S. Peter s Christian Newsletter Summer Term 2015 Dear Reader, This term s newsletter has its focus on the Christian saints above. They are: St. Aidan, St. Bernadette, St. Chad, St. David, St. Elizabeth and St. Francis. What is a saint? A saint is someone who stands out for their exceptional holiness throughout life. In the church a person has to be canonized before they can become a saint. Many of the Christian saints became saints hundreds of years ago. However we do have modern day saints such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta. We can learn a lot from saints. Their lifestyle was one that often thought about others rather than themselves. They truly followed the Golden Rule, Treat others as you would want to be treated and the teaching of Jesus, To love one another. Many of these saints showed the Christian Values and our Five Keys to Learning that we as a school also value. The following pages will remind you of our Christian Values 1
and our Five Learning Keys and how these saints showed them in their daily lives. Perhaps we also can try to emulate their example in our own lives both in and outside of school. The Christian Values of our School are: Love (Agape) Courage and Perseverance Compassion Faith Hope and Trust Forgiveness Fellowship, Friendship and Community Humility The Five Keys to Learning of our School are: 2
Our school s Christian Values are grounded in scripture from the Bible. They also can be linked to our Five Keys to Learning. This is shown in the table below: Love (Agape) Key to learning: Be Respectful The Golden Rule, Treat others as you would want to be treated, Gospel of Luke We should treat each other with respect and fairness at school. This includes all members of our school community. Respect others and treat them like you would want someone to treat you. Courage and Perseverance Key to learning: Be Reflective Compassion Key to learning: Be Supportive Faith Key to learning: Be an Active Learner Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for God will be with you wherever you go, The Book of Joshua Never give up, even when things get tough at school. Have courage. Persevere and stick at it. Reflect on your learning. Be glad with those that are glad. Be sad with those that are sad, The Letter to the Romans In school we should support one another in times of sadness and celebrate in times of joy. Show compassion and support others. Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see, The Letter to the Hebrews We should never give up. Faith is the key, in God and in ourselves. Be an active learner, have faith in yourself. 3
Hope and Trust Key to learning: Be an Active Learner Forgiveness Key to learning: Be Reflective Fellowship, Friendship and Community Key to learning: Be Supportive Humility Key to learning: Be Reflective Depend on God; trust Him and He will take care of you, The Book of Proverbs With hope and trust we can look forward to the future. We should make the most of our time in school and not waste it. Be an active learner, have trust in your abilities. Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgive one another, just as God through Jesus, has forgiven you, The Letter to the Ephesians Forgiveness is key. Yes there are times when we hurt each other but it should always end in forgiveness and reconciliation. Never let the sun go down on your anger. Reflect on your actions. A friend loves at all times, The Book of Proverbs Our school community should be built on friendship. As a school we are a family, we should support everyone throughout our school community. Do nothing for selfish reasons, or out of vanity, but in humility. Always think of others better than yourself, The Letter to the Philippians Being humble and realising that we are not superior to others. We are all equal in the eyes of God. You should not be rude or arrogant towards others irrespective of who they are. 4
Reflect on showing humility and not arrogance. So how did those Christian saints mentioned in the introduction of this newsletter show some of these Christian Values and the Five Keys to Learning in their own lives? St. Aidan Of Lindisfarne, England "He promoted peace and love, purity and humility ; he was above anger and greed, and despised pride and arrogance; he set himself to keep and teach the laws of God, and was diligent in study of the Bible and in prayer..." Aidan lived in the 7th Century A.D. You can see from this quote that Aidan valued peace, LOVE, purity and HUMILITY. Two of our Christian Values are LOVE and HUMILITY. What did these words mean for Aidan? LOVE meant to, treat others as you yourself would want to be treated. Aidan treated people with equality. He treated all people he met with dignity. He was a man of COMPASSION. He reached out to the poor and needy in his community. In the same way we should reach out to those within our school community and show COMPASSION towards them. Key to Learning: Be Supportive St. Bernadette of Lourdes, France Love overcomes, love delights Those who love Jesus rejoice. Jesus, my God, I love you above all things. Bernadette was a simple French girl who lived in the 19th Century. She is famous for seeing visions of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Many people at the time did not believe her. They thought her a liar. However she showed COURAGE and PERSEVERANCE in 5
what she believed was true. She did not give up, and was later believed. Lourdes today is a famous place for Christian Pilgrimage. Many sick and needy people go there in hope of a miracle. Bernadette showed our school s Christian Values of COURAGE and PERSEVERANCE. We also should try to do the same. We should not give up too easily, particularly when things get difficult. Key to Learning: Be Resilient. St. Chad of Lichfield, England We pray that we would always seek to serve, rather than to be served, to love rather than to seek praise, and to be a light in the darkness for others seeking truth. Amen. Chad lived in the 7th Century A.D. and was one of the bishops of Lichfield. As a church school we are linked to the Diocese of Lichfield, so Chad is an important saint that we could exemplify as a school community. His focus was on prayer and service to others. This links into our school s Christian Values of FELLOWSHIP, FRIENDSHIP and COMMUNITY. As a school COMMUNITY we should serve one another. We should not think of ourselves better than others. The attitude of Chad follows the Golden Rule, Treat others as you yourself would want to be treated. Key to Learning: Be Reflective. St. David of Wales We give thanks for David s purity and simplicity of life. We give thanks for his gentleness and leadership. David lived in the 6th Century A.D. He is the patron saint of Wales. He is known for his life of prayer, preaching and teaching the Bible. He was a humble man, putting the Christian Value of HUMILITY before anything else. Like 6
David we too should show HUMILITY in the way we conduct ourselves within our school community. David was a leader, leading by example. We too could lead through our Christian example of HUMILITY. Key to Learning: Be Reflective. St. Elizabeth of Hungary Saint Elizabeth, you were most generous toward the poor and to those in need. Elizabeth was born into the Hungarian royal family in the 12th Century A.D. When her husband died she dedicated most of her life to helping the poor and needy. She showed the Christian Values of COMPASSION and LOVE towards others. She established many charities and places where the poor, sick and needy could go to be cared for. In the picture opposite you can see her feeding a person in need. In the same way we as a school should, and do, provide charity events to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves. Key to Learning: Be Supportive. St. Francis of Assisi, Italy Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy. Francis was born in the 12th Century A.D. After an illness he had a conversion experience which resulted in him giving all his money away and dedicating his life to God. He established an order of monks that dedicated their lives to those in need. This became known as the Franciscan Order of Monks. Francis had a close connection 7
to nature. He loved the environment with its different plants and animals. For many Christians he gives the example as to how they should look after and care for the environment. Francis is famous for the following prayer. This prayer clearly shows the Christian Values of: LOVE, FAITH, HOPE and COMPASSION. As a school community we should try to do the same. Key to Learning: Be Respectful, Be Supportive & Be Reflective 8