September 2023

The Launch with staff and pupils (wb 4.9.23)

We launched our Live Simply Plan with staff, during a staff inset, and with all the children, through Key Stage Assemblies. All of the school were very excited to be a part of the Live Simply journey and to complete the actions (on our plan) to help us to live out our School Mission and to live simply, in solidarity and sustainably with our global, local and school community as stewards of God's creation. 

Catholic Social Teaching Day (Please look CST tab on the website for more information)

Children all wrote prayers that will form part of our Live Simply Prayer book. We will continue to add to this throughout the year. We prayed for our Global family throughout the world as well as what we can personally do to 'live simply' and become closer to God. 

Please see below a sample of some of the work the children completed in their classes.

Upcoming events:

There will be lots of Live Simply actions and opportunities to get involved over the course of the year, including upcoming parent and child workshops listed below: 

Year 6 - 26th September (8:45-10am)

Year 3 - 3rd October  (8:45-10am)

Year 2 - 10th October (2pm)

Year 4 - 24th October  (8:45-10am)

Year 1 - 24th October (2pm)

Reception - 21st November (2pm)

Year 5 - 5th December  (8:45-10am)

Recycling Week: Uniform Swap (25.9.23)

To tie in with the launch of our Live Simply Workshops with the parents and our focus on sustainability in our school and local community, we are holding a uniform swap in the hall on Monday 25th September 2023. 

Donations of old uniform required and families welcome to participate in the uniform swap.

The uniform swap will take place in the school hall at 3pm. 

“We buy more clothes per person in the UK than any country in Europe. Around 300,000 tonnes of used clothes are burned or buried in landfill each year.” (Greenpeace) 

Just think of the effects on God’s planet; we have been entrusted to be stewards of God's creation.

Come along a Uniform Swap uniform to help our planet and our pockets! 

(This is an extra action in response also to the large amount of uniform that we find in school which is unclaimed/without names on.)

Thank You! 

Thank you to all the parents who came to the Uniform Swap today as well as those that helped to organise and run the event (members of staff, New Heights and children). Please see the photos below.

Live Simply- Year 6 parent and child workshop (26.9.23)

Today we held our first of our Live Simply parent and child workshops, in a prayer service style. Thank you so much to all the parents who came to learn about the Living Simply Award and participate in a workshop, focusing on sustainability in our local area. 

After praying together, singing the Mission Statement, discussing our CST principles and sharing the CAFOD resources and animations, the parents and children completed lots of activities to focus on encouraging sustainability and the careful use of God’s resources. 

We made bug hotels, using our recycled bottles, to help encourage and protect our wildlife, thinking about even the smallest creatures of God’s creation. The children will carefully place these in the local park on Conker Island to help improve the local environment as a part of a big action to improve the wildlife there. (More photographs to follow)

Litter picking in the Local Area

Inspired by Laudato Si, a group of parents and children worked very hard to improve our local area by litter picking thus showing lots of our CST principles (stewardship, participation and solidarity).

Live Simply Prayers

We wrote prayers to focus on Living Simply which will be shared in our assemblies (solitary and common good).

Live Simply Posters

We made posters to reflect on the ways that we can Live Simply to help focus our efforts and live out our Mission Statement. We also reflected on the reasons why we should Live Simply. 

Emailing businesses 

We used our persuasive writing skills and computing skills to write emails to businesses, both local and National, to encourage them to be more sustainable and recycle whilst evangelising the reasons why they should. 

October 2023

Mission Rosary

The staff and children are praying the Mission Rosary in October, which is one of the special months dedicated to our Heavenly mother, Mary. 

The Mission Rosary has a colour-coded decade for each continent. We pray simply and in solidarity with our brothers and sisters throughout the world. It’s a wonderful way to think about the world around us and gain an understanding of what it means to belong to the Universal Church.

Here are some useful resources that can help with praying the Rosary at home:

The staff and children are praying the Mission Rosary each week in the month of October. Let us know, via your child's planner, if you are praying the Rosary at home too. 

Star comment from a Year 5 pupil:

“I made some rosary beads at home. When I pray, I think of Mary and all the people in God’s world.”
 

Year 3 Live Simply Workshop (3.10.23)

Thanks to all the parents who came to Live Simply workshop today. It was lovely to see so many parents. It was good to reflect on our Live Simply plan and consider the ways that we can ‘Live Sustainably’ in order local area. This followed the same structure as the Year 6 parental workshop. The feedback was very positive.

Prayer Writing- Living Sustainably

The children wrote very thoughtful prayers which focused on living more sustainably and the resulting positive impact on our local community. We know that the world we have is God’s world and as the stewards of His creation, we should make the right choices to protect His world for future generations to come.
 

Bugs Hotels

The children and families really enjoying making bug hotels to support the animal life in our neighbouring park ‘Conker Island’.

Star response from Sienna-beau:
“We need to think carefully about picking the right size bug hotels so we don’t put too much plastic into the park. The plastic can hurt the wings of God’s birds if it is rough.”

Living Sustainably in our local community

The children created posters to be delivered to local businesses in our immediate area to encourage them to be more sustainable and be more conscious of not wasting the precious resources we have been given.
 

The children delivered the leaflets to the local businesses. All the children spoke clearly about how the businesses could support local sustainability.  

Star comments from Harley:
“Please look at my leaflet. It is about looking after our local community. We should look after it. This is for your business and how you can help the world.”

We had great responses from the local businesses. 

 Star comments from some of the shop keepers by our school:
“This is great children. I will work on this and if you make other leaflets, I will give them out in my shop.”   (We will action this in upcoming parental workshops.)

“Thanks so much. I will put it up in my shop to remind me and so my customers can see it.”

“Great work children, keep up the hard work!”

Why should we ‘Live Sustainably’ in our local area?

Children and parents reflected on why we should live sustainably.

Litter Picking

As you know, people dropping litter can be an issue in our local area. After a safety briefing, a group of parents and children volunteered to litter pick in order to help make a big difference in our local area. Thank you for your support.

Year 2 Live Simply Workshop (10.10.23)

The children and families participated in another Live Simply workshop today in the same style as the previous workshops, focusing on Living Sustainably in our local area. The children loved working with their families and were excited to complete the all activities. 

Please see the photos below and a sample of the work completed. 

Living Sustainably Prayers

In addition to the prayer writing we have completed previously, we also used Communication in Print today, which is a tool we regularly use in school, with both print and pictures so that all can access the prayers the children have created.

Bird feeders made out of recycled materials and placed in our local area

The families enjoyed making the bird feeders to encourage wildlife in our local community. God's birds need feeding all year around. Thanks to the families that sent photos of the bird feeders in their gardens. 

Litter picking with Year 2 volunteers

Thank you to the Year 2 children and their parents that braved the weather (although it doesn't look wet in the pictures, it was) in order to help improve the local area. They did a great job! 

Star comment- "I thought there would be more rubbish." (This shows that our weekly litter picking is playing off as there was less rubbish this week.)

Star comment- "There aren't many bins for people to put their rubbish in so this maybe a reason why there is so much rubbish." (A comment that the CtK Stewards can follow up on with the Birmingham City Council) 

We contacted our Councillor for our Ward (10.10.23):

Getting ready for the Harvest (12.10.23)

Today Teresa came into speak to us about the work that she does as part of the Hope Food Charity and the foodbanks that her charity supports, run across three churches in North Birmingham. They feed 200 people a week and provide food for those in our local community who need support during these difficult times. 

Star comment from Wilson- "We could collect food to give to those who need it at the foodbank. We are trying to help people like Jesus did."

Harvest Week (16.10.23-22.10.23)

So in response to our Mission and in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in our school/parish, local and global community, we are trying to have a big push for our Harvest collections this year and we are asking for the parents and staff to support. We are supporting the Hope Food Charity (Food Banks) which supports the area of North Birmingham and the SVP who works to support families who need help in our school and parish community. Also at the Harvest Mass on Sunday 22nd November 2023, we will have a cake sale to raise money for Mary's Meals who help feed our brothers and sisters across the world.  

How can we help?

1. Bring in items for the Harvest (tins, cereal, pasta, rice etc) to be distributed to those who need it- even if it is just one item.

2. Donate a cake on Friday 20^th October to be sold at the cake sake at Mass.

3. Come to our School Parish Mass as a thanksgiving Mass for the Harvest on Sunday 22nd October at 10am at Christ the King Catholic Church.

4. Buy a cake after Mass in St John's Centre in aid of Mary's Meals.

We are grateful and thankful for the Harvest and for what we have

Thanksgiving prayers for the Harvest (17.10.23)

We have been writing thanksgiving prayers for the Harvest and for the gifts that we have received from God (see some examples below). Our introduction and intercessions in Mass, at the Harvest Mass, will reflect this too. 

An update on the effects of the bird feeds on the animal life in our local area

Extra action- In solidarity: A million children praying the Rosary for Peace and Unity (18.10.23)

Special mention (18.10.23)

A special mention to these children who made their own Rosary Beads at home so they could pray as a family. Look closely, one is even made out of conkers so that we are 'Living Sustainably' whilst praying the Rosary.

Very impressive!

Message from Year 6 (18.10.23)

How we ALL must care for God’s earth

 We want to educate people to stop polluting the earth. If we don’t stop polluting, the earth will get warmer. Ollie W

 I want to influence large companies to stop driving vehicles which destroy the air. Kian W

 We want to persuade large companies to use electric vehicles. Kacper

 We must educate people to care for God’s gifts in preparation for the future generations. Jessie

 We must care for the planet. If we continue to destroy it, all the animals will die out. Ollie N

 We want to persuade big companies like McDonald’s to make a change. If they make a change, it makes a big impact on the world, nature, animals and people. Elizabeth

 Big companies make a big impact on our world, they need to change because if they don’t, they will turn our world into a big wasteland where nothing will live. Lorelai

 We want people to realise that they are making pollution and they need to stop driving and start walking. Evie

 Our world is God’s gift and we only get ONE. Sienna

Extra action- Parents' Evening: October 2023 (18.10.23)

We are focused on 'Live Sustainably' and held another Uniform recycling swap during parents' evening. Thanks to the staff and wonderful parents who helped organise this.

Special mention

Zosia, Tymek and Anna W camped out at a homeless shelter over the weekend in solidarity with the homeless. The temperature even went down to a chilly -3 at one point. They raised an impressive £1,307 as part of their Cubs' group. 

Harvest Mass (22.10.23)

It was wonderful to come together to celebrate Mass as a whole school and parish community, with the children leading as the introduction, readings and prayers of intercession and the choir in full force! We offered up prayers in thanksgiving to God for the Harvest and for all the gifts that God has given to us. We are grateful and thankful for what we have. The whole school community have contributed to our collection for the Harvest in solidarity with those in our local community who are need our support with food. We will be delivering our Harvest this week.

Cake sale for Mary's Meals (22.10.23)

After Mass, we held our first cake sale in support work with Mary's Meals, in solidarity with our Global family who are hungry. A special thank you to Layla who spoke to the congregation about the work of Mary's Meals and why we are helping our brothers and sisters around the world.

In the spirit of Living Simply, thanks to the members of our parish, staff, families and children in the Flowers class who made cakes and also to reception who made a banner for our cake table. 

We collected a very impressive £172.35 which means that we can feed 9 children for a whole year!

It was lovely to see the parish and school coming together in this special way, especially as it was Mission Sunday. 

Living Simply Workshops (24.10.23)

A big day for Live Simply Workshops, following the same structure as previous parent and child workshops. Today, we had two workshops for Year 4 (am) and Year 1 (pm). As with all of the previous workshops, parents and children watched the 'Live Simply' animations at the top of the page (see above) along with the Laudato Si animation. The children also made rain gauges to collect rain water and re-use it to water the plants to save using tap water.

We gathered pupil and parent voice and then the families considered ways that we can Live Sustainably in our local area.

(Please click on the photo to make the picture bigger.)

Prayer writing

You can see a development in our prayer writing skills in the prayers that the children and family wrote together.

Posters to be delivered to the local businesses to encourage them to be more sustainable

Some very impressive posters that will definitely encourage the businesses to live more sustainably! 

In response to the shop keeper's request for leaflets to be given out to shoppers, we will use recycled paper to photocopy these images on too as well. 

Thanks to these parents and children who volunteered their time to litter pick, one of the parents is a governor!

In the afternoon, we held our Year 1 Live Simply and Sustainably workshop with parents. Thanks for all the parents who attended. The children particularly enjoyed making bird feeders to encourage more birds into their gardens in the local area.

Below are some examples of the children's pupil and parent voice, ways that we can live more sustainably and samples of their work:

Leaflets for the local shop to share with their customers

Here are a sample of some of the lovely leaflets that Year 1 made to share with the local community to encourage living sustainably.

Harvest donations distribution (26.10.23)

Below are pictures of some of the CTK Stewards who personally delivered the Harvest donations to the SVP, through the links with the Parish, and the food bank who serve our local community. The CTK Stewards will feedback to the children on the impact of the Harvest collection. The food bank was very happy as we are the first school to donate their Harvest foods.

Update- Work with local businesses (27.10.23)

Our leaflets are now in the local shop to encourage sustainability in our local area. The shop keeper will give them out to the shoppers. 

November 2023

A to Z Live Simply Prayers 

Each week in assembly, we will pray for brothers and sisters throughout the world. Children to pray for our brothers and sisters in a different country each week (A to Z). We will particularly pray for countries who may be facing difficult times. Stewards will update the display in school each week. The children will be shown where the country is and which continent and a little information about the country and why we are praying for the people. The children will know we are all part of God's family across the whole world.

A is for Afghanistan (9.11.23)

Coming soon... Book Swap 

As stewards of creation and in an effect to Live Sustainably, we will create a book swap in the form of an outdoor library to be used by families which the pupils will help organise and stock.

We are in the process of making the two Book Swap outdoor libraries watertight.

Local Sustainability leaflets (13.11.23)

We will be placing copies of the leaflets, that the children have made, in the entrance so that all visitors to the office can be informed of how they can Live Sustainably in our local area. 

 Extra Action and long term commitment to sustained change, in response to Living in solidarity and sustainably with our Global family (14.11.23 and for the next five years

Higaonon Tree Growing Project:

Seeds of Change Primary schools in the Archdiocese of Birmingham are invited to join a collaborative project between the Higaonon indigenous people on the island of Mindanao, Southern Philippines and the Columban Missionaries.

We are one of 20 Catholic schools to commit to donate £150 per year, for 5 years.

This guarantees £15000 over the 5 years – approx. 1,000,000 pesos in total – to support the planting and nurturing of Philippine indigenous trees.

This programme is linked to all of the 7 Catholic Social Teaching Principles, focusing mainly on ‘Solidarity’, ‘Rights and Responsibilities’ and ‘Stewardship’, as well as linking to other areas in the curriculum such as Science and Geography.

Children and staff in schools will be able to encounter people in other communities that are experiencing first hand some of the climate issues that affect their home… our common home. Children in schools are becoming more aware and involved with climate change. This project will support and provide further evidence of the work and contribution children are making towards responding to the calls to action Pope Francis has given in Laudato Si’, Fratelli Tutti and the recent papal exhortation Laudate Deum.

This is not solely a fundraising initiative – we aim for education, faith formation and solidarity.

To support this, the children will have a programme of work in school and collective worship, including a live zoom encounter with people in the Philippines.

It programme will launch on Tuesday the 16th of January with a morning for lead teachers at St Columban’s in Solihull. 

B is for Burkina Faso  (16.11.23)

A simple display to reflect that we are praying (each week) for a different country around the world. CTK Stewards will update the display.

Some of the children also volunteered to go to Mass for the people in Burkina Faso who aren't able to go to Mass for fear that they will be hurt, as they are not able to allowed to practise their faith. 

Toilet Day- Living in Solidarity/Sustainability (17.11.23)

On Wednesday (22.11.23) will Toilet Day where we will be thinking our brothers and sisters who do not have the basic necessities we have. We are raising awareness of our water use and hoping to raise money to buy a Terrific Toilet, through CAFOD. The children will participate in an assembly and complete work in school.

A purpose built total block costs £85 so we are hoping to raise money towards that.

Next week, a little potty and camping toilet will be placed outside the school gates (each day) next week- in the morning- for you to put in your small change.

Thanks so much.

Reception Live Sustainably workshop (21.11.23)

Thank you for all the reception families who came to support their family members in reception. It was lovely to see the workshop so well attended. We discussed how we can live sustainably in the local area. The children enjoyed drawing prayers, thinking of ways that we can live sustainably in the local area and making Christmas decorations by re-using old books, rather than buying new decorations. These will be shared with the local community and in the homes of the families in our local community. 

Making a sustainable Christmas decoration

By re-purposing using old books, instead of buying new, we made these lovely Christmas decorations and to encourage the Live Simply and Sustainably message. The creations will be shared with the local community to encourage local sustainability and made another decoration to take home. 

Toilet Day (22.11.23)

Focus- Sustainability and Solidarity 

We gathered together to focus on the God given gift of water and how we can come together to raise money so that we can support brothers and sisters around the world who don't have access to a toilet. The children will be completing work in their classes which will be shared around school and with you at home through a newsletter. 

Update on our fundraising so far...

Thank you to all the families who have contributed to our fundraising to buy a Terrific Toilet through Cafod's World Gifts. We have raised £53.17 so far- so nearly at our £85 target. (£31.83 to go)

A to Z of Prayer- Chad (22.11.23)

The focus for this week is the country Chad and ties in with our work on Toilet Day. The CTK Stewards update the display in school each week. 

Whole school audit of electricity and water use (22.11.23)

Thank you to all the parents and staff who have completed the online questionnaire. We have had a brilliant response so far. The results of the responses will be posted on Friday.

Toilet Day update (24.11.23)

A big thank you!

Our fundraising to buy a Terrific Toilet (£85) through CAFOD World Gifts has been successful so this shows what can all do if we work together to support our brothers and sisters in need around the world. We are so lucky to have access to toilets, water and health care that others in our global family do not. The children have worked so hard this week on activities in class in response to this and participated in an assembly.

We exceeded our target! We raised…£95!

With the extra money, we have purchased two lots of emergency water (£5 each). When disasters strike, this essential charity gift can save lives. Following an emergency, when families lose everything, drinking water is hard to find. With this fast-acting charity gift, we can make an enormous difference to a family in urgent need, providing vital water, to keep them healthy and safe.

Many thanks again for your support.

Electricity and Water Survey (24.11.23)

Thank you to the 105 people (parents and staff) who completed the electricity and water survey to raise awareness of our electricity and water usage and consider the impact on our world. 

Here are the results: 

Main findings from the surveys: 

* We have lots of access to electrical equipment in our homes- 98% of us have a TV with 75% have 2 or more TVs; 73% of us have a gaming console in the house and 72% have an iPad or laptop. 

* Digital downtime (not using any electrical entertainment)- 2/3 of us have considered digital downtime. 58% use digital downtime for a least a hour day and a further 30% will consider using this in their homes. 

* Water use- 83% of us now are conscious that they should turn the taps off/on when brushing their teeth and 75% of which do so.

* Electrical use- 98% are conscious that we should turn off lights when not using them (66% constantly do this and 32% when they remember)

* The impact of electricity and water use on the world (90% are now conscious of the impact of water and electricity use on the world).

A to Z of prayer (27.11.23)

This week's focus of prayer is Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Year 3 prayer service (27.11.23)

 We pray in classes for our brothers and sisters around the world. Here is Year 3 praying for the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Children's work in class on Toilet Day (30.11.23)

All children's contributed to work on Toilet Day so that we can collectively raise awareness of the impact of our water and electricity use on our global family. Children discussed the importance of using re-usuable water bottles  and digital downtime. They have made posters and newsletters to consider the impact of changes we could make.