Collective Worship at St Helen's School takes place every day and can take many forms; whole school assemblies, class prayers, Picture News Liturgies or class collective worship. 

Friends, families and parishioners are welcome to join us for our special services.

Each day begins and ends in prayer.  Some of the prayers we say are listed below. 

We gather every week for our Collective Worship Liturgy and to share the Gospel from Mass.

Significant feast days are celebrated throughout the Liturgical year and whole school Mass is celebrated at church at various points throughout the year. Our children often visit the church to enhance their RE topics and learning. 

The school has an active prayer life. During Lent and Advent daily prayers are led by teachers and pupils in school and our families are invited to join prayer activities when we send home our Advent crib pack and Lent prayer packages. 

In our Gospel assembly this week, the children reflected on the life of Pope Francis. We started our assembly by sharing that we are now in Easter time, and this is a celebration of the Risen Jesus.

During our assembly, the children have been learning about Pope Francis and just a few of the wonderful things he has done.

The children shared prayers, reflections and discussed how we can take his teachings forward and follow his example.

We gave thanks for his commitment to his work for justice and peace.

We discussed how we can be ‘Stewards of God’s creation’ and how we can show compassion for all God’s people. We gave thanks for his encouragement to young people.

Our mission for this week is to think about how we can share the peace, joy and hope of the Risen Jesus through our words and actions.

In our Gospel assembly this week, the children explored Jubilee Joy: Hope

The children started the assembly by reviewing the pictures that had been used for the previous Lent assemblies and thinking about the journey we had been on so far.

The children listened to this week's Gospel – Luke 15:1-3,11-32

The children thought about how the father in the parable we heard was like God the Father.

The children thought about how, the father in the parable who was ever hopeful of his sons’ return home, shows us what God the Father is like. Even when we turn away from God and make choices that hurt ourselves and other people, God never loses hope that we will come back to Him - and He sent his Son Jesus to help us to live in God’s way. We discussed how God wants us to be hopeful, knowing that He is always ready to forgive us and welcome us back. Like the youngest son in the parable, we can be honest with ourselves, notice how our actions affect our relationships with family and friends and ask for forgiveness for the wrong choices we make. God wants the best for us and our relationships with each other. He wants us to be open to His love, free to follow Him and make good choices, ready to receive all the good gifts He provides. He wants us to be happy and rejoice in all that is good and be hopeful of good things to come.

We shared how all these Jubilee themes have a positive impact on our friendships, and how during Lent especially, we are on a pilgrimage of hope, with a mission to grow in our friendship with God and each other. We thought about how we need to remember, the Jubilee Door, the symbol of God’s unconditional love, is open for the whole Year of Jubilee, and we can continue our journey as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’!

Our mission this week is to think about 'How can be better friends with each other and God this week?'

Please click below to be taken to the ten:ten newsletter for April. This newsletter shares further information about the themes and topics we will be following for our whole school assemblies and can support with prayer and liturgy at home. 

Parents April Newsletter

In our Gospel assembly this week, the children explored Jubilee Joy: Restore.

The children started the assembly by thinking about: ‘Where do you think is the most beautiful place on Earth?’ The children looked at photos of places across the world known for their beauty.

The children listened to this week's Gospel – John 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45.

The children explored how  Jesus’ mission to restore things to the way God always planned them to be reflected the past, changed the present and reminded us of God's restoring power to change our lives and world today.

The children thought about how, Jesus came to the Earth to show us God’s amazing love for His creation – and how this includes each of us! God’s ultimate plan is that everyone would know His love for them. When we know God’s love, we can all be restored in our relationship with Him through Jesus.

The children shared how during Lent, we are called to grow our friendship with God through loving Him, loving others and loving His creation - our wonderful world. Jesus knew it was God’s power alone that would restore Lazarus, and He showed this through thanking God when He prayed out loud, so everyone could hear Him. We too can praise God for who He is, and thank Him by caring for creation.

The children discussed how, in this Year of Jubilee, we are all invited to be ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ - by asking Jesus to help us to respect and care for the Earth, and look forward to the restoration of all creation when He returns.

Our mission this week is to think about 'How can we grow our friendship with God by caring for His creation this week?'

In our Gospel assembly this week, the children explored Jubilee Joy: Rejoice.

The children shared that it was Laetare Sunday yesterday. This is a time to prepare ourselves for Jesus’ death on the Cross and His resurrection at Easter. ‘Laetare’ is the Latin word for rejoice.

 The children started the assembly by looking at different a wordsearch containing hidden words to describe ‘Joy.’

The children listened to this week's Gospel -
‘He said, “Lord, I believe,” and He worshipped Him.’ John 9:38

The children explored how Jesus brought joy to a blind man when he gave him sight.

The children thought about how, when Jesus healed the blind man, it was not only his inability to see that was washed away. Jesus saw all the man’s needs - to see, to be noticed, to be able to look after himself, to be accepted as a part of the community and to have the same opportunities as others. Jesus’ compassion brought the man a joy that was far beyond any hopes or expectations; with his blindness healed and washed away, a kind of fairness was restored.

We thought about how today, there are people who are in need of help and support - people who live in difficult circumstances and have not had the same opportunities as others and how, through this miracle, Jesus shows us how to actively notice others and reach out with help, support and welcome.

We thought about how during Lent, we are called to grow our friendship with God through reaching out to others with compassion.

We shared that in this Year of Jubilee, we are all invited to be ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ - to recognise Jesus as the cause for our joy as we share what we have and work for a fairer world.

Our mission this week is to think about 'How can we grow our friendship with God by reaching out to others this week?'

In our Gospel assembly this week, the children explored Jubilee Joy: Receive'

The children started the assembly by looking at different scenarios and thinking about what they needed in each: when they are hungry, sad, thirsty, lonely, hopeless and make a mistake.

The children listened to this week's Gospel -
'The water that I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’’ John 4:14

The children explored how Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman pointed to the past, changed the present and still impacts us in the future today.

The children thought about how our sins separate us from God and often cause us to create separation between each other. The Samaritan woman felt this separation and according to the culture at the time, Jesus shouldn't have spoken to her because of her background. But Jesus, miraculously knowing everything about her, offered her something amazing. He revealed that He was the Messiah, the source of living water that leads to forgiveness from sins and eternal life with God.

The children thought about how through prayer this Lent, we can get to know Jesus and receive the living water He offers, and how when we believe in Jesus, He shares the same invitation with us - to receive full forgiveness for our sins and be in close relationship with God, knowing the peace that the Lord offers us.

The children shared how in this Year of Jubilee and especially in the season of Lent, we have the opportunity to receive and give forgiveness - asking God and one another for forgiveness, and offering forgiveness to the people we need to forgive. As ‘Pilgrims of Hope’, we can do this by putting God at the centre of our lives, growing our relationship with Him and sharing His peace and forgiveness with others. 

Our mission this week is to think about 'How can share God’s forgiveness and peace with others this week?'

In our Gospel assembly this week, the children explored Jubilee Joy: Freedom.

The children started the assembly by looking at things that are often given for free and they gave a thumbs up or thumbs down depending on how the things made them feel.

The children listened to this week's Gospel -
‘And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.”’ Luke 4:8

The children thought about what Jesus had the freedom to choose whilst in the desert.

The children reflected on what they had heard:

• There are different ways of being a slave or without freedom.
• It could mean being held in a place without the freedom to make decisions about what you do or where you go.
• But we can also be ‘slaves’ to things that distract us or stop us from following in God’s way.
• In the desert, Jesus was tempted to be enslaved to His physical wants, power and fame but He chose God’s freedom instead.
• During Lent, we are called to focus on God’s way and grow our friendship with God through prayer, fasting and almsgiving - looking to God, looking to ourselves and reaching out to others.
• In this Year of Jubilee, we are all invited to be ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ - to choose freedom by putting God first - so that we too can experience the freedom that only God can give.

The children had some quiet time and reflection whilst focussing on: ‘Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is true freedom.’ 2 Corinthians 3:17.

Our mission for this week is: 'How can you grow your friendship with God this week?'

Please click below to be taken to the ten:ten newsletter for March. This newsletter shares further information about the themes and topics we will be following for our whole school assemblies and can support with prayer and liturgy at home. 

Parents March Newsletter

In our Gospel assembly this week, the children explored 'More to the Story...'

The children started the assembly looking at emojis and trying to work out the stories they were showing. We explained that just as the emojis gave us clues about the stories, Jesus told special stories called parables, to give us clues about holy things.

The children listened to this week's Gospel -

'... Jesus told his disciples a parable...' Luke 6:39.

The children explored how Jesus used special stories to share news and messages called parables. The explored what it meant to ‘see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?'

The children had some quiet time to reflect on how Jesus didn’t share these sayings and examples to make people feel bad for the mistakes they had made. Instead, His parables and words bring us life and give encouragement! They show us how to live the way God wants us to and love like He loves.

Our mission this week is to think about 'How can we love other like God loves us?'

In our Gospel assembly this week, the children explored 'From the Inside Out.'

The children reflected on how what we feel on the inside shows on the outside - not just in our expressions but in how we treat others.

The children listened to this week's Gospel -
'... Love you enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great...' Luke 6:35.

The children explored how Jesus teaches us to 'love our enemies' and 'choose to love.' We spoke about how all of our feelings matter and how we can always choose to bless others, even when it's hard.

 

Across our Federation of three schools, this weeks' Gospel Assembly has focused on 'Let Down Your Nets.'

The children thought about how Jesus' friends must have felt at the different points in the story.

This week, the children will be thinking about how they can act more like Jesus.