We are SANCTUS your Pupil Chaplaincy team!

Pupil Chaplaincy has a very high profile in our school and we are now on our third team of pupil Chaplains.  Each team completes a two year cycle. This year St Thomas More has a dedicated team of pupil Chaplains who have a vital role to play in enhancing the Religious Life of our school. 

Each Chaplain has to apply for this important job and is accepted by the RE lead and the retiring Chaplaincy team. The pupils are selected when they reach the summer term of Year 4 and shadow the existing members and learn how to be a member of the team and the responsibilities that come with the role.

Our Pupil Chaplains are easily identified in school by their special Chaplain badge. They work hard to promote our Catholic faith in school but they are also a wonderful link between the school and our parish. 

“In Sanctus we do many jobs such as, prayer club designed for each year group, reading in Mass, hosting competitions, handing out the Wednesday Word, checking and cleaning the Oratory and checking class RE altars and displays. There are only six of us in Sanctus but we get the job done quick. I feel very honoured to be a part of Sanctus and I really enjoy it.”

Our chaplaincy group goes by the name of Sanctus. The roles and responsibilities of our Sanctus team are below. We are very proud of our pupil chaplains and they are a credit to us.

Our Children's Mission

I will be faithful to God

I understand that I have a role in God's world

I am an independent learner

I have high expectations of myself

Aims

To encourage pupils to live their faith.

To help the school to grow as a community of faith.

To support the school in its Mission Statement.

To involve pupils in fundraising for charities.

To encourage pupils to use the 5B's when they are learning.

To support with liturgy, prayer and the spiritual life of the school.

Our duties include

Whole school competitions- most recently, we looked at the Holy Rosary and asked the children what the Rosary means to you. The entries included prayers, drawings and poems.

Prayer Club- We host a prayer club weekly for every year group.

Liturgical Dance - We choreograph liturgical dance with other children across the school.

UNICEF- They work closely with our UNICEF group to promote global issues.

Mass- We play a role in our whole school and class Masses.

Catholic Social Teaching - We are promoting the strands of CST in our prayer club.

Inspections- SANCTUS have a vital role in the inspections that take place across the academic year. They were invited to speak with our inspectors from OfSTED and Section 48 team. 

A comment from our most recent Section 48 report states;

'The ‘Sanctus’ group promote Religious Education around the school and lead on the development of many faith based activities. They were involved in the setting up of the prayer garden demonstrating faith in action. The ‘Charities’ group encourages other pupils to contribute to a range of different charities in school. Other tasks include pupils carry out include welcoming new pupils and staff to our school, leading Masses and Liturgical events, delivering whole school morning worship through the school broadcast system and leading fundraising initiatives.'

Prayer Club Year 2 13th March 2024

Today, our children focused on the importance of 'Loving thy neighbour' and how the Common Good is loved out through our love for one another. The children wrote 'Thank you'  prayers to God for the gist of love.

Prayer Club Year 3  28th February 2024

Prayer club is in full swing this Lent with the children deepening their spirituality and relationship with God. It is through our Human Dignity and Common Good that we come together with Christ.

Prayer Club 28th March 2023

Today SANCTUS planned and led a prayer club based on Mark 11:1-10 - Palm Sunday. The children listened to the word of God and were able to reflect on how we welcome others into our school, home and wider community. The children were able to make clear links to Human Dignity and Common Good. The children shared their ideas on a palm leaf and on the board for reference.

Prayer club 1st March 2023 Year 2 Children

Today we held prayer club for the children in Year 2. We focused on the Gospel of Matthew 4:1-11 and the season of Lent. We listened to the Gospel and discussed how we are like Jesus and resist temptation in our everyday lives and how we can use the power of the Holy Spirit to help us. We linked this to Distributive Justice, Solidarity and Human Dignity focusing on how we can help ourselves as well as others to learn from their mistakes and resist temptation. We also thought about our own Lenten promises and asked Jesus to send the Holy Spirit to guide us through a moment of silent prayer and reflection.