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Newsletter 7 - July 2025
Chaplaincy
Jo Doyle (Lay Chaplain) - missdoylej@strichardscc.com
As we reach the end of the school year, now is a good time
to reflect and give thanks to God for all the riches we have
experienced in this past academic year.
Leavers Celebration of the Word
We said a fond farewell to our Year 11 on Thursday, 19th
June with a very moving celebration of the Word. Fr
Eamonn gave a wonderful input on how important it is to
always remember that we can turn to God, and though He
may not answer us directly or immediately, He is always
there to listen. The Year 11 musicians contributed some
lovely music, including a very poignant version of Abba‘s
‘Slipping through my Fingers’. Pupils were greatly amused
to find their Year 7/8 photos made an appearance in a
‘memory lane’ tribute. I would like to thank Henry and
Michelle who led the Caritas Leaders by example this year,
and particular thanks to Dan Evans and Lilly Di Mascio,
who have been a huge support to the Liturgical life of the
school with the rest of the Senior Caritas Leader team.
Best wishes for all your future endeavours. We will miss
you.
Year 6 Primary Retreat
A small team of Caritas Leaders supported me on a visit
to the Primary schools. The theme of these Retreat days
was Journeys, focusing on the Story of the Disciples on the
Road to Emmaus. St Richard’s pupils led small workshops
on: Prayer using BSL sign language, creating bidding
prayers and dramatic reading reflection, and biblical drama.
The events culminated in a lovely final Celebration of
the Word. First up was St Thomas à Beckett and I must
congratulate Year 7 and 8 Caritas Leaders who took the
lead in the absence of the Senior Year 10s who were on
work experience for this retreat. They led with a maturity
beyond their years. Well done to all. We then visited St
Mary Star of the Sea, where some of our Year 10 joined us.
Jack brought a guitar and taught a hymn. The Year 6s then
presented all their workshop efforts in a Celebration for the
Word for the rest of the school.
Wintershall - Life of Christ Trip
A small group of Year 9 pupils had a
wonderful opportunity to see the Gospels
brought to life at the Wintershall Estate,
attending their ‘Life of Christ’ drama play.
Act I began with the birth of Jesus. Pupils
were delighted to see real life animals -
the donkey and lambs included in the cast
and a real baby playing Jesus.
Good Shepherd Celebration - Arundel Cathedral
A small group of 5 pupils joined all the catholic schools
across the diocese for the annual Good Shepherd
Celebration. To coincide with the Jubilee of our diocese
we travelled to Arundel Cathedral and were fortunate to
share the journey with our friends from our feeder primary
schools. Jennifer and Destiny were in charge of our
banner and joined the procession at the beginning of the
celebration. As part of this year’s celebration we were also
invited to present our Jubilee pledges to the representatives
of CAFOD. Year 8 completed these pledges as part of
Block Day, so Regan represented Year 8 and brought these
forward. We were delighted to receive a beautiful copy of
the Jubilee icon to bring back to school.
Act II saw the cast bring to life the call of the first disciples
and many of the parables of Jesus. We were even fed
bread during the enactment of the feeding of the 5000.
The whole day was really insightful for pupils as they will
study the ‘Passion Plays’ for GCSE. Finally, we had the
very moving and emotive depiction of the passion of Christ
in Acts III and IV. Some of our group got to be involved in
the crowd for the trial scene. This was a great experience
which will support their future studies. My thanks to Mr
Truss and Mr Trimby for accompanying us.
Finally, may I wish you all a peaceful and prosperous
summer holiday and I look forward to welcoming you back in
September.