The Diocese of Salford has presented each school with a Catholic Social Teaching Award. At the core of Catholic Social teaching is love – ‘let all that you do be done in love’ (1 Corinthians 16:14). With love in mind, the Diocese has asked schools to present this special Catholic Social Teaching award to pupils in recognition of outstanding achievement in putting love and faith into action. At Holy Cross and All Saints, we will be naming this award ‘The CARITAS Love in Action Award’. Once a month, this special award will be awarded to a deserving member of our school community, whether it be a staff member, pupil, family, or collective, for putting their faith and love into action. Everybody in our school community can nominate somebody for this special award. Parents can nominate via Google Classroom – there is a ‘Love in Action’ assignment assigned to every child, which can be submitted with any nominations. Children have special nomination sheets in their classrooms and staff will also put forward names of children to our GIFT CARITAS Ambassadors, who will work through all the nominations before deciding who is awarded the award. The recipient of the award will have their photo displayed on our special Plaque in school and take home a special certificate and ‘Love in Action’ badge for their school tie.

Below are our recent winners:

Well done to one of our Reception children, who won the CARITAS Love in Action Award for giving up his free time to litter-pick in our local community. Litter picking aligns with the Catholic social teaching principles of Stewardship of God's Creation and The Common Good, rooted in Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si' which calls for responsible care of the Earth and ensuring its resources are available for all people now and in the future. Litter picking also involves Participation in the community to create a better environment for others. 

Inspired by a visit from Mary's Meals to school, members of our GIFT team were inspired to fundraise, prioritising the needs of the poor in our world by showing the CST principle of Preferential Option for the Poor. They organised and led our school's fundraising for Mary's Meals, including a very successful Easter Raffle, and raised £500!