Student: 0703734 CCRS: RE2 Our Daily Bread R.

C School

53 Farley Road Summerville Braxon BX3 8NM T 0218 456 7658 F 0218 456 8768 E enquire@ourdailybread.sch.uk www.ourdailybread.sch.uk

8th September 2012 Dear Parents/Guardians and Team, Welcome back to the start of the new school year, I hope you all had a wonderful and refreshing summer break and are ready for a new and exciting year. A special welcome the families that are joining us for the first time. I look forward to getting to know you over the course of this year.

Our mission and vision

We are a multicultural school with strong Catholic principles. The children in our school have a variety of values and beliefs and through the course of their successful learning journey at Our Daily Bread we will contribute and promote their spiritual, intellectual and emotional development. Our school is called to encourage a deep and sacred relationship between our heavenly Father and his children. As a community it is our responsibility to support our children to grow in faith and in truth and to establish that Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. It is our hope and desire that our young people will take these values beyond our school environment to promote a better future and a moral generation. The ultimate desire of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour is to see us operating in the fruit of His Spirit which are: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control (Galatians 5:22-23).

How we treat others

It is important for children, as well as adults to work and learn in a happy, comfortable and loving environment where they are able to feel at ease and express themselves freely. At Our Daily Bread we treat each other with respect and care for each others welfare. Each child and member of staff are reminded that they are valued members of an extended family and all have an equally important part to play. We are one body and Christ is our head. All the individual parts of the body are many and cannot function on their own. We are a unit and it is vital that we live in unity and one accord. Ephesians 5:1-2 tells us that we are to be imitators of God and as his children we are to live a life of love, the same way Christ loves us and sacrificed His life for us.

Quality education
We believe that Catholic education is important as it develops and enhances our understanding of who Jesus Christ is, His teachings and how we can apply that to our daily lives. In addition to this statement, we would like to inform you that Catholic schools are the best schools. We outperform the national standard. As parents and guardians Im sure your priority is that your children receive the best education possible to give them a head start to a successful future. This is where we are in agreement. Our Daily Bread is dedicated to encourage, equip and empower children to be effective 1

Student: 0703734 CCRS: RE2 learners. We are delighted to remind you, and those who are unaware, that the education and experience that we provide is of excellency and this has been confirmed by our six years of outstanding reports awarded to us by Ofsted. They further mentioned how impressed they were with our level of teaching and the childrens learning. Not to mention the qual ity of care, guidance and support that we provided to our children. As a school we strive for academic excellence and aim to be the best we can be.

Our outreach programme

At Our Daily Bread love is not just a four-letter word we utter to those who are dearest to our hearts. We are devoted in brotherly and sisterly love. We aim to honour others among our selves by being hospitable and sharing with Gods people who are in need. We have been commissioned by our Lord Jesus Christ to act justly, to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty and to cloth the naked. As true followers and imitators of Christ we are passionate about reaching out to the lost and the poor. We must have a burden for those less fortunate than we are. Let us treat others as we would have them treat us. As school we are known for our charitable work and have a reputation for our work in the community. This year, by the grace of God, we will achieve exceedingly, abundantly and far above that of previous years. Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do. James 14:12. This term our mission is to be a blessing to the homeless. As winter is fast approaching we need to act in haste, as there are many out there with no food, shelter or family. We must reach out to feed the hungry and support the broken. Freely we have received from our Lord Jesus Christ and freely we must give. For this cause we aim to raise as much money as possible so that our gift can touch a greater number of souls. We appeal to your generous and supportive nature in this cause and welcome new ideas and contributions of how we can promote and make our mission more successful.

Final thoughts
We recognise that it takes both the family and the school operating together as a team to have the most positive influence on the child's education. Therefore, it is our aim to assist families in preparing children to live as productive Christian citizens in our domain. I thank you for all your support over the years and trust that it will continue into the future. Do not hesitate to contact me if need be.

Kind regards.

A.E. Collins Head teacher

Student: 0703734 CCRS: RE2

Justification
The letter was designed as a start of term letter as I believed that this would be a good way to introduce the ethos of the school and the contribution that it would make to the lives of the children. The foundation of the letter is based on the teachings of the bible and the word of God. Throughout the letter there are references to what the scripture says, as I believe the word of God strengthens and supports what we have to say. By referencing the scriptures and not simply using my own terminology, brings out the truth. There is no denying what has been said. Also it educates and brings revelation. I believe that the bible is a product of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and therefore is divinely inspired. This makes it unfailing and entirely trustworthy, and is the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and demeanor. All things that we do should centre around Jesus, as He is our firm foundation, our hope, our support, our strength and our inspiration. It is through Him we can do all things and without Him we can do nothing. As a school it is important to pass across these values to the children as well as parents in order to strengthen and reignite their faith. The section on the achievement and quality education of the school is important for parents as it reinforces the fact that they made the right decision in sending their children to your school. The fact that Catholic schools have a good success rate may strengthen parents belief in God and illustrate that all that God is apart of is fruitful; and if they want to be fruitful they too must have a personal and meaningful relationship with God. The reference made to Catholic schools being the best in terms of learning and providing high quality service was gathered information from the Catholic Education Service. It states that on average Catholic schools perform better than other schools. I felt it important to include the philanthropy work, as it is another important principle in the Catholic faith. Jesus teaches us that it is better to give than to receive. He also says that we should love thy neighbor as thy self and if we truly love our selves we would not want to allow ourselves to suffer when something can be done to help resolve it. Being hospitable is a quality that demonstrates humility and the bible tells us that God resists the proud.

References
Catholic Education Service (2005) Available at: http://www.cesew.org.uk/standard.asp?id=9644. (Accessed: 5 February 2012). New International Version bible