Catholic Life
Catholic Life at the Ursuline College
URSULINE PRAYER
Gracious God, let us remain in harmony, united together all of one heart and one will. Let us be bound to one another by the bond of love, respecting each other, helping each other, and bearing with each other in Jesus Christ. For if we try to be like this, without any doubt, the Lord God will be in our midst.
St. Angela, pray for us,
St. Ursula, pray for us,
Amen.
The Catholic life of the school is rich in opportunities for children to encounter God and to deepen their relationship with Him as a loving, compassionate Father. Through daily prayer in form time and at the end of the school day, through liturgies, assemblies, and Religious Education lessons, through the relationships and support for each other that children, staff and parents enjoy within the school community, we enable children to come to know and love God. The school value its Ursuline traditions and Saints which guide us in our religious life daily.
‘Do something. Get Moving. Risk new things. Stick with it.’ - Our foundress, St Angela Merici
Religious icons can be found throughout the school with a crucifix in each classroom.
The Christian values at the heart of our Catholic faith incorporate the British values and we aim in everything we do to further each child's sense of commitment and responsibility to themselves, to others and in the wider world.
All staff, led by the Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher’s, Assistant Headteachers, R.E Leader and Governors are aware that the school's foundations are built on the Catholic faith and beliefs and that it is our shared responsibility to transmit the Catholic faith to the children in our care
Staff can pray and work together to support each other in providing Religious Education for our students and demonstrate Christian values.
Learning in RE is at the core of the curriculum and we ensure that the Religious Education Directory is followed in allocating 10% of curriculum time to RE lessons for Key Stage 3 & Key Stage 4 and 5% for Key Stage 5. The Governing Body, led by the Chair and the Governor responsible for Catholic Ethos, provide support and commitment to the central place of RE in the school.
Youth SVP
The Youth SVP group was set up by Ms Gaffney in November 2022 and has now grown to 60 students and 6 staff members. The core motto of the Youth SVP is turning Concern into Action which also compliments the Ursuline College motto of Serviam whilst also being inspired by St. Angela Merici ‘Do something. Get Moving. Risk new things. Stick with it.’
In the weeks towards Christmas the students got busy straight away. They organised a visit from the Salvation Army with Major Richard Oliver who educated the students on the levels of homeless and sofa surfing within their local area. As a result, the students donated 8 sleeping bags to the Salvation Army. The Youth SVP worked with the local adult conference of the SVP to arrange the delivery of a big school food drive over Christmas. The students also created 70 handmade Christmas Cards with personalised messages for the residences of St Michaels Care home in Westgate-on-Sea (just 6min walk from the school). In January, the students were then invited back to make regular visits to the residents who do not usually get a visitation.
Also in January, the local adult conference of the SVP held a celebration mass, welcoming all the student members of the Youth SVP which they thoroughly enjoyed.
Other projects they have completed include creating affirmations for students who may be having a bad day for each of the house offices of St Augustine, St Bernadette, St Francis and St Teresa. The students painted each box in the house colours. They then created affirmations for teachers having who made need to hear kind words from a student which are in the staff room. More ideas from our Youth SVP are creating Reading Spaces for lunchtimes in the school community and organising fundraising events such as ‘Pay £1 to miss a lesson and watch a movie’ to help raise funds for the other projects.
The Easter drive was working with Community Kindness – Thanet to gather as many Easter Eggs as possible from our school community for children who live on or under the poverty line in Thanet. There are currently 9000 children who fall under this line in our local area, some of which attend our school. With the countdown to Easter Sunday, it is a great way to focus on giving and supporting those in need. A total of 350 eggs were donated by the school.
The students have begun to work with Thanet Earth https://thanetearth.com/
towards the end of the academic year where Thanet Earth will donate fruit and vegetables for the Youth SVP to sell at a market to raise funds for the Youth SVP.
They have launched a TikTok account to encourage our school community to join the youth SVP and support any of the fundraising or good causes around the school. Some videos have reached over 7000 views even in its early stages. If you want to keep tabs on what we are up to, follow us @ursulinecollegeyouthsvp.
SCHOOL CATHOLIC LIFE AND LITURGICAL CALENDAR 2023/24 DRAFT
Mass/ Liturgy | Date | Time |
STAFF LITURGY | Friday 1st September 2023 | 8.50am |
YEAR 7 WECLOME LITURGY | Week beginning 4th September 2023 | TBC |
ST TERESA OF CALCUTTA | 5th September 2023 | All day TBC |
EDUCATION SUNDAY | Sunday 10th September 2023 | All day |
DIOCESAN EDCUCATION MASS | Wednesday 20th September 2023
| All Day Event (if we are going) Mass begins at 10.45am |
KCSP MASS, AYLESFORD | Wednesday 27th September 2023 | All Day Event – we are going |
SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI | Wednesday 4th October 2023 | All Day |
CAFOD HARVEST FAMILY FAST DAY HARVEST FESTIVAL LITURGY | Friday, 6th October 2023 | All Day |
URSULINE CENTENARY of the English Province of the Roman Union MASS | Friday, 13th October 2023 A Mass to mark the end of The Ursuline Centenary Mass in London | All Day Event |
FEAST OF ST URSULA | Thursday, 21st October 2022
| All Day |
ALL SAINTS - SOLEMNITY | Wednesday, 1st November 2023 | School closed |
ALL SOULS | Wednesday, 2nd November 2023 | All day |
Year 8 In House Retreat | Week beginning 20th November 2023 Date TBC
| Two Mornings/ All Day |
ADVENT BEGINS (Sunday 3rd December ) GROUP ADVENT LITURGIES DURING ASSEMBLY TIME in Chapel led by Chaplain and Sixth Form Team (for Sixth Form) | Week beginning 4th December 2023 | Form Time |
The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Solemnity | Friday, 8th December 2023 | All day School closed |
CAROL SERVICE in School Chapel | Thursday 14th December 2023 This would be an after-school event – invite parents etc. for a carol Service | TBC |
CHRISTMAS LITURGIES | Monday 18th December 2023 In year groups in Chapel | TBC nearer the time |
CHARITY CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY | Will this be the last day of term or Friday before? | All day |
NATVITY OF THE LORD - Solemnity | Monday 25th December 2023 | School Closed |
Mary, Mother of God Solemnity | Monday, 1st January 2024 | All day School closed |
THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD | Moved to Sunday 7th January because falls on a Saturday this year. (Holy day of Obligation) | All day School closed |
ST. ANGELA MERICI FEAST DAY
WHOLE SCHOOL MASS/ Year Group Masses? | Saturday 27th January 2024
Friday 26th January 2024
| All day
TBC |
ASH WEDNESDAY | Wednesday 14th Feb 2024 | All Day School Closed |
LENT BEGINS LENTEN HOUSE GROUP LITURGIES Led by Chaplain (in Chapel) and Sixth Form Team (for Sixth Form) | Week beginning 19th February 2024 | Form Time |
CAFOD LENT FAMILY FAST DAY | Friday, 23rd February 2024 | All day |
Year 9 In House Retreat | Week beginning 4th March 2024 Date TBC
| Two Mornings/ All Day |
Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Solemnity | Tuesday, 19th March 2024 | All day
|
PALM SUNDAY | Sunday, 24th March 2024 | All day |
YEAR GROUP EASTER LITURGIES in Chapel | Thursday 30th March 2024 | TBC nearer the time |
MAUNDY/HOLY THURSDAY | Thursday, 28th March 2024 | All day School Closed |
GOOD FRIDAY | Friday, 29th March 2024 | All day School Closed |
EASTER SUNDAY | Sunday, 31st March 2024 | All day School Closed |
The Annunciation of the Lord - Solemnity | Monday, 8th April 2024 | All day School closed |
SAINT BERNADETTE SOUBIROU | Tuesday 16th April 2024 | All day School Closed |
Saint George - Solemnity | Tuesday, 23rd April 2024 | All day School closed |
SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD | Thursday 9th May 2024 HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION LITURGY OF THE WORD
| All day
TBC |
YEAR 11 MASS/LITURGY/ASSEMBLY AND CELEBRATION | FRIDAY 10th May? TBC (BEFORE EXAMS BEGIN) | TBC |
PENTECOST | Sunday, 19th May 2024 | All Day School closed |
YEAR 13 LITURGY AND CELERBATION | FRIDAY 24th May? TBC | 1pm TBC |
ST AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY | Monday, 27th May 2024
| All day School closed |
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY | Sunday, 26th May 2024 | All day School closed |
SOLEMNITY – CORPUS CHRISTI | Sunday, 2nd June 2024 | All day School closed |
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Solemnity | Friday, 7th June 2024 | All day
|
Birth of John the Baptiste, Solemnity | Monday, 24th June 2024 | All day
|
KCSP GOD WHO SPEAKS MASS | TBC | TBC |
SOLEMNITY OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL Solemnity | Sunday 30th June 2024 because falls on a Saturday this year. HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION | All day School closed |
Year 7 In House Retreat/ Aylesford retreat | Week beginning 8th July 2024 Date TBC
| Two Mornings/ |
END OF YEAR CELEBRATIONS | Monday 22nd July/ Tuesday 23rd July 2024 | TBC nearer the time |
SOLEMNITY OF THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, Solemnity | Thursday 15th August 2024 | All day School closed |