the new RE Newsletter

At the end of every half term, we will be celebrating all the wonderful RE work our children have been completing. This newsletter is a wonderful way of sharing it with the St Bernadette community.

This term the title of our RE topic has been Galilee to Jerusalem.

Galilee to Jerusalem: ‘God’s only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known’ (Jn 1:18).

In this branch, the children have experienced the ministry of Jesus and the Word of God. They have learnt about the life of Jesus and his revelation of the Kingdom of God through parables, encounters, miracles, and teachings. The children have thought about the call of the disciples and the nature of being a follower of Jesus.

Exciting News: The Holy Father has decided that 2025 will be a year of Jubilee, something which happens every 25 years. The theme is “Pilgrims of Hope”, and is a year of hope for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of COVID-19 pandemic, and a climate crisis.

As His Holiness Pope Francis so beautifully expressed it: "We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us, and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision."

To celebrate St Bernadette's held a special assembly with all the ASCAT schools and we are now launching our own pilgrimage. Each class will host the Jubilee Cross for a week. During that week the children will pledge how they can be a pilgrim of hope. Once the cross has finished the pilgrimage it will be displayed in the school entrance for all to enjoy.

Year 5 also treated everyone to a special celebration assembly. The theme was the Jubilee of Hope. They explained why it was so important to remember and help those less fortunate than ourselves and the importance of having HOPE. All it takes is one good person to restore hope.

On Monday Holly and Olivia from Year 5 represented the Leaders of Hope and started the cross Pilgrimage. They presented the cross and the anchor of hope to the children in nursery. The cross will spend some time in Nursery before making its way to Reception.

Catholic Social Teaching

Our faith calls us to love God and to love our neighbours in every situation, especially our sisters and brothers living in poverty. Following in the footsteps of Christ, we hope to make present in our unjust and broken world, the justice, love and peace of God.

The Catholic Social Teaching (CST) we have been focusing on this half term is Solidarity and Peace.

In Catholic social teaching, solidarity and peace are two important principles that guide the understanding of social justice and the promotion of a just and harmonious society.

Solidarity: Solidarity refers to the recognition of the interconnectedness and interdependence of all people. It emphasises the unity of the human family and the responsibility to care for and support one another. Solidarity calls for a commitment to the common good, where individuals and communities work together to address social, economic, and political challenges. It encourages the promotion of justice, equality, and human dignity for all, particularly those who are marginalised or oppressed.

Peace: Peace encompasses the pursuit of justice, reconciliation, and the establishment of conditions that allow individuals and communities to thrive in harmony. Peace is rooted in respect for human rights, the dignity of every person, and the promotion of dialogue and understanding. It involves addressing the root causes of conflicts, working towards reconciliation, and fostering a culture of nonviolence and solidarity.

‘The paths of peace are paths of solidarity, for no one can be saved alone. We live in a world so interconnected that, in the end, the actions of each person affect everyone.’ Pope Francis

EYFS

Nursery have been learning how Jesus is the light of the world. They lit a candle and discussed how it is a symbol of prayer and why we use it at the beginning of every lesson. When we light a candle it reminds us that Jesus is with us as we pray. Nursery were then able to tell their adults where they see candles in their environment. They then ended their learning by going on a candle walk around the school and sang the song "Our lighthouse". We are also the first class to receive the cross. We were all every excited and thought about what we would like to hope for. We had lots of creative answers!

Reception learned about when Jesus fed 5000 people from five small loaves of bread and two small fish. Jesus took the food, gave thanks to God, and used it to feed over 5,000 people with leftovers to spare! Reception listened to the scripture and then acted out the story.

Year 1

In Year 1, we have been learning all about Jesus in the Temple. We have reflected on how the people that encountered Jesus would have felt and thought about some of the things Jesus taught them and how these teachings changed them. We have learnt how Jesus is the light of the world and started to think about how we can bring light to our families and communities by helping to continue Jesus’ mission of spreading Good News.

Year 2

The children in Year 2 have been learning about Parables and the teachings of Jesus. This term the children have listened to the teachings of John The Baptist, the Baptism of Jesus, the calming of the Storm,the cure of the Paralytic. And the Lost sheep.

Year 2 have also discussed what ‘Temptation’ means and how as Catholics, we are taught to forgive and say sorry to God in our prayers.

We have taken part in circle times and re-enacted scenarios, whereby, we think of situations that we have been in where we need to say sorry.

Year 3

This term, we have focussed on The Kingdom of God, Jesus’ parables, the Lord’s prayer and the Rosary Beads. Here are some pictures of year 3 interpreting lines from the Lord’s prayer.

Year 4

Year 4 have been looking at what a Messiah is this half term. They have looked at what makes Jesus a good Messiah and how he helps and supports everyone. They have used this understanding to look at different charitable organisations that follow the example that Jesus has set and what they are doing to support the community. Year 4 have also compared different sacraments as well as recalling prayers that are said during Mass and explaining why these are said.

Year 5

In Year 5 we have looked at Matthew's Gospel and concentrated on the Beatitudes, Summary of the Law and The Ten Commandments. We thought about how we can live out God's laws and help make the world a better place. We created some art to encourage others to live a life that would make God proud.

We also held our class assembly which was all about the Gospel of Luke and the Pilgrimage of Hope.

Year 6

In Year 6 this half term, we have been analysing and responding to scripture in John’s Gospel relating to the miracles of Jesus. For each miracle, we have thought about what John wanted to reveal about Jesus; his human qualities and his divine nature. We have used prayer, art and poetry to express our reflections and understanding of scripture.

Jubilee Prayer

Father in heaven,
may the faith you have given us
in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
reawaken in us the blessed hope
for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us
into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos
in the sure expectation
of a new heaven and a new earth,
when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,
your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee
reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,
a yearning for the treasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread
the joy and peace of our Redeemer
throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed,
be glory and praise for ever.

Amen.

Official prayer from Pope Francis for the Jubilee year 2025, "Pilgrims of hope"

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