Our liturgical celebrations at Holy Cross follow the Church’s liturgical calendar.

Throughout the school year, each class has the opportunity to have a Class Mass led by Deacon Paul along with a priest. These special masses provide a more personal experience of Mass for the children, celebrated at their level.  Children are encouraged to participate as fully as possible.

Autumn:

Harvest:  During October we dedicate a week to celebrating Harvest. During this week we collect dried and tinned goods which we donate to our school foodbank, this helps our own school community some of whom are struggling to afford food. During this week we also have a whole school Harvest Festival celebration, where Year 4 class prepares and performs poems, plays, songs and prayers or produces beautiful pieces of art to share with the school. Parents are invited to attend.

Holy Cross Feast Day:  to celebrate our school feast day, the whole school has mass followed by juice and cake. After school we have a feast day bbq where parents and friends are invited to celebrate with us.

All Saints Day: We celebrate this Holy Day of obligation with a school mass at school. Parents are invited to attend.

Winter:

Remembrance Service:  On Remembrance Day the chaplaincy team leads a special assembly where we remember all those who served and died in the war and who are still protecting our country today.

Christ the King Feast Day:  to celebrate this feast day, we have whole school mass in the hall.

Advent:  during Advent we hold whole school weekly reflections on a Wednesday. We support our children to think about the true meaning of Christmas and what it means to them and their families. The chaplaincy team lead prayer groups and activities for the younger children. All classes have a special turn to take home the Advent bag and , if they choose to, write prayers about the true meaning of the season which this year is focussed on strengthening prayer.

Nativity:  towards the end of term 2 we hold our Nativity productions to tell the true story of Christmas. EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2 do a Nativity Play. This is shared with parents and the school community.

KS2 Carol Service:  At the end of term 2 children in KS2 re-tell the Christmas story through scripture readings, prayer and song in an evening and morning performance for parents at school. 

Christmas Mass:  during term 2 the whole school celebrates Mass for the Blessed Assumption.  Parents are invited to attend with members of the parish.

Spring:

Epiphany Mass: at the start of term 3 we celebrate our new year with a whole school mass. The theme of this mass is Epiphany. Parents are invited to attend with members of the parish.

Ash Wednesday: we begin our Lenten preparations with our Ash Wednesday Mass which is held at school.

Lent: during Lent we hold whole school weekly reflections. We support our children to reflect on what Lent means to them and how they can grow closer to God during Lent. The chaplains lead fundraising activites for CAFOD.

Lent Trail: During Lent our Chaplaincy Team organise a Lent Trail for the whole school. This involves a series of activities that the children take part in that help them to deepen their relationship with God.

Family Liturgical prayer:  Year 3 and 4 host a family celebration of the Word, based on the events of Holy Week. Families are invited to join us for this.

Holy Week: during the last week of term, we hold a Holy Week at school. There are daily assemblies, acted out by different classes which retell the events of Holy Week. We look at the events of Palm Sunday, The Last Supper, the Betrayal of Jesus and then Stations of the Cross.

Maundy Thursday Mass: at the end of our Holy Week, the whole school attends a special Maundy Thursday Mass at school.  This helps the children to prepare for and understand the events of The Last Supper.

Summer:

Easter Mass: 

We start our summer term with an Easter Mass to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. This is held at school and Parishioners are invited to attend.

Ascension Mass

On Ascension Thursday, we celebrate Christ's ascension into Heaven 40 days after the Resurrection.

Crowning of Mary: 

At Holy Cross, we dedicate the month of May to our Lady, Mary. We hold a special service where we crown Mary with fresh flowers and we remember her and significant events in her life.  Children are invited to bring in fresh flowers for this event, which we then give to our local care home.

Pentecost Mass: 

This is held at school and Parishioners are invited to attend.

First Holy Communion: 

Many of our pupils work towards receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion during January to May. Mrs Kingston and Ms Fitzgerald lead the preparation of this sacrament for our children.

Corpus Christi Mass: 

This is celebrated at school. Our First Holy Communion children are invited to wear their special outfits to school and they lead the readings during Mass. They are able to receive the body and blood of Christ in front of their school family.

Leaver’s Mass: During this Mass, we say goodbye to our Year 6 Leavers as well as any other members of our school family that are moving on.

St. Pater and St. Paul feast Day Mass

1st July, the whole school attends Mass, to celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul to honor the two great apostles.