Chaplaincy

"You are young, you are special, you are loved..."
(Don Bosco)

 Respect - Understanding - Affection - Humour

As a Catholic Salesian college we follow the teachings of Christ and the teachings of St John Bosco. The Salesian ethos is at the heart of our teaching and learning.

The Chaplaincy team consists of our Chaplain Anne and Sr Anne Frances FMA. The team are supported by our wonderful RE department. Our students and young people play an active role in chaplaincy and during our liturgical year forming our wider chaplaincy team.

During the Coronavirus pandemic, some elements of the liturgical year have been celebrated differently, using new technologies to bring the college together digitally. We look forward to resuming whole school celebrations in our usual way.

The college year begins with 2 welcome masses for our new Year 7 and Year 12 shortly followed by a retreat or induction. This involves taking time out of lessons for a day to focus on their new journey here at St John Bosco.

Students are given the opportunity to learn more about the Rosary with the Chaplain during the month of October.

November is a time of remembrance. Students represent the college at Remembrance Sunday service at the cenotaph at St George’s hall in Liverpool. We also have a service for All Saints and All Souls remembering all those close to us who have died. This continues through the month of November through a memory book that is situated in the prayer room for anyone who wishes to pray for family who have passed away.

During Advent and Lent all students have the opportunity to come to the prayer room for their service of reflection, led by the Chaplain. The theme of each service is developed through the liturgical times and culminates in a whole school collective worship.

Spring term again is a busy time. We begin the New Year with a celebration of our patron saint by coming together as a college to celebrate St John Bosco’s feast day. One of our Salesian priests begins the day with Holy mass which gets the days celebrations off to a great start.

The Chaplain collaborates with our local parish priests during Lent to hold reconciliation services in the prayer room for both staff and students.

As Christians we embrace Gospel values and throughout the year we embrace the chance to help those in need. During the season of advent and lent we fundraise for various charities both home and away.

As a busy year comes to an end we say goodbye to our Year 11 and Year 13. Celebration plays an important role in our Salesian college, so as with the welcome masses we have leavers masses where students plan and help to prepare for their final time together as a year group.

The experience of prayer is an integral part of Religious Education and college life at St John Bosco. We have a weekly prayer theme. Staff begin their week with prayer. This collective worship continues into the classroom daily for the rest of the week. Form tutors pray with their forms every day using liturgical materials devised by the College Chaplain. The College prayer room is available for use by all during the day.

Salesian Ethos - What does 'Salesian' mean...?

The word comes from a small place in Savoy called Sales the home of St. Francis, whom Don Bosco  (Fr. Bosco) loved because of his simple and ordinary Spirituality.  He found God in the ordinary everyday people and events of life.   He found holiness in the "ordinary"…….this really appealed to Don Bosco.  Don Bosco followed this style of spirituality and lots of people were attracted to his lifestyle and work.  He started a religious order and called it The Salesians

The Salesian ethos is not really something to be spoken about but it is to be experienced.

It is the whole tone of the whole college community …….the character of a place ……and very often it is something we sense as soon as we enter any community.

As a Salesian Catholic college we are committed to our Mission Statement "In our school community we seek to nurture the gifts, dreams and talents of all in the spirit of St John Bosco".

Perhaps the main thing about our ethos is that it is based on the tradition of St. John Bosco

St. John Bosco, or Don Bosco, as he is more familiarly known, left behind him a system of education called The Preventive System and the whole ethos of our school is based on this system.

The big secret of success in Don Bosco's system is that the students know what is expected of them and that we try to remind them of the rules and prevent them from getting into trouble.

So if we are going to prevent them getting into trouble we have to be present………..it is usually when there are no adults around that there is trouble! Don Bosco did not want his teachers to be there as "policemen" but as kind and helpful friends to the young.   This takes time and means we have to know their world, share their interests and build up positive relationships with the young people.

We have to be aware of their problems and try to lead them away from harm.

Encourage and praise often …….and to look out for what is good in each one of them.

Of course there are times when the Salesian educator has to correct and punish.  Don Bosco tells us we should never do this in anger.  It should be done privately and patiently - taking time to listen to them and show that you are being fair.

Weekly Prayer Themes

Throughout the college year we have weekly prayer themes. The themes vary. Quite often the theme follows the season liturgically or the time of the year. Also, prayer themes may be relevant to where we are in the college calendar...so for example we could have a prayer theme for ‘exams’ during June or ‘celebration’ during our annual prize giving event.

Charities

At St John Bosco we continue to remember those in need, throughout the year staff and students work hard to raise money for various charities. During Lent and Advent each year group is give a charity as their focus for raising awareness and money to help the cause. Some of the charities we have helped...

• Vides Uk
• Rhys Jones Memorial Fund
• Zoes Place
• Derian House
• Woodlands Hospice
• Oliver King Foundation
• The Basement
• Asylum Link Merseyside
• CAFOD
• The Samaritans Purse
• The Freddie Fund
• L’arche
• Breakthrough Breast Cancer
• British Heart Foundation
• Nugent Care
• Teenage Cancer Trust
• Rainbows
• Owen McVeigh
• Marie Curie
• The British Legion Poppy Appeal
• The Whitechapel Centre