Catholic Schools Week 2012
Sunday 29th January- 4th February 2012
‘Catholic Schools: Christ’s Living Body Active in Our World.’
This year Catholic Schools Week reflects on the school as a community having as its goal the full development of the pupil. Catholic schools consist of pupils, staff members, parents, school management and patrons. They form a vital part of the local community.
St Colman’s College has been witness to Christ’s Living Body Active in Our World since 1823. As a College Community we are called to serve God by serving each other. We receive the body of Christ so that we can be the Body of Christ for everyone we meet.
‘The mission of all is to be witnesses and ambassadors of the love of Christ in the world’.
The school community is made up of people who form part of each other as the limbs of a body. The Catholic school community, at a crucial time in the lives of young people, is for them the local Church making Christ present in new and unexpected ways but especially by being caring. So the mission of all is to be witnesses and ambassadors of the love of Christ in the world.
‘Catholic Schools: Christ’s Living Body Active in Our World.’
The Catholic School……
• Has at its heart the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ
• Builds an environment of care and concern for others that is rooted in Catholic social teaching
• Creates a safe and happy learning environment where every child is encouraged and enabled to develop to their full and unique potential as human beings, made in the image and likeness of God
• Seeks educational excellence while remaining faithful to their distinctive vision and approach
• Is an inclusive and respectful community, welcoming students of all denominations and of none
• Acknowledges the role of parents as the first teachers in the ways of faith and provides opportunities for their participation in the life of the school
• Works in partnership with parents and the parish community to keep the light of faith burning brightly
• Provides religious education programmes that confirm and deepen the child’s understanding of the Catholic faith so that every child will be as articulate in their faith as in all other areas of the curriculum
• Nurtures the child’s appreciation and understanding of the sacramental life of the Church
• Displays the symbols of our rich Catholic faith tradition
• Spends time as a school community in reflection, prayer and ritual, celebrating the Eucharist and other sacraments, to develop the spiritual life of each person in the school community.
Based on Vision 08: A Vision for Catholic Education in Ireland (A Pastoral Letter of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference)