Daily Prayer Life
At Saint Joseph’s Infant and Junior Schools, prayer and liturgy play a fundamental part of daily school life and enables us to all join together as one in prayer and worship. Sometimes, this will be in class prayer, at other times it may involve children in the year group joining together in prayer, or it may be in a year group assembly or as a whole school.
Children are encouraged to learn a selection of traditional prayers in each year group, but are also encouraged to devise their own personal prayers. Please follow the link below to see the progression of prayer learned in each year. Every classroom has a focal point for prayer which is appropriate to the liturgical season.
Children are introduced to a variety of different ways of praying.
- quiet reflection / meditation
- spontaneous prayer
- praying together
- writing our own prayers
- prayers through music
- learning traditional Catholic prayers
All classes are named after a saint and children are encouraged to pray to their special saint. The children wear their own clothes in on their saint’s feast day.
Prayer Progression - please click here.
Growing Closer to God
In its simplest form, prayer is defined as “talking to God.” It is a personal time where we open our hearts to our Heavenly Father; bringing everything in our hearts to Him.
Prayer can be a powerful force for change in our lives, and the importance of doing it on a daily basis should be instilled in our children.
Communication is the foundation for success in any relationship. When we communicate openly and freely with each other, we learn to know each other as individuals. This principle also applies to our relationship with God. By talking to God, we can learn more about who He is and what plan He has for us.
Liturgical Year
As an integral part of our Catholic ethos, all pupils at Saint Joseph’s are made aware, throughout the school year, of the changes and celebrations relating to the Church’s Liturgical Year. All of our classes, assembly prayer spaces and displays reflect the Liturgical colour. We spend time in our Religious Education lessons looking at the events in the churches calendar and we celebrate many of them together through collective worship.
Across the year groups children experience a faith related visit.
Year 1- Jewish Synagogue
Year 2- Ealing Road Temple
Year 3- Westminster Cathedral
Year 4- Islamic Cultural Centre
Year 5- Caritas Ambassador’s Project related visit
Year 6- Pinner SPEC
Autumn
Prayer tables and displays across the school are green at the start of the academic year.
Year groups 3-6 attend a parish mass across the autumn term.
- Month of the Rosary: October is the month of the Rosary. Children learn about the Rosary and why it is an important prayer given to us by Mary. The children have the opportunity to learn the prayers contained in the Rosary.
- Remembrance: Children learn about Remembrance and why November is the month of the Holy Souls. Each class makes their own remembrance poppy with prayers. We have a whole school liturgy on Remembrance day.
- Advent: The prayer areas are changed to purple. We light the candles on our Advent Wreath to remind us that we are coming out of the darkness into the light.
- Pupils in Years 4-6 experience the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
- Christmas: Children in Year 2 celebration the Nativity through drama. Children in Years and 4 retell the Nativity and take part in a carol concert with the community celebrated at Saint Joseph’s Church.
Spring
Prayer tables are white for the Christmas season then green for Ordinary Time after the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord.
- All pupils experience a Judaism workshop linked to their other faith week study.
- Classes from Years 3 to 6 organise their own class Mass which their parents and wider family are invited to in their classroom.
- Ash Wednesday: To mark the beginning of Lent children receive Ashes from Father Anthony and Father Joseph or Father Tebin.
- Lent: The prayer tables are changed to purple.
- Stations of the Cross: All children from Reception to Year 6 visit the Stations of the Cross which is either in the hall or playground.
- Pupils in Year 5 lead an Easter Liturgy linked to the Stations of the Cross.
Easter – The Resurrection of our Lord is celebrated during the school holidays, however it is covered through our Religious Education unit of work. Gospel assemblies and displays highlight the importance of this feast.
Summer
Prayer tables are white for the Easter season until Pentecost where they change to green for Ordinary Time.
- May the month of Mary:- In Honour of Our Lady the children participate in a May Procession and lay their prayers and flowers before Mary in our Prayer Garden.
- Year two organise their own class Mass which their parents and wider family are invited to in their classroom.
- Year 6 organise their own Leaver’s Mass which is celebrated with their families in the school hall.
- Ascension: Covered in our Religious Education units of work.
- Pentecost: Covered in our Religious Education units of work
- Pentecost Liturgies: As part of our Pentecost reflection,
Prayer Focus
Click below to open the monthly prayer focus also available on our newsletters.
Classroom Worship
This takes places on days that we do not have whole school collective worship. Each week, different children in each class prepare and lead their class in worship. The children are guided by adults to prepare for this in EYFS and KS1 but are independent in KS2.
Hymn Practice
Each Wednesday morning, the children from Reception to Year 6 gather together to hear the word and sing songs of praise to God. They practise hymns and songs that we use for our assemblies and Masses as part of the Westminster Diocese ‘Singing Schools’ initiative.
Gospel Assemblies
Each Monday morning, the children from Reception to Year 2 gather together for our Gospel assembly that is led by the Head Teacher. The theme of this assembly is determined by the Liturgical calendar and the Gospel.
Celebration Assemblies
Each Thursday the whole school community comes together for a time of celebration and collective worship. We celebrate the achievements of the school with our Star of the Week certificates being distributed alongside house points and attendance awards. We end each week together by thanking God for all He has done to help us achieve and learn.
Mass
Throughout the year we have the joy of celebrating the Sacrament of the Eucharist in Saint Joseph’s Church Wembley. Children help to prepare and lead the Mass through reading and bringing up the gifts. On different occasions families are invited to join us for Mass. Children attend the parish mass on the Feast Day of Saint Joseph.
Liturgies
Throughout the year, to mark important events in the Church’s liturgical year, we hold special Liturgies.
Prayer Room and Prayer Garden
Throughout the year, the children will visit the Prayer Room and Prayer Garden within our local community to enhance their prayer life.
Parental Prayer Group
Our parental prayer group meets monthly to pray and worship together. We use the Prayer room or the Prayer garden for this. Thank you to the parents who help run this group.
