Christ The King Primary School Thornbury, Bristol
Christ The King Primary School Thornbury, Bristol
Christ The King Primary School Thornbury, Bristol

LITURGICAL CALENDAR





Our liturgical celebrations at Christ the King follow the Church’s liturgical calendar.


Throughout the school year, each class has the opportunity to have a Class Mass led by Father George. These special masses provide a more personal experience of Mass for the children, celebrated at their level.  Children are encouraged to participate as fully as possible.

Autumn:


Harvest:  During October we dedicate a week to celebrating Harvest. During this week we collect dried and tinned goods which we donate to Thornbury Food Bank which helps our local community who are struggling to afford food. During this week we also have a whole school Harvest Festival celebration, where each class prepares and performs poems, plays, songs and prayers or produces beautiful pieces of art to share with the school. Parents are invited to attend.


All Saints Day: We celebrate this Holy Day of obligation with a parish/school mass at school. Parents are invited to attend.


Winter:


Remembrance Service:  On Remembrance Day we hold a special assembly where we remember all those who served and died in the war and who are still protecting our country today.


Christ the King Feast Day:  to celebrate our school’s feast day, the whole school walk down to the Church to celebrate Mass with the Parish. We then have a special lunch back at school and then do religious craft activities in the afternoon based on Christ the King.


Advent:  during Advent we hold whole school weekly reflections. We support our children to think about the true meaning of Christmas and what it means to them and their families.


Nativity:  towards the end of term 2 we hold our Nativity productions to tell the true story of Christmas. Year 1 and Year 2 do a Nativity Play and our Reception class do their own Nativity. This is shared with parents and the school community.


KS2 Carol Service:  At the end of term 2 children in KS2 re-tell the Christmas story through scripture readings, prayer and song in an evening performance for parents at Christ the King Church.  The Parishioners provide all the music and they come into school hymn practises to practise with the children.


Christmas Mass:  during the last week of term 2 the whole school celebrates Mass.  Parents are invited to attend with members of the parish.

Spring:


Epiphany Mass: at the start of term 3 we celebrate our new year with a whole school mass. The theme of this mass is Epiphany. Parents are invited to attend with members of the parish.


Ash Wednesday: we begin our Lenten preparations with our Ash Wednesday Mass which is held at school.


Lent: during Lent we hold whole school weekly reflections. We support our children to reflect on what Lent means to them and how they can grow closer to God during Lent.


Lent Trail: During Lent our Chaplaincy Team organise a Lent Trail for the whole school. This involves a series of activities that the children take part in that help them to deepen their relationship with God.


Holy Week: during the last week of term, we hold a Holy Week at school. There are daily assemblies, acted out by different classes which retell the events of Holy Week. We look at the events of Palm Sunday, The Last Supper, the Betrayal of Jesus and then Stations of the Cross.


Maundy Thursday Mass: at the end of our Holy Week, the whole school attends a special Maundy Thursday Mass at school.  This helps the children to prepare for and understand the events of The Last Supper.

Summer:


Easter Mass: we start our summer term with an Easter Mass to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. This is held at school and Parishioners are invited to attend.


Crowning of Mary: At Christ the King, we dedicate the month of May to our Lady, Mary. We hold a special service where we crown Mary with fresh flowers and we remember her and significant events in her life.  Children are invited to bring in fresh flowers for this event, which we then give to our local care home.


Pentecost Mass: this is held at school and Parishioners are invited to attend.


First Holy Communion: Many of our pupils, and those of our local community, work towards receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion during January to May. The parish lead the preparation of this sacrament for our children.


Corpus Christi Mass: This is celebrated at school. Our First Holy Communion children are invited to wear their special outfits to school and they lead the readings during Mass. They are able to receive the body and blood of Christ in front of their school family.

Leaver’s Mass: During this Mass, we say goodbye to our Year 6 Leavers as well as any other members of our school family that are moving on.

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