Our whole school community came together to mark the opening of the Jubilee Year 2025, beginning a special journey as Pilgrims of Hope. Guided by CAFOD’s launch day resources, pupils explored how the Jubilee invites us to look forward with hope, renew our hearts and work together for a world where everyone can flourish. Through the day’s reflections and activities, children naturally drew upon aspects of Catholic Social Teaching - noticing the dignity of every person, thinking about fairness and recognising our shared responsibility for one another and for creation.

Whole School Celebration

The day began with a joyful Celebration Assembly, where we reflected on the meaning of the Jubilee Year and shared the Jubilee prayers together. Each class also displayed their Pilgrims of Hope maps, banners and Jubilee symbols, helping us to centre our learning around this special mission.

All children watched CAFOD’s Jubilee Launch Day film and reflected on how faith and hope can inspire real change in our communities and our wider world.

https://cafod.org.uk/jubilee-schools/jubilee-launch-day 

Learning and Activities Across the School

Throughout the day, each year group took part in activities that helped deepen their understanding of the Jubilee message, while gently connecting to values rooted in Catholic Social Teaching such as compassion, fairness and care for our common home.

EYFS & KS1

Children in EYFS and KS1 explored the theme of hope through creative tasks that encouraged them to notice the goodness around them and recognise their role in bringing joy and kindness to others.

• Nursery – Celebration: Thinking about how we celebrate with our families and give thanks for God’s blessings.

• Reception – Hope Reflection: Drawing or writing about the things that bring us hope.

• Year 1 – Jar of Hope: Creating hopeful messages to be shared during prayer time, reminding us of the value and dignity of each person’s thoughts and dreams.

• Year 2 – Hope for the World: Poster designs showing the world they hope to help build -reflecting care for others and creation.

Children also completed artwork for our Jubilee Gallery, focusing on themes such as Hearts of Hope and recognising themselves as Pilgrims of Hope.

KS2

Pupils in KS2 explored themes of fairness, responsibility and the difference their choices can make—ideas closely linked to both the Jubilee Year and the values of Catholic Social Teaching.

• Jubilee Pledge (See–Judge–Act): Reflecting on actions they can take to bring hope, guided by the belief that we are called to act with justice and compassion.

• Mission Together – Hope in Creation: Considering how we can care for God’s creation and protect our common home.

• Fairness Activities (Y3 & Y5): “It’s Not Fair!” tasks helped pupils explore inequality and how we can respond with empathy.

• Justice Activities (Y4 & Y6): Encouraging pupils to think about practical ways we can support those in need and work towards a fairer world.

KS2 pupils also produced thoughtful artwork for the Jubilee Gallery, including Hope collages, Peace artwork and portraits of Archbishop Malcolm and Fr Liam.

Jubilee Gallery

Throughout the day, every class contributed to our whole-school Jubilee Gallery, celebrating how we can be Pilgrims of Hope in our community and beyond.

Highlights included:

• Jubilee streamers (Nursery)

• Hearts of Hope (Reception)

• Portraits showing we are Pilgrims of Hope (Y1–Y2)

• Hope collages and Peace art (KS2)

• Portraits of key faith leaders in our Archdiocese (Y5–Y6)

Afternoon Celebration

To end the day, children from EYFS to Year 6 enjoyed Jubilee-themed colouring, reflection activities and a small class celebration – marking the importance of this holy year with joy and gratitude.

Photographs of class activities & artwork were shared with families via ClassDoJo.

In the Jubilee Year 2025, Pope Francis invites us all to be signs of hope in the world and today, Thursday 27th March, our whole school community (from Nursery to Year 6) embraced this call by taking part in the CAFOD BIG LENT WALK! The sun was shining as children walked together, completing the challenge with their friends and showing incredible enthusiasm. It was wonderful to see the children smiling and having fun, which truly became a beacon of hope for everyone around. Alongside our ongoing Lenten fundraising, this event was a beautiful reminder of the power of faith in action and the joy that comes from supporting those in need. Fun was had by all, and the spirit of community and hope filled the air!

Photographs of our walk have been shared with our families via ClassDoJo.

What a wonderful day we had at St Sebastian's on 21 November 2025, as we came together to celebrate our Jubilee for Schools Celebration Day. It was a day full of joy, faith, creativity and reflection, as our children explored what it means to be Pilgrims of Hope and considered how they can bring hope, kindness and positive change to the world around them.

We began the day with a whole-school assembly, where pupils and staff gathered to reflect on the Jubilee Year and share prayers. Each class displayed their Pilgrims of Hope maps, banners and symbols, which really helped the children focus on the themes of hope, service and community. We also watched CAFOD’s School Celebration film, which showed how schools across the country are living as Pilgrims of Hope. This inspired our pupils to think about ways they can make a difference in our school, at home, and in the wider world.

Activities Across the School

The day was packed with engaging activities that encouraged reflection, creativity, and practical action:

Reception – God’s Wonderful World: Pledge Garden
Children thought about the gifts God has given us and recorded simple pledges on handprints and leaves, promising ways to care for the world. Their Pledge Garden was displayed in the classroom for everyone to revisit.

Year 1 – Little Helpers, Big Hearts: Pledge Chain
Pupils considered small ways to help others and created pledges. These were linked into a class pledge chain, showing how our actions connect and strengthen our school community.

Year 2 – Caring for Creation: Eco-Shields
Children designed shields divided into sections for animals, trees, oceans, and people, and thought carefully about actions they could take to protect God’s creation.

Year 3 – Brighten Up: Pledge Sunbursts
Pupils explored how their actions can “bring light” to others. Each child wrote a pledge at the centre of a sunburst, with rays showing outward actions to help, care and inspire hope.

Year 4 – Guardians of God’s Creation: Silhouette Art
Children reflected on stewardship and created striking silhouette artwork against bright backgrounds. Each child added a Stewardship Pledge, committing to care for the environment and those around them.

Year 5 – Voices for Justice: Posters
Pupils explored issues of justice and fairness and designed posters highlighting causes important to them. Each poster included a personal pledge for action, showing how they can help build a fairer, kinder world.

Year 6 – Hope in Action: Banners
Children explored Catholic Social Teaching principles such as stewardship, solidarity, and the common good. They created banners with symbols, colours and words representing their chosen principle and practical pledges to act.

Postcards of Hope
Children also wrote Postcards of Hope, sharing messages of hope, joy and love with their families. These postcards went home to inspire and encourage others to think about how they too can build a better world.

Afternoon Reflection & Stay & Pray

In the afternoon, we enjoyed reflection activities and class celebrations. Families joined us for a Stay & Pray session, where our whole school community gathered to reflect on the Jubilee Year and celebrate how our pupils are living out hope, kindness and care for others.

It was a day to pause, celebrate and give thanks for the many ways our children are making a difference – small acts of kindness, care for creation, standing up for justice and sharing hope with those around them. We finished the day feeling proud, grateful and inspired by our pupils’ commitment to being Pilgrims of Hope.

Photographs from the day have been shared with families via ClassDoJo, capturing the children’s energy, creativity and joy throughout the day.