Seaneen Warnock, BEd 4 student on school experience at St Colman's College Newry celebrated with her pupils:

Catherine Heaney, BEd 4 student at Sacred Heart Grammar School, Newry shares how her school celebrated Catholic Schools Week.

The Sacred Heart Grammar School’s motto is “Deus Meus et Omnia”, which means "My God and my All", echoing what St Francis understood as the greatest of all truths: that God is all and only He is enough.

With the help of their RE teachers, each class in the school participated in a prayer service in the oratory to celebrate Catholic Schools Week. Pupils read Matthew 22:34-40 and reflected on how they are called as individuals to follow the teachings of Jesus, to love God and others as God has loved us.

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

During this week staff and students have encouraged one another to live out their faith and promote the Christian ethos of their school. Each morning form teachers considered the daily themes of Catholic Schools Week with their pupils and the whole school celebrated mass, followed by a period of Eucharistic Adoration on Friday to mark the theme 'Celebrating Faith in Our Catholic School'.

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Catholic Schools Week 2019 in the Diocese of Down and Connor was launched at St Mary's University College.

Presentations on the theme of "Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion in Catholic Schools" were made by eight schools or centres:

Mr Liam Perry made a presentation on behalf of St Columbanus' College.

Speaking at the event, Rev Fr Eddie Magee said:

"Catholic Schools Week (27th January – 3rd February 2019) is an annual celebration which commemorates the ongoing and inspirational contribution of Catholic schools to the education and faith formation of children and young people.

Each year, Catholic Schools Week provides a timely focus on the role and significance of the school family as experienced within the lives of children and young people today. It also provides an opportunity to affirm and pay tribute to the ongoing work of teachers as they seek to form young people in their intellectual, moral, spiritual and social development.

As Irish society changes, it is important to reflect on the unique contribution of Catholic schools to the collective goal of education. Catholic schools share a faith-based ethos that is inclusive, welcoming and vibrant. The particular vision of the child and young person, as made in the image and likeness of God, enkindles pastoral outreach and permeates all that happens within the wider school environment.

Consequently, each Catholic school is entrusted with a mission of inclusivity, welcoming all, irrespective of faith, ability, culture or ethnicity, and cherishing and nurturing each child and young person to reach their full potential academically, spiritually and socially.

While each Catholic school shares this profound commitment to this vision, every school does this differently. The school is influenced by the community it serves; be it large urban schools, small rural schools, schools with a wide variety of ethnicities and every school in between. For this reason, every Catholic school works in a unique and distinctive manner in educating each child to holistically develop their talent, skills and potential.

This Year, in this ‘Spirit of Catholic Education’ Awards Ceremony, we highlight that schools across this diocese not only exhibit a multi-cultural, multi-faith, social, ethnic and academic diversity but, inspired and motivated by their faith-based mission and ethos, these schools uniquely respond on a daily basis to the pastoral and academic needs of all children in a respectful, tolerant and inclusive manner.

Each school present today, has made a unique contribution to recognising the particular needs of their student body and have created a truly inclusive school environment in which children are nurtured, valued, loved and educated.

The Catholic Schools’ Support Service congratulates each award-winning school. You are representative of and showcase how teachers across this diocese embed an ongoing commitment to living out the Spirit of Catholic Education."