Live Simply
Live Simply
We are a LiveSimply Award School!
We are delighted to share that St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School has been accredited with the LiveSimply Award, recognising the work of our whole school community to live simply, sustainably and in solidarity with others – in our school, in our local community and across the world.
Our LiveSimply journey is rooted in our Catholic faith and our desire to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. We want our children to understand that even small actions can make a difference: caring for God's creation, using what we have wisely, making time for prayer and reflection, and opening our hearts to people in need.
Throughout our journey, pupils, staff, families, governors, parishioners and members of our wider community have worked together. Our children have been encouraged not only to learn about the challenges facing our world, but also to recognise that they can take positive action to bring about change.
For us, living simply means slowing down and making time for God; appreciating what we have; consuming less; connecting with the natural world; caring for creation; and recognising the needs of others.
Our three LiveSimply themes
❤️ Live Simply – appreciating the things that really matter and making time for God and one another.
💡 Live Sustainably – caring for God's creation and thinking carefully about the choices we make.
🌍 Live in Solidarity – standing alongside others, particularly people experiencing poverty or hardship, both close to home and around the worl
Living Simply in Our School
Our LiveSimply journey begins right here in school. We want our children to understand that living simply is not just something we talk about – it is something we can put into practice every day.
Making our LiveSimply pledges
Every pupil and member of staff was invited to think about a change they could make and create their own LiveSimply pledge.
Our pledges were brought together in a special display in our school hall. They remind us of the promises we have made and give us opportunities to reflect on our progress throughout our LiveSimply journey.
Evidence/photos: Photographs of the LiveSimply display, individual children's pledges and pupils adding their pledges to the display.
Prayer at the heart of our school
Prayer and reflection are an important part of living simply.
Our Pupil Chaplains help lead assemblies, prayer and reflection and share weekly news themes with the whole school. They have also supported the development of our Prayer Garden, giving pupils a special place to spend time with nature, find moments of stillness and speak to God.
We have created prayer spaces inside school too, giving children different opportunities to step away from the busyness of the day and spend time with God.
As one pupil explained:
“I feel safe knowing that there are places in school where I can speak to God and write him a prayer.”
Reuse, recycle and share
Living simply also means thinking about whether we really need something new.
Our school and parish pre-loved uniform shop provides families with the opportunity to reuse school uniform. The shop opens every half-term and is promoted at school events, including our Summer Fayre.
This simple action supports our families, reduces waste and helps us care for our planet.
One parent summed it up beautifully:
“Living simply means reusing what we already have. Sharing school uniforms helps our community, saves money and cares for our planet.”
Our Eco Warriors have also helped us think about caring for creation. Plants and trees have been planted on our Key Stage 2 playground, and our Year 5 and Year 6 Eco Warriors and RSHE Champions have worked with another local school and representatives from the local council to discuss pollution and possible solutions.
Living Simply in Our Local Community
Living in solidarity means looking beyond ourselves and recognising the people around us who may need our friendship, kindness or practical support.
Throughout our LiveSimply journey, our pupils have discovered many ways in which they can make a difference within our local community.
Sharing joy with our local care home
We are very proud of our links with our local care home.
Our pupils make cards and write letters to residents, sharing friendship and showing compassion for others. During Advent, pupils also visit to perform a special Christmas Choir afternoon.
It has become one of the highlights of our Christmas celebrations and gives our children a wonderful opportunity to live out their faith through kindness and companionship.
Through their words, music and actions, our children remind residents that they are valued members of our community.
Supporting The Brick
Our school and parish community have worked together to support The Brick, our local foodbank.
Pupils created posters to promote our collection, and different classes were given different items to collect. Children were involved in organising donations and helping to make sure the items were suitable to give to others.
Our parish community also supported the appeal by collecting food, which was delivered to The Brick.
Our pupils understood the purpose behind their actions:
“We hope that there is enough food for everyone to enjoy; we are taking action to make a difference.”
Disconnect to Reconnect
Inspired by Laudato Si', we held a whole-school Disconnect to Reconnect Day.
We switched off as many electrical appliances as possible and spent the day without screens and technology. Families were invited to make their own pledges and think about how disconnecting made them feel.
We also encouraged parishioners and members of our wider community to join us, increasing the impact of our actions beyond the school gates.
It was an opportunity to think about our use of energy, but also about something equally important: making time to reconnect with one another, with creation and with God.
Supporting our local hospice
Our pupils have also had lots of fun while helping others through our Reindeer Ramble, raising money for Wigan and Leigh Hospice.
The event raised more than £800, and we have kept our reindeer antlers ready to use again as we continue this annual fundraising tradition.
“We really enjoyed running fast wearing our reindeer antlers and raising over £800 for Wigan and Leigh Hospice.” Y6 child
Living Simply as Part of Our Global Family
Our LiveSimply journey helps our pupils recognise that we belong to one global family.
Through prayer, learning, fundraising and action, our children have thought about the challenges faced by people around the world and considered how they can stand in solidarity with others.
CAFOD Brighten Up Harvest
We support CAFOD's Brighten Up Harvest Fundraiser, including taking part in a walk to Haigh Hall.
Parents, parishioners and governors join pupils for the walk, bringing different parts of our community together while raising funds to support people in need.
The walk is also an opportunity to slow down, spend time outdoors and appreciate the beauty of God's creation.
As one of our pupils recalled:
“I have wonderful memories of our Haigh Hall walks twice a year, at Harvest time and during the Big Lent Walk.”
CAFOD's Big Lent Walk
During Lent, we take part in CAFOD's Big Lent Walk, raising funds to support CAFOD's work with people experiencing poverty around the world.
The children walk together with a shared purpose, learning that their actions here at home can make a difference to members of our global family.
Our fundraising achievements are shared through our school newsletter so that families can celebrate and support the children's efforts.
World Gifts and our Teddy Bears' Picnic
Our fundraising has also supported CAFOD World Gifts.
As part of our summer fundraising, pupils took part in a special Teddy Bears/Cuddly Picnic. The activity encouraged children to think about objects that are special to them while considering how giving to others can help support families and their livelihoods.
It helped us think about being thankful for what we have and recognising that living simply can allow us to help others.
Caring for our common home
Our Care for Creation Discernment Day brought many strands of our LiveSimply journey together.
Children learned about growing food and why access to food matters for people in every country. We spent time in prayer alongside another school, our parish priest and people who help others to live simply.
The day encouraged us to think about wasting less, growing more, sharing what we have and caring for people who have less.
It also helped us look to the future. We want our LiveSimply Award to represent an ongoing commitment rather than the end of our journey.
We will continue to involve our parish and school families, raise money for causes that matter to our community, hold regular Big Clear Ups led by our Eco Council, promote our pre-loved uniform shop, visit our local care home, support our local hospice, develop our Prayer Garden and participate in CAFOD's Big Lent Walk.
Our LiveSimply journey continues – together we can live simply, live sustainably and live in solidarity, caring for one another and for our common home.
