Catholic Life
The St. Damian’s Way
Our school mission statement, ‘ The St Damian’s Way’ underpins our Catholic ethos, and our first calling is to serve others. The St Damian’s community strives to follow the words of Pope Francis and his call for our school to be like the Church, “a place of mercy and hope, where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven”. How we treat each other is central to creating our loving and caring environment that provides the best place for pupils and staff to flourish.
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‘Respect for all’ is at the heart of St Damian’s and our pupils feel valued for who they are, as individuals made in the image of God. It is through our shared Gospel values; we seek to become closer to the people, God calls us to be. All are welcomed into our diverse community and this can be seen through the achievements of our sports teams, LGBT+ group, STEM group, and in the successful work of our SEND and Inclusion departments where high-quality pastoral care is seen as vital to providing the best for our pupils and ensuring the happiness and well-being of all.
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Our Catholic Community
We are extremely proud of our Catholic community and continually strive for excellent in all that we do. Our Catholic community is outward facing and seeks to develop pupils who embrace the Faith, are respectful of others’ faiths and beliefs and are able to make well informed choices in keeping with a Catholic moral context.
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Throughout our Religious Education curriculum, RSE, PSHE and the wider curriculum, we both challenge and support our pupils to develop in mind, body and spirit. This can be seen through our Young Ethical Leaders group and our Eco Club that work to make St Damian’s a beacon of light for the future. With links to Salford Diocese, our school is active in the wider community, taking part in initiatives such as ‘Guardians of Creation’, looking at how we can act upon Pope Francis’ encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ and further make a difference within our school environment as well as more globally.
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Prayer Life & Worship
By providing our pupils with time to seek their inner voice and listen to God’s call, we can take time to reflect on who we are and who we are becoming. Acts of collective worship, individual time to reflect and putting our faith into action in the wider community, help bring us closer to God. The Liturgical Calendar shapes our knowledge of events in the Life of Christ.
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With strong links to our local parish, pupils welcome the opportunity to engage with their faith in school through Masses, the Sacrament of Reconciliation in Lent, Rosary club and their special form group Chapel Assemblies. Our prayer life is pupil-led using different ways to connect with God, from our Stations of the Cross Prayer Walk, Christmas Carol and Nativity service to our weekly form time reflections on the Gospel and prayer themes for the week.
Service to Others
Our school prayer is the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, a saint who cared for the poor and sick. St Francis wrote “Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.” St Damian’s is committed to helping and serving others and works to reach out to the most vulnerable in the local community and be active participants in the wider world. Through our collective love of others, we have raised money for many charitable organisations, sent toys and gifts to children and young people in hospital or in need of support, supported our local food bank with both donations and £4000 in funds, collected for the homeless shelter and have raised over £7000 for Macmillan Cancer Support to name but a few.