Visit from Bishop Tom at St Teresa’s Catholic Primary School in Upholland

On Monday 18th March, Bishop Tom Neylon visited the school where he took part in a special Collective Worship led by the school’s Service Team – The DOVES (which stands for Demonstrating Our Values through Evangelisation and Service).

The DOVES, who are Year 5 and Year 6 pupils, shared the actions that have been completed over the past two years in order to achieve the CAFOD Live Simply Award. The Live Simply Award encourages schools and parishes to focus on Living Simply, Living Sustainably and Living in Solidarity with the poor.

Pupils have carried out a wide range of Live Simply activities, such as holding a retreat for all of the Service Teams in their local primary schools, hosting a Live Simply Parish Mass during the Sunday Family Mass at St Teresa’s Church and fundraising for CAFOD and other charities during their Lenten and Christmas Markets.

Bishop Tom Neylon presented the Live Simply Award Plaque to the Headteacher, Mrs Cecilia Rigby. Doreen and Jim Ellison, CAFOD volunteers who have attended many events at St Teresa’s School as well as delivering assemblies and workshops about Catholic Social Teaching, joined the celebrations.

Also in attendance was St Teresa’s Parish Priest Father Philip Kehoe and members of the school’s governing body.

Mrs Rigby said: “We are delighted to receive the Live Simply Award and to have Bishop Tom present it is a real honour. Our vision is that this award provides a long-lasting legacy of sustained awareness of environmental issues, encouraging all members of our school community to live both sustainably and in solidarity with the poor.”

Over recent months, St Teresa’s School Community have been reviewing their Mission Statement and Values. They saw the Bishop’s visit as a great opportunity to relaunch their Mission Statement, Values, Motto and School Prayer. After the Collective Worship, members of the DOVES team took Bishop Tom on a tour of the school where he saw pupils working in mixed aged groups from Reception to Year 6 to create art work which will contribute to a Mission Statement mural.