PASTORAL PLAN
Faith Opportunities
Demonstrating Gospel Action / Virtues Activities led by
student faith ambassadors
2013 – 2014
Community Outreach: St. Cecilia School Community
actively supports:
• St. Anne Parish Emergency Food Assistance Program
• Charity Fundraisers
• United Way / Share Life
• St. Anne Parish “The Edge” Youth Group
•Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research
•Sick Kids Childhood Leukemia Research
• Community Response Committee-remembrance for
Community members in their time of need and joy
• Christmas Baskets
• Peel Police VS. St. Cecilia Sharelife fundraisers
Catholic Education Week
During Catholic Education Week, we celebrate the
gift of Catholic Education, reflecting on a theme
from scripture, and highlighting the learning
opportunities experienced by our students in the
context of our Catholic Faith.
Faith Related Activities
• Staff faith activities led by Faith Ambassadors
• Staff Liturgies/Reflections during Advent and Lent
• School wide Mass for opening school, Advent, Lent
• School wide Remembrance Day Service
• Classroom visits to the school chapel
•Student ambassador lead virtue activities
• Student-led daily prayers during opening exercises
• Daily classroom prayer at the beginning of the day, at
lunch and dismissal
• Sacred spaces in each class for individual prayer
opportunities and as a focus for class celebrations
• Daily Religious Education and Family Life Education
• Informal living and teaching of our faith throughout our
day in our treatment/respect of others
• Celebrating the Virtues program daily with morning
prayers and announcements
• School staff meets to plan faith events
• Classroom teachers lead their students in the preparation
of Liturgies and Masses
• Staff focus on faith life of the school at monthly staff
meetings
• Staff PD opportunities, e.g. “When Faith Meets
Pedagogy” conference, Religious Ed in-services
“ I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.
So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is
anything, but only God who gives the growth.”
(Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians 3:6-7)
We the Catholic community
of St. Cecilia School, along with the
pastoral team of St. Anne Church,
believe that we will enrich the faith
life of this educational community
through a collaborative, prayerful and
planned process.
A YEAR OF VIRTUES
A virtue is a habit or established capability to
perform good actions according to a moral
standard. In other words, a virtue is a habit that
shows people and God that we are good people.
Each month we will look at developing one of these
virtues:
•FAITH •RESPECT•EMPATHY •KINDNESS
•CONSCIENCE •LOVE•HOPE •ACCEPTANCE
•SELF-CONTROL •FAIRNESS
We’ll pray about these virtues, we’ll talk about them
in the classroom and we’ll practice them in the
hallways and the schoolyard. We will make the
effort to treat other students and the adults in our
school according to the demands of these virtues.
And we will celebrate the progress we make to be a
more virtuous Catholic school – a place of safety,
caring and inclusivity for all.
We the community of St. Cecilia School have a
mission: To move from what we are to what we
would like to be based on the Gospel of Mark, The
Acts of the Apostles and the work of the Holy Spirit
in our lives.
St. Cecilia Community Prayer
God of love and mercy,
You call us to be your people.
You gift us with your abundant grace.
Make us a holy people,
radiating the fullness of love.
Form us into a community of people who
care, expressing your compassion.
Remind us day after day of our baptismal
call to serve, with joy and courage.
Teach us how to grow in wisdom, grace,
and joy in your presence.
Through Jesus and in your Spirit,
we make this prayer. Amen
School Wide Reconciliation
December 11, 2013
Ash Wednesday liturgy
Confirmation Parent Meeting
Lenten Mass
• Arranged by the Parish
March 5th, 2014
April 3rd, 2014
Holy Thursday liturgy
• Arranged by the Parish
First Reconciliation Celebrations
Confirmation Enrollment
April 17th, 2014
Crowning of Mary liturgy
Catholic Education Week (May)
• Arranged by the Parish
Year-end Mass at the church
• Arranged by the Parish
Pastoral Visits
Holy Communion Retreat Days
• Dates reserved at the parent meeting and Arranged
June 12th, 2014
Our parish priests, Fr. Chericka and Fr. Magyar schedule
organized visits to the school. This provides our students
with opportunities to learn from their spiritual direction.
Students receiving the sacraments of Reconciliation, First
Eucharist and Confirmation participate in scheduled visits
to St. Anne Church to prepare for the sacraments. This is
organized by the staff at St. Anne’s Parish.
Confirmation Retreat
by the Parish
Sacrament of Confirmation
• Arranged by the Parish
First Holy Communion Celebrations
• Arranged by the Parish
Sacramental Preparation and Celebration
School Administration and the Pastoral Team meet in June
and September to determine dates for school masses and
celebrations for the upcoming school year. All sacraments
are parish based and these mass dates will be announced
through the Parish.
SCHOOL LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS
PA Day Faith Development
September 13th, 2013
Opening Mass
October 25th, 2013.
Remembrance Day
November 11th, 2013
Advent Mass
December 5th, 2013
Teacher Meetings
First Holy Communion, First Reconciliation and
Confirmation Teachers meet with Teaching Partners and
Parish Staff to plan their students’ sacramental preparation.
SACRAMENTS
First Reconciliation Parent Meeting
• Arranged by the Parish
Other Celebrations
Individual classroom teachers and staff working in
collaboration provide opportunities for liturgies,
reflections, prayer, scripture readings, and other faith
related activities for their students.
“ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I
have commanded you. And remember, I am with you
always, to the end of time.”
( Matthew 28:19 – 20)