Greetings!

From all of us at ACCS to all of you in our schools, a blessed Ascension Day and a restful May Day too!

artwork: ascension (after rembrandt) by wayne forte, 1992

About the Eucharist

"For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes." -- 1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (NRSV)

Learn more the Eucharist and how it can be taught in schools by clicking on the photo. This will bring you to some resource pages. The contents in these pages include:

• A Brief Theology of the Eucharist
• History of the Eucharist
• Questions and Answers on the Eucharist
• Suggestions on teaching about the Eucharist (lesson plans)

This resource is contributed by Maris Stella High School.

photo: eucharist by ted abbott

Pope Benedict on Catholic Education

What is Catholic education? What makes a school Catholic? These are questions we who teach and lead Catholic schools grapple with.

During his recent visit to the United States, Pope Benedict shared his thoughts on Catholic education. His thoughts invite us to reflect on our work as educators in Catholic schools. Here is an excerpt:

Clearly, then, Catholic identity is not dependent upon statistics. Neither can it be equated simply with orthodoxy of course content. It demands and inspires much more: namely that each and every aspect of your learning communities reverberates within the ecclesial life of faith. Only in faith can truth become incarnate and reason truly human, capable of directing the will along the path of freedom (cf. Spe Salvi, 23). In this way our institutions make a vital contribution to the mission of the Church and truly serve society. They become places in which God's active presence in human affairs is recognized and in which every young person discovers the joy of entering into Christ's "being for others"... .

Click the photo to read the Pope's speech.

Developing School Culture / Rituals

Our 35 Catholic schools have had a dream for some years now: we have wanted to share information, ideas and best practices with one another as a community of school communities. We have long desired to do this to help each other better educate the students in our respective schools and to grow in our calling as teachers.

We took a first step towards realizing this dream on Thursday, 27 March. Principals, vice-principals, HODs and school management committee members representing 20 of our 35 schools gathered at Maris Stella High School for an afternoon of sharing and fellowship on the theme, "Developing School Culture."

The afternoon began with prayer and reflection on our vocation as educators.

Br Anthony Tan, Principal of Maris Stella High, then shared with us strategies to develop school culture. With the Public Education Leadership Project (PELP) Coherence Framework model as the backdrop to his presentation, he spoke of the role such strategies as rituals, story telling, hero making, symbol display and rules can play in developing a distinctive Catholic school culture. He illustrated this with examples from Maris Stella.

For the next hour, we shared in small groups each school’s respective efforts to develop school culture. The exchange of ideas was rich and energizing. We learnt much from one another, often appreciating new ways of doing what we already do well in our respective schools to nurture a Catholic school culture in such areas as prayer and values formation.

Our gathering ended with dinner. Many of us returned home thankful for this time to listen and learn and to share and nourish each other.

Our next gathering will be at the beginning of Term 3. The date and venue will be announced shortly. All are welcomed.

School Culture (1): Rituals

The following are school rituals shared by some of those who participated in our first gathering. Contributions from other schools will be shared in a later post.


from Assumption Vocational Institution (AVI):

Prayers
The Morning Prayer is said at morning assembly and staff meetings though we have only handful of Catholic students.

Founder’s Day
Founders' Day Mass is celebrated on Assumption Day as Our Lady of the Assumption is our Patroness for the 4 components of Boys' Town.

To learn more about how AVI conducts these, please contact Mr Paul Choong, Tel: 67659074



from Catholic High School:

Prayers @ examination time
The school's PSG would invites parents to offer prayers for the boys in the school's chapel or prayer room before each examination paper. This gives the boys and parents spiritual and moral encouragement.

To learn more about how Catholic High School conducts these, please contact Mr Daniel Teo, TEO_Guan_Teck@moe.gov.sg



from CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity (OLN):

Prayers
Standard Prayers are said each morning, recess and at dismissal time.

Mass
First Friday Mass is celebrated at least once a term at Nativity Church for Catholic pupils & staff. This strenghtens parish-school relations.

At Chinese New Year
During CNY Celebrations, the Parish Priest blesses oranges that are then distributed to the school community.

To learn more about how CHIJ OLN conducts these, please contact: chijoln@moe.edu.sg


from CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace:

Prayers
Daily morning reflection is conducted. There are prayers in the morning, during recess and at dismissal.

To learn more about how CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace conducts these, please contact Mrs Clare Lewis, Tel: 67691529


from Maris Stella Primary:

Prayers
Morning Prayers led by teachers and students

Mass
First Friday masses are held every month for Catholic pupils and staff. These are celebrated before school begins.

During Lent
On Maundy Thursday the school gathers for the Washing of the Feet prayer service. Servant leadership values are celebrated.

To learn more about how Maris Stella Primary conducts these, please contact: Ms Maria Koh, Maria_koh@moe.gov.sg


from Maris Stella High School:

During Lent
On Maundy Thursday, the school celebrates the Washing of the Feet prayer service. Servant leadership values are celebrated.

There is the Lenten Meditation on the 14 Stations of the Cross for Catholic pupils and staff.

Non-Christian teachers are invited to reflect with the school community on fasting and meditation.

To learn more about how Maris Stella High School conducts these, please contact: Mr Paul Kwok Weng Yee, kwok_weng_yee@moe.edu.sg


from Marymount Convent:

Beginning the School Year
The first day of school starts with the LIGHT ceremony in which Sr Delphine (supervisor) would pass the light to Principal and relay via chain to VP, HODS and teachers. This ceremony incorporates the school values that the acronym LIGHT expresses succinctly.

This candle ceremony is also practised at the Prefects' Investiture ceremony and the P6s' Graduation Ceremony

To learn more about how Marymount Convent conducts these, please contact Ms Angela Tan, Angela_TAN@moe.gov.sg


from St Gabriel’s Secondary:

Prayers
Daily morning assembly prayers follow themes.
The Principal conducts Reflection Sessions to help students better integrate assembly prayers or the school’s SEL Themes for the week.

Mass
Fortnightly level mass are celebrated for Catholic pupils (i.e. Upper Sec and Lower Sec levels respectively).
A Graduation Mass is planned for all Sec 4E/5N/4NT pupils in October 2008.

During Lent
The Rite of Reconciliation is held for Catholic pupils. The Lenten Meditation on the 14 Stations of the Cross is celebrated for Catholic pupils and staff.

To learn more about how St Gabriel’s Sec conducts these, please contact Mr Francis Foong, Tel 90179855 / 64813573


from St Joseph's Institution International:

Prayers
There is daily morning prayer at the school chapel at 7.50 am before school (optional) and prayer at Assembly every morning.

Mass
The Eucharist is celebrated every Friday morning at 7.30 am and on all days of obligation for parents, teachers and students who wish to attend.

Parents’ Praying Together
A parents’ prayer group meets after Mass every Friday morning.

To learn more about how St Joseph’s International conducts these, please contact The Brother President, broughton@sji.moe.edu.sg

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Over the next few weeks, we will post on this blog some of the other initiatives and efforts individual schools have to develop their school culture.

If you wish to enrich this sharing of what your school does well to build a Catholic school culture, kindly email your contributions to Mr Raymond Lee at raymondlee@catholic.org.sg . Thank you.