Our Mission: Who We Are at St Sebastian’s.

Today has been a really special day at St Sebastian’s as we officially launched our new Mission, Motto, Aims and Objectives with the children.

With our School, Nursery and Daycare now coming together as one St Sebastian’s community, it felt like the right time to reflect on who we are, what makes St Sebastian’s special and what we want our shared mission to be as we move forward together.

This is something we have taken our time over. We have listened to the views of our children, staff, families, governors and members of our parish community, because our mission has to belong to all of us. It isn't simply something for our children to learn or something for staff to display around school, it is our shared mission as one St Sebastian’s community.

For me, this has also been quite personal. St Sebastian’s has always been part of my life. I was once a pupil here myself and I have spent my whole teaching career working here so I have been fortunate to experience St Sebastian’s first as a child, member of staff and now as proud Headteacher.

Because of that, it was really important to me that refreshing our mission wasn't about changing the identity of St Sebastian’s or losing the things that generations of children, families and staff have held dear. We want to continue to grow and move forward, while remaining proud of where we have come from and holding on to the things that make St Sebastian’s, St Sebastian’s!

Our Motto

One thing came through particularly strongly when we listened to our community – how much our motto still means to people. “Only my best will do. Be kind to one another” are words that our current children know so well, but what has been particularly lovely is hearing from former pupils who can still recall them years after leaving St Sebastian’s and who continue to hold their message dear in their everyday lives. Those words connect generations of St Sebastian’s children. They are simple, but they say so much about what we want for our children… try your best and, above all, be kind to others.

For that reason, replacing our motto with something completely new was never really an option. It is part of our history and part of our identity and we want the children of today to feel part of the same St Sebastian’s story as the generations who have gone before them.

However, we also felt that our motto needed to say more clearly something that is fundamental to who we are. We are proud to be a Catholic community and proud to be St Sebastian’s. So, rather than replacing our motto, we have built around it ensuring familiar words remain right at the heart of our motto, but now they also remind us who guides us and who inspires us:

 

 

 

 

Our Mission

Our new Mission Statement brings together what we want St Sebastian’s to be and what we want for everyone who is part of our community:

 

 

Our Aims and Objectives

Our Mission Statement sets out who we are and what we believe as a St Sebastian’s community, but we also wanted to be clear about how we will bring those words to life. From our mission come our three shared aims:

Grow in Faith, Strive to Be Our Best and Love and Serve.

Under each of these aims, we have agreed a number of practical objectives which set out what we will actually do to make our mission a reality across our School, Nursery and Daycare. They will help to guide the decisions we make, the opportunities we provide and the way we live and work together as one St Sebastian’s community.

Most importantly, our aims and objectives remind us that our mission belongs to all of us. By growing together in faith, using our God-given gifts, striving to be our best and showing our faith through love and service, we can each play our part in making St Sebastian’s, our local community and God’s world a better place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living our Mission

Today, we held a special assembly to launch our mission with the children. We didn't simply introduce a set of new words for them to learn. Instead, we began talking about what those words actually mean and what they should look like in our everyday lives. That is really important to us. There is little point having a Mission Statement beautifully displayed around our buildings if it isn't reflected in the way we pray, learn, speak to one another, make decisions, welcome people into our community and care for those around us.

And our mission isn't just for our children. Whether you are a child in Daycare, a pupil in Year 6, a member of staff, a parent or carer, governor, parishioner or former pupil, we are all part of one St Sebastian’s community and we all have a part to play in living out our mission.

Our Catholic faith calls us to put our faith into action. Grow in Faith, Strive to Be Our Best and Love and Serve should be seen and felt in everything we do… in school, at home, in our parish and within our wider community. Sometimes this will be through the bigger things we do together, such as supporting charities, caring for our environment or helping those in need. But just as importantly, it will be seen in the small things we do every day e.g. welcoming someone, offering help, choosing kind words, showing forgiveness, including others, sharing what we have and taking care of the world around us.

Our hope is that everyone who is part of St Sebastian’s understands that they can make a difference. If each of us tries to live out our mission in our own way, then together, as one St Sebastian’s community, we can make our school, our community and God’s world a better place.

You may also have noticed our new signage around the site this week, bringing our School, Nursery and Daycare together and proudly displaying our new mission and motto. Seeing these words around our buildings is lovely, but what matters most is that they are also seen in the way we live.

Today’s launch is just the beginning. Over the coming weeks, months and years, we will continue to help our children understand our mission, provide opportunities for them to live it out and celebrate the many ways in which our whole community puts our faith into action.

As one St Sebastian’s community, our challenge is simple: not just to know our mission, but to live it!

Together, guided by Christ and inspired by St Sebastian, we can each play our part in making a positive difference in our community and God’s world.