Catholic Life and Mission
The children, staff, parents and all involved in the community of St John Evangelist Catholic School are here to serve.
‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
(Matthew 25:40)
We are delighted with our Catholic Schools Inspectorate outcome. You can read the full report here:
Catholic Life and Mission Policy 2025
At St John Evangelist Catholic Primary School, children are taught the principles of Catholic Social Teaching found at the core of the Gospel.
We use the Caritas resources and planning overview and look for opportunities to live out the principles in our faith throughout the school year.
“Christ has no body now on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look out on the world. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which He is to bless His people.”
– St Theresa of Avila
Spring 1 – Solidarity and Peace
In the first half of the Spring term, our Catholic Social Teaching principle is Solidarity and Peace. We are recognising how we are all sisters and brothers of one Christian family, made in God’s image and that we must act as peacemakers.
‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you’ John 14:27.
Faith Leaders have organised a number of activities to support our understanding of Solidarity and Peace. Faith Leaders planned and led an assembly focused on this principle and asked each class to create a pledge on a dove of how they will be peacemakers – a promise of an action they will commit to for this half term to encourage peace within our school.
‘Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position’. Romans 12:16
Faith Leaders also painted ‘Positivity Pebbles’ to go in the KS1 and KS2 prayer boxes in each playground for children to use during their prayer and worship at playtime and to give to their peers if they feel they need to be supported by some words or encouragement and positivity.
This half term, playground friends are also going to hold an assembly to explain their roles and responsibilities and the importance of their job to encourage Solidarity and Peace within St John Evangelist.
Autumn 2 – Preferential Option for the Poor
In the second half of the autumn term, the children develop their understanding of showing a ‘Preferential option for the poor’. This means that the needs of the poor and vulnerable should be put first. Have a look at some of the events we support throughout the year to help those who are most vulnerable:
We also have a well-established link with a local care home ‘Bridgeside Lodge’. Our Faith Leaders visit at least once a half term with our RE Lead and Fr Daniel. The children spend time visiting with the people in the care home, sing them hymns at Christmas and have been present for anointing of the sick.
Each year, our Year 5 class receive a visit from Dementia Friends. ‘Dementia Friends’ is a fantastic initiative that work to develop people’s understanding of dementia and inspire everyone to make a difference for people affected by the condition in their communities.
In September, children wear an item of ‘jeans’ clothing to raise money for Jeans for Genes Day.
In October, for Harvest, children donate food items that we take to our local food bank at Blessed Sacrament Church.
In November, the Faith Leaders organise a non-uniform day to raise money for CAFOD.
During Advent we collect food and household items to set up our own food bank using Caritas Westminster’s reverse Advent calendar.
Also, during Advent, we collect gifts for those in our Parish who are less fortunate than we are. Families can donate a wrapped gift for a male or a female which will be placed under the Christmas tree in the school hall and handed out on Christmas Day when dinner is provided for those vulnerable members of our community who would like to attend. The most well-received gifts for the winter season are hats, scarves and gloves.
Every year, staff at St John’s support a fantastic charity called ‘Giving Tree’. Each member of staff chooses a gift card for a child who will be in a refuge this Christmas and buys them a gift. You can find more information here: Sign Up | KidsOut
This year, our community also wanted to raise money for Jamaica to support those affected by Hurricane Melissa and so Faith Leaders organised a collection for this.
Autumn 1 – Creation
The children at St John Evangelist Catholic Primary School learn about our call to stewardship and how they can better look after God’s wonderful Creation.
We have an ‘Edible Garden’ in our school playground and the children work together to grow their own food. All our children develop an understanding of where food comes from and why it is so important to not be wasteful.
Every year, an Eco-Team are appointed to lead the school to be more ‘green’. You can find out more on our Eco-Team page.
After attending CAFOD’s National assembly in September, we created a creation tree with pledges on how we will promise to look after God’s world.
Last year, our whole school in a project led by ‘The Garden Classroom’ with our Maamulaha network of schools. The children in our KS1 and KS2 visited many of Islington’s different parks throughout the year and explored sustainability topics in hands-on, outdoor sessions. This culminated in a whole school assembly, showcasing our learning.
This year each class will continue this work by visiting an Islington green space throughout the year with a focus on sustainability.
Charitable Events throughout the year:
During Lent, we raise money for CAFOD by taking part in CAFOD’s Lenten campaign. In previous years we have:
- Walked for Hunger – the children wear their sportiest clothes and throughout the day they stop what they are doing to walk, run or skip to raise money.
- Shone Our Light – wearing our brightest, most colourful clothes and taking part in art activities throughout the day.
Our staff also take part in their own personal charitable events throughout the year. Many of our staff members have taken part in Cancer Research’s ‘Walk for Life’, Children in Need’s ‘Tapathon’, Great Ormond Street Hospital’s ‘Skipathon’ and other fundraising events.
