Ethos in Action
2nd September 2016 | Ethos in Action
For Catholic schools, our work is rooted in the person of Jesus Christ as embodied in the Catholic faith community. Catholic schools have a robust spiritual and moral value system which we believe is appreciated not only by the Catholic parents, but also by lay people of other religions or none who want their children to be educated in a Catholic school.
It is crucial then, that Catholic schools can articulate, practice and live out their ethos and characteristic spirit in meaningful ways for the entire school community
Here are some practical ideas and suggestions to help bring the Ethos of your school alive as this new school year begins:
Creating a space for prayer :
Create a school prayer space in a common area/ lobby space of the school. This should be seen by all visitors to your school who can clearly see the lived ethos of your school.
Create a rota of classes/teachers and pupils to take responsibility for the school prayer space each month: This gives pupils and staff ownership of the space and ensures it changes regularly in line with the liturgical year. This school prayer space should reflect the work done by teachers in their class prayer spaces.
Using prayer each day and at the beginning of all school meetings reminds of our mission as Catholic schools. This is a real and practical way of living out Ethos with the entire school community.
Lighting a candle as part of a prayer or prayer ritual reminds us of God’s presence among us. As we work in the various groups within our school community it is important to remember that God is always present with us.
