Prayer Life

At Our Lady of Grace Catholic Infant School, prayer and liturgy play a fundamental part of daily school life and enables us to all join together as one in prayer and worship. Sometimes, this will be in class prayer, at other times it may involve children in the year group joining together in prayer, or it may be in a year group assembly or as a whole school.

Children are encouraged to learn a selection of traditional prayers in each year group, but are also encouraged to devise their own personal prayers. Please follow the link below to see the progression of prayer learned in each year. Every classroom has a focal point for prayer which is appropriate to the liturgical season.

Classroom Prayers - please click here.

Children are introduced to a variety of different ways of praying.

quiet reflection / meditation
spontaneous prayer
praying together
writing our own prayers
prayers through music
learning traditional Catholic prayers

Growing Closer to God

In its simplest form, prayer is defined as “talking to God.” It is a personal time where we open our hearts to our Heavenly Father; bringing everything in our hearts to Him.

Prayer can be a powerful force for change in our lives, and the importance of doing it on a daily basis should be instilled in our children.

Communication is the foundation for success in any relationship. When we communicate openly and freely with each other, we learn to know each other as individuals. This principle also applies to our relationship with God. By talking to God, we can learn more about who He is and what plan He has for us.

Liturgical Year

As an integral part of our Catholic ethos, all pupils at Our Lady of Grace Infants are made aware, throughout the school year, of the changes and celebrations relating to the Church’s Liturgical Year. All of our classes, assembly prayer spaces and displays reflect the Liturgical colour. We spend time in our Religious Education lessons looking at the events in the churches calendar and we celebrate many of them together through collective worship.

Autumn

Prayer tables and displays across the school are green at the start of the academic year .
Month of the Rosary: October is the month of the Rosary. Children learn about the Rosary and why it is an important prayer given to us by Mary. The children have the opportunity to make their own Rosary beads and learn the prayers contained in the Rosary.

Remembrance: Children learn about Remembrance and why November is the month of the Holy Souls. Children in Year 2 lead the Mass at the church of St Mary and St Andrew.
Advent: The prayer areas are changed to purple. We light the candles on our Advent Wreath to remind us that we are coming out of the darkness into the light.
Advent Liturgies: As part of our Advent reflection, each year group from Nursery to Year 2 have Advent liturgies where 10 parents are invited to share in prayer and reflection.
Christmas: Celebration of the Nativity through drama . Children in Nursery, Reception and Year 1 retell the story of The Birth of Jesus and Year 2 take part in a carol concert.
Spring

Prayer tables are white for the Christmas season then green for Ordinary Time after the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord.
- Ash Wednesday: To mark the beginning of Lent children receive Ashes from Fr Michael
- Lent: The prayer tables are changed to purple.
- Lent Liturgies: As part of our Lent reflection, each year group from Nursery to Year 2 have lent liturgies where 10 parents are invited to share in prayer and reflection.
- Stations of the Cross: The children from Reception to Year 2 visit the Stations of the Cross at St. Mary and St Andrew.
Easter – The Resurrection of our Lord is celebrated during the school holidays, however it is covered through our Religious Education unit of work. Gospel assemblies and displays highlight the importance of this feast.

Summer

Prayer tables are white for the Easter season until Pentecost where they change to green for Ordinary Time.

May the month of Mary:- In Honour of Our Lady the children participate in celebrating her jointly with our Junior school.
- Ascension: Covered in our Religious Education units of work.
- Be-spirited Week : Children from Nursery to Year 2 take part in a week of spiritual reflection and prayer.
- Pentecost: Covered in our Religious Education units of work
- Pentecost Liturgies: As part of our Pentecost reflection, each year group from Nursery to Year 2 have Pentecost liturgies where 10 parents are invited to share in prayer and reflection.
- Leavers Mass : Year 2 take part in All Saints Trust Mass
- Other faiths - Children learn about Judaism and visit different synagogues.

Classroom Worship

This takes places each Wednesday and Thursday. Each week, different children in each class prepare and lead their class in worship. The children are guided by adults to prepare for this.

Hymn Practice

Each Tuesday morning, the children from Reception to Year 2 gather together to hear the word and sing songs of praise to God. They practise hymns and songs that we use for our assemblies and Masses.

Gospel Assemblies

Each Monday morning, the children from Reception to Year 2 gather together for our Gospel assembly that is led by the Headteacher. The theme of this assembly is determined by the Liturgical calendar and the Gospel.

Celebration Assemblies

Each Friday the whole school community comes together for a time of celebration and collective worship. We celebrate the achievements of the school with our Star of the Week certificates being distributed alongside house points and attendance awards. We end each week together by thanking God for all He has done to help us achieve and learn.

Mass

Throughout the year we have the joy of celebrating the Sacrament of the Eucharist in St Mary & St Andrew Church in Dollis Hill. Children help to prepare and lead the Mass through reading and bringing up the gifts. On different occasions families are invited to join us for Mass. Children attend the parish mass on the Feast Day of their class Saint.

Liturgies

Throughout the year, to mark important events in the Church’s liturgical year, we hold special Liturgies.

St Rose's Chapel and Prayer Garden

Throughout the year, the children will visit St Rose's Chapel and Prayer Garden within our local community to enhance their prayer life.

Please click here to see our Prayer and Liturgy policy