“Encounter” – Whole School Prayer Resources

Classroom entry/exit

Entry

• WAIT QUIETLY OUTSIDE and as close to the wall as you can.
• Greet your teacher as you are invited in (good manners and a positive start!). Enter SILENTLY.
• STRAIGHT and QUICKLY to your desk; place your equipment on the desk.
• Wait SILENTLY behind your chair until you are invited to sit down
• Once seated, complete the DO NOW in silence while the register is completed.

Exit

• When asked to pack up do NOT wander from your seat.
• Put your things in your bag (including water bottle) as quickly as possible.
• Stand up and wait silently behind your chair. Wait until dismissed.

Go immediately to your next lesson using the quickest route. Do not stop to chat or wait for others.

“Bookends matter: the way we open and close shapes everything in between.”

Gather

Every prayer time begins with us gathering together.
To help us focus, you might dim the lights, light a candle if you have one, or move a cross or religious object to the front. As students are entering the room this morning, you might like to play this instrumental music to help create a calm atmosphere.

Let us begin this time of prayer together, we invite you to join in making the sign of our faith:
All: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This week, our word of the week is Encounter – an encounter means to have a personal meeting. Every day, we encounter different people—some for the first time, and others we’ve known for years. During our time at the Becket School, there are so many wonderful encounters we will have – with friends, peers, staff, visitors to the school and people in the wider community who we might meet on trips.

One of the ways in which we celebrate our vibrant Becket school community is through our school music video which gets released every September (this is a tradition which has happened for the last 10 years!)

This morning we are going to see what last year’s music video entailed and we want you to get thinking about how you can participate in this year’s video to help us celebrate our community.

If you would like to be in this year’s school music video, please see Ruth or Joe – they will either be in the chapel or outside filming during breaktimes, or Mon, Wed and Fri lunchtime. – All are welcome!

Let us pray together…

Lord, thank you for the gift of our community.
Help us to see and appreciate the people we encounter every day— those we know well and those we are still getting to know.
May we always follow the Becket Way, working hard, being loving, and doing the right thing, so that our actions reflect your light in the world.
Amen.

We finish this time of prayer together, by making the Sign of the Cross.
All: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Gather

Every prayer time begins with us gathering together.
To help us focus, you might dim the lights, light a candle if you have one, or move a cross or religious object to the front. As students are entering the room this morning, you might like to play this instrumental music to help create a calm atmosphere.

Let us begin this time of prayer together, we invite you to join in making the sign of our faith:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This Sunday, on the 7th September, something amazing and very exciting happened in the Catholic Church…Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati were canonised in Rome by Pope Leo XIV! They are now called Saint Carlo Acutis and Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati!

Two pilgrimage groups from the Diocese of Nottingham are in Rome now and attended the Canonisation on Sunday! They wore our famous Nottingham Robin Hood hats on the road too.

Here is a message from Fr John Martin (our parish priest) and Fr Neil Peoples (Chaplain at the Briars and Vocations Director)…

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“Dear young people, aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less. Then you will see the light of the Gospel grow every day, within you and around you.”

– Pope Leo, Jubilee of Youth

Carlo and Pier Giorgio remind us that holiness is not far away, nor reserved for another time or place. It is possible here and now, in our school work, in friendship, in joy, in prayer, in service.

Closing Prayer

Let us pray together…

Loving God,
we thank You for giving us
Saint Carlo Acutis and Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Through their example of faith, joy, and service,
may we learn to live the Gospel fully in our daily lives.

Help us to use our gifts generously,
to serve others with love,
and to grow closer to You each day.

Saint Carlo Acutis – pray for us.
Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati – pray for us.

Let us finish this time of prayer together, by making the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Gather

Every prayer time begins with us gathering together.
To help us focus, you might dim the lights, light a candle if you have one, or move a cross or religious object to the front. As students are entering the room this morning, you might like to play this instrumental music to help create a calm atmosphere.

For today’s prayer resource, we will be using our prayer journals. Please take out your prayer journals. If this is your first time using it this year, please make sure you write your full name and form clearly and neatly on the front. If you missed last week’s “welcome” prayer journal activity, please find some time to complete that resource also so that there is an entry each week!

Let us begin this time of prayer together, we invite you to join in making the sign of our faith:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

On 1st September, the Catholic Church marked the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. This begins the Season of Creation, which runs until 4th October – the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology (and our Geography department and hub of schools!)

This year’s theme is: “Peace with Creation”, and Pope Leo 14th has invited us to reflect on how we can be “Seeds of Peace and Hope.”

This season of creation, Pope Leo reminds us:

“Seeds are buried in the earth, and there, to our wonder, life springs up, even in the most unexpected places, pointing to the promise of new beginnings…
In Christ, we too are seeds, and indeed, ‘seeds of peace and hope.’”

Just as flowers grow in unexpected places and bring beauty and joy, so too can we grow as people of hope, peace, and love in our community.

In your prayer journals, we invite you to write or draw your favourite parts of creation – what brings you hope and peace in creation? Where do you encounter God in creation?

Think back to the summer holidays… Did you notice something beautiful in nature?

Maybe you saw the sunset at the beach, or noticed the patterns on seashells.

Perhaps you went walking and saw leaves, flowers, or butterflies.

On a clear night, you might have seen the stars or the moon.

Maybe you enjoyed something simple like listening to birds singing or watching the clouds move across the sky.

As you write or draw your favourite parts of creation, those parts where you feel most at peace, you might like to listen to this reflective song…Porter’s Gate are a worship band and this song is based on “The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi.”

Closing Prayer

Let us pray together…

Loving God,
thank You for the beauty of creation that gives us peace, hope, and joy.
Help us to see Your love in the world around us,
and guide us to be seeds of peace and hope in our school, homes, and community.
Amen.

St Francis of Assisi, pray for us.

Let us finish this time of prayer together, by making the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Gather

Every prayer time begins with us gathering together.
To help us focus, you might dim the lights, light a candle if you have one, or move a cross or religious object to the front. As students are entering the room this morning, you might like to play this instrumental music to help create a calm atmosphere.

Let us begin this time of prayer together, we invite you to join in making the sign of our faith:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This Sunday is Education Sunday – a special day when the Church celebrates and prays for everyone involved in education – that includes you! It’s about giving thanks for our schools, teachers, families, governors, parish priests, chaplains, and all who help us to grow in faith and knowledge.

Education is a gift. It’s not just about lessons and homework – it’s about discovering who you are, the gifts God has given you, and how you can use them to make the world a better place. Catholic Education is about building the whole person!

As we celebrate Education Sunday, let’s remember to be grateful for the people who give us confidence, who show us love, and who inspire us to learn.

Each form has an A4 blessing poster, we invite you to pass the poster around the room, as it comes to you, write down or draw one thing that you are grateful for in your education.

It could be a subject you enjoy, a teacher who inspires you, a club you are part of, the resources we have available at our school, or an encounter that brings you joy each day like your friends at lunchtime, playing football with peers, seeing the kitchen staff who serve you your lunch, or visiting Damascus or the chapel…As you write, take a moment to quietly thank God for that gift.

At the end, display your poster on your form prayer board as a sign of gratitude and blessing and a reminder of all the things we are grateful for in Education!

🚶‍♀️ Mission for the Weekend

🎯 As we celebrate Education Sunday this weekend, we encourage you to take part in this mission:

• Today – make an extra effort to say thank you to your staff who support you and your education!
• This weekend – try to go to Mass. There are lots of Mass times on Saturday evening or Sunday morning – check the parish website, or ask Ruth or Joe for help today.
• Look out – in some churches, young people will be leading the readings, prayers, and music. Could that be something you’d like to do in the future?

(As Pope Leo reminds us – you, young people are the Church!)

Closing Prayer

Loving God,
thank You for the gift of education – for all the people who help us to grow in wisdom and knowledge.
Bless our teachers, school staff, governors, and families.
Guide us as we learn, that we may always use our gifts to serve others and bring hope to the world.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Let us finish this time of prayer together, by making the Sign of the Cross. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.