Caritas Ambassador 2023-2024
Caritas Ambassadors is a programme for both primary and secondary schools created by Caritas Westminster. It aims to equip pupils with a strong understanding of Catholic Social Teaching and how we can put it into action in our daily lives.
The programme runs through six key themes of Catholic Social Teaching (CTS) and helps the trainee Ambassadors (Yeat 3-Year 6) to think about social justice issues in their local community, before taking them through responding by developing and running their own social action project. It also introduces them to the work of Caritas Westminster, offering practical examples of how we use Catholic Social Teaching to influence our work.
Keep an eye out here on the Caritas page for updates about their work!
Caritas Ambassadors Social Action Project: June 2024
As you are aware, we have been thinking about social issues in our local community and what we can do to make a difference and the Caritas Ambassadors have decided to support the elderly in our community.
We would like the pupils in Key Stage 2 (Years 3-6 only), to bring donations of flowers to school which will then be given to our elderly neighbours, relations or housebound in our local area. Please send the flowers in with your child on the morning of Friday 7th June - we ask that you do not send in roses or other similar flowers which may have sharp thorns as the Caritas Ambassadors will be handling the flowers.
The flowers will then be made into bouquets by our Caritas Ambassadors for distribution. Please, inform the school if your child would like to receive a bouquet for an elderly neighbour, relation or housebound in your local area. The bouquet will be sent home with your child on the Friday afternoon for you to deliver. For this project to work we do need requests. All children from Nursery to Year 6 can request a donation for someone special (grandmother/father, elderly neighbour etc) however we are only requesting Years 3-6 to bring in flowers for the project. We ask that you request donations by Wednesday 5th June via the school office.
This is such a lovely service and a wonderful initiative by our Caritas Ambassadors and I’m sure you will help us in supporting and reaching out to the vulnerable in society.
Thank you for your continued support.
The Caritas Ambassadors Team
Social Action Project: Friday 7th June
Thank you to all the pupils who took part in our social action project at school on Friday 7th June, in order to support the elderly in our local community.
Families and pupils from Year 3-Year 6 were asked to bring in flower donations and the support we received was overwhelming!
I’m sure you all agree, it was wonderful to see so many children from Nursery to Year 6 leave school with beautifully arranged bouquets. The Caritas Ambassadors did an amazing job at arranging the flowers and I am so truly very proud of them and their dedication.
We thank you so much for helping us with this project as without your support and donations this would not have been possible.
Caritas Ambassador: Lenten Appeals 2024
On behalf of the Caritas Ambassadors, we would like to say a huge thank you to the pupils of St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Primary School for all their fundraising efforts last term and for their very kind donations towards our chosen Lenten Appeals for 2024: Catholic Children’s Society (CCS), Marie Curie- The Great Daffodil Appeal and the Children’s Book Project. Please see the messages of thanks that the school has received due to your kindness and generosity.
We thank you so much for your fantastic fundraising efforts. Just a quick note to say that your donation of £183 has been received and processed. I have posted a letter of acknowledgement for your records and a thank you certificate to your school. Thank you again for your kind support of Marie Curie during the Great Daffodil Appeal! Thanks to the efforts of St. Mary of the Angels, more people will have access to our health care and support service.
Community Fundraiser, Marie Curie
Thank you so much to you and your lovely school for your amazing fundraising efforts. My colleague Marie collected another donation from your school today taking your lent donation to a total of £635.35! Thanks again to you, all the staff and all pupils for all your kind efforts in raising this money. We are grateful for your support, and we will ensure it reaches the children and families that need it the most. We will of course follow up with a proper letter of thanks and a certificate for your school.
Catholic Children's Society (Westminster)
Caritas Ambassador: Tuesday 23rd April 2024
We are also delighted to say that on Tuesday 23rd April, our Caritas Ambassadors were presented with their Caritas Ambassador badges by Sister Silvana Dallanegra from Caritas Westminster, in recognition of all their work relating to Catholic Social Teaching (CST). Caritas Ambassadors is a programme for both primary and secondary schools created by Caritas Westminster. It aims to equip pupils with a strong understanding of Catholic Social Teaching and how we can put it into action in our daily lives. As a group, we are thinking about social issues in our local community and what we can do to make a difference. Please keep an eye out for more exciting initiatives-coming soon!
Caritas Advent Giving Calendar 2023
Inspired by Pope Francis, we asked our families to take part in our ‘Caritas Advent Giving Calendar’ project this Advent. Each class was assigned an item that the foodbank required from our ‘Caritas Advent Giving Calendar.’ We invited the children to bring in their donations on the date assigned to their class.
Thank you also to our wonderful, Caritas Ambassadors who gave up their time to deliver some of the goods donated to Westbourne Park Pantry. Whilst at the pantry the children got a tour of how the pantry operates and were able to asks the organisers and volunteers questions about the day-to-day running’s of the pantry.
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Advent Giving Calendar 2023 | [pdf 297KB] |
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Caritas Assembly: Tuesday 17th October 2023
On Tuesday 17th October, we welcomed three special visitors to our school, Sister Silvana Dallanegra, Fr. Keith and Nigel the Penguin. Sister Silvana delivered a wonderful assembly, teaching and informing the pupils of about our Caritas Ambassadors program and our call to serve.
Our wonderful Mini Vinnies and Pupil Chaplaincy Team will work together this year to undertake the task of imagining, planning and developing ways of making their dreams for our future world a reality.
We will continue to work closely with Sister Silvana and Fr. Keith to develop a social action project for our school and local area.
Keep an eye out here on the Caritas page for updates about their work!
Caritas Ambassador Festival: Tuesday 21st May
On Tuesday 21st May, our Caritas Ambassadors travelled to Westminster Cathedral to take part in the Caritas Ambassadors Festival. It was a wonderful opportunity for our pupils to share our Caritas journey with other Westminster schools and be inspired by their social action projects. Our Ambassadors were honoured to meet Bishop Paul McAleenan, the Bishop for Caritas, who led a celebration liturgy during which we were delighted to receive a certificate in recognition and celebration of all our Ambassadors’ learning and social action projects to date.
Our Caritas Ambassadors continue to reflect on social issues in our local community and what we can do to as a school community to make a difference. We have decided to support the elderly in our community and look forward to informing you about our up-in coming social action project for the summer term.
Photography © 2024 Paul Hampartsoumian
Telephone: 07973 540004 @paulhiphop
