Holy Rood's Chaplaincy Team

At Holy Rood School, we are fortunate enough to have our very own chapel which was blessed and opened by Bishop John Sherrington in 2013.

 

Meet our Chaplaincy Team

 Year 5 Chaplaincy Team 2024-2025

 What does the Holy Rood Chaplaincy Team do?

As part of their role, the chaplaincy team supports pupils across the whole school from EYFS to Year 6 in developing and deepening their faith. They regularly lead small group prayer during lunchtime. In addition to this, the chaplaincy team also read and share Bible stories with pupils and engage the whole school community in activities to enhance their understanding of God and their own faith.

On a termly basis, the chaplaincy team lead whole school assemblies on liturgical themes. On a half termly basis, the chaplaincy team support and lead a collective worship in the classroom. Further to this, during significant liturgical events in the year, such as Lent and Advent, the Chaplaincy team support pupils in developing their understanding of the importance of these by leading whole school acts of worship such as ‘The Walking Stations of the Cross’. Each year, at Harvest time, our chaplaincy team also organise our annual food collection for the Watford Food Bank. 

Our Year 6 Chaplaincy Mentor team help to offer guidance and support to our Year 5 chaplaincy team as they begin in their new roles. The mentors are able to share things that worked well for them, act as peer support for the chaplaincy team and a friendly person that our Year 5's are able to go to who have experience in the same role.

The Chaplaincy Team's Stations of the cross Booklet

Our Chaplaincy Team, alongside our Chaplaincy mentors, have created a handy booklet to help the children and their families of Holy Rood school pray the Stations of the Cross this Lent. To have a look at it, download it or save it, please click here.

Chaplaincy Retreat

To help our new Chaplaincy team, each year after the new team has been established, we hold an ASCAT Chaplaincy retreat day. Accompanied by Ms Boyle, they attended our annual retreat day at St. Saviours Church in Abbotts Langley. The day provided an opportunity for pupils in our Chaplaincy team to meet with other pupil chaplaincy teams across the All Saints Catholic Academy Trust. It consisted of times of prayer, reflection and training to ensure our pupils are ready to embark upon the journey of their new role as leaders of prayer and worship. Mr. Wheatley, CEO, also attended and led the pupils in one of their sessions.

Our Chaplaincy Team in Action - Prayer in our Community

Our Chaplaincy Team also take part in masses at our local parishes, within our academy (ASCAT) and special masses led in our parishes for our Chaplaincy Team. During these masses, different members of the Chaplaincy Team are presented with opportunities to read, lead the offertory, altar serve or be part of the choir for a mass. 

Our Chaplaincy Team in Action - Leading Prayer

Every year, our wonderful Chaplaincy Team leads the whole school in a walking Stations of the Cross. This year was no exception, and, with help from Ms. Boyle, the Chaplaincy Team positioned themselves around the school to ensure that each and every year group, from EYFS to Year 6, was able to hear about Jesus' journey to the cross to save us from sin.

 

As part of our relationship with other schools in our academy, All Saints Catholic Academy Trust, we have been able to build and develop strong links with Deacon Liam, who is not only a member of staff at a school within our academy but also one of our Parish Deacons. 

Deacon Liam visits our Chaplaincy Team every other week. During this time, our Chaplaincy Team and Deacon Liam work together to discuss and plan a bi-weekly ‘Taking Time with God’ meditation. The Chaplaincy Team then record and share this with the whole school so that all children from Nursery up to Year 6 can have some dedicated time each Wednesday to spend with God in another way outside of assembly, daily prayer and Acts of Collective Worship.

The children at Holy Rood thoroughly enjoy these moments of quietness, calmness and stillness. 

Our Chaplaincy Team leading lunchtime prayer in the School Chapel 

Our Chaplaincy Team in Action - Leading Fundraising

Our annual collection for our local foodbank, Watford Foodbank was a huge success once again and led by our wonderful Chaplaincy Team and Ms Boyle! To help raise awareness for this, the Chaplaincy team also led a whole school assembly to help everyone understand why we are called as Catholics to help those in our community most in need based on scripture and the Catholic Social Teaching of 'Option for the poor'. 

We were amazed with the sheer amount of food and toiletries collected through the kind donations from the families in our school community. In total we donated a whopping 120kgs! This kindness will now provide those most in need with essential food and toiletries and remove the worry of where the next meal will come from. It truly is putting Jesus’ teaching into action.

“For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink”. – Matthew 25: 35-36

 

Take a look inside our Chapel!