Values at St.Mary's

Values at St Mary’s

At the end of the last school year, the staff reviewed our Mission Statement and Values. We carefully reviewed our values system in terms of the formation that we provide for our children for their future lives.

It was decided that we would adopt the Jesuit Values Profile at St Mary’s.

The Jesuit Pupil Profile was set up in 2013 in response to the question: What kind of people do we hope our pupils are growing to be? These values are not random but are a vision of what a good and virtuous person should be, rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The values are listed in the tree image and are arranged in pairs (colour coded). The concept is that the tree symbolises the growth of our young people and that we are responsible in partnership for helping their formation in these respects.

During term 3 ( January and February) we will move on to focus on a new pair of values whilst not forgetting the previous values and how these shape the

people we all aspire to be.

Next term’s values will be to help the children to become Compassionate towards others, near and far, especially the less fortunate; and Loving through their just actions and forgiving words

This is linked to Amethyst gem power – to co-operate – learn from and with others.

We ask parents and staff to support the children in developing these values in the following ways:

To listen to our children’s cares and concerns and to share their joys and to see the world through their eyes, to step into their shoes, to empathize. Whilst doing this we should encourage them to do this for others.

Being able to empathize is a virtue very necessary for being a good human being. To live successfully in a family, or a school community, or workplace, or in wider society, means being able to see, understand and feel things from other points of view, even ones to which we may not be particularly sympathetic. In the Christian tradition, it is never enough simply to be attentive: we must allow ourselves to be moved by what we see, especially by the plight of those who suffer or are less fortunate than we are.

Getting children to stop and notice how others are experiencing their lives, and how they feel, and why they say and believe what they do, is an important aspect of parenting and teaching. Ultimately, it is what makes us kind and, at a deeper level, opens up the possibility of being loving through our just and merciful actions and forgiving words.

The more we love others, the more we are truly human and most truly ourselves. By being compassionate and loving in the way pupils are treated, especially when a pupil is in trouble; and by opening pupils’ eyes to those who suffer poverty, injustice or violence.

Mission Week 2017

Today, there was a fair in our school. All the money raised will be donated to Salesian missions, where missionaries show the light of Christ and work to make lives of the disadvantaged youth of a few South African countries better. Last week, we collected things which we were selling afterwards - things like toys, crayons, board games, etc. But it wasn't a typical jumble sale! First of all, the collected things were supposed to be new. Each class had been asked to bring a big suitcase to school, as if we were getting ready for a real expedition! Day by day, throughout the week, the suitcases were being filled with things for the fair. Cool we can help!

Meanwhile, there was a short performance for students in our gym. Students from Year 7 (13-year-olds) sang some songs and read information about Salesian missions in South Africa. The students played various instruments such as bass guitar, violin and flute. One of our sisters joined them too, and played the guitar. Also, we had a special guest – a real missionary, a sister, who told us all about her work in Africa.

Holy wins (31st October)

The 1^st of November is a holiday when we celebrate All Saints' Day. We don't go to school, but visit the cemeteries and pray, put flowers and special lamps or candles on the graves of our family and friends who have already gone to the Lord.

But if you visited our school the day before, you could see that it was full of saints! It is not a common sight at school ;) All students were dressed as saints on that day and we had a ball, played games, searched the chambers of saints and went in a colourful parade to the city centre, singing religious songs. It was a lot of fun and we also got to know a number of saints better!

About our school in Wroclaw

Hi everyone,

It is our first note on this blog, so we would like to introduce our school. We are John Paul II’s Salesian Primary School in Wroclaw, Poland. Although John Paul II is our main patron, as in any Salesian school, our father and teacher is also Saint John Bosco or Don Bosco. 

The school’s foundation is Don Bosco’s system which consists of three aspects: loving kindness, reason, and religion.

Together with our sisters, teachers and families we make a Salesian family, where the school is a house, a church, a playground and a place of learning for us. Here we can grow to build our future as good citizens, while being faithful to Jesus.