St Catherine's College,
Armagh
Cor Unum – One Heart
A future focused, faith based school which nurtures children through educational excellence
Sacred Heart Ethos
St Catherine’s College’s Sacred Heart ethos is beautifully reflected in the rich and meaningful lyrics of our school anthem, We Are Children of the Sacred Heart. Written by Deacon Eunan McCreesh, pupils learn the anthem in Year 8, and its melody often echoes on school trips, Leavers’ Days and other significant school occasions, including the annual Mass marking the beginning of the academic year in Armagh Cathedral.
Our dedicated Ethos Team recognises that values alone mean little. Actions speak louder than words.
To help promote this ethos throughout the school, we have developed our Ethos Team – a selected group of Year 13 pupils and committed to embodying and sharing the Five Sacred Heart Goals with their peers and the wider community. These senior pupils are supported by the Sacred Heart Goals Coordinator, Mrs Deirdre Hegarty, and the Director of Chaplaincy Services, Mrs Fiona Caldwell, meet weekly to work on a range of projects aligned with the specific Sacred Heart Goal being emphasised in that academic year.
The Ethos Committee leads and supports a variety of initiatives, including organising donations for the cross-community Armagh Foodbank, hosting coffee mornings with local RSCJ Sisters, and participating in Faith Programmes with our feeder primary school, Mount St Catherine’s. They assist in preparing younger pupils for the Sacraments of Holy Communion and Confirmation, and they regularly engage in community service, volunteering, and organising events to thank those who have supported their personal development throughout their time at St Catherine’s College.
Through these activities and campaigns, the Ethos Team seeks to embed values such as love, compassion, justice and gratitude into the hearts and minds of our pupils.
Our whole-school ethos is celebrated annually at our Ethos Day — a joyful end-of-year event where pupils share their talents and celebrate their achievements together.
Goal Art Competition
Each year pupils are asked to design a piece of art which reflects the focus Goal. One piece is chosen from each Key Stage and is entered into a competition with other Sacred Heart Schools from Ireland, Scotland and Malta. We have had great success with two of our pupils winning 1st place in their age category.
Grandparents Coffee Mornings
Over the past two years our Y13 Ethos Team have invited Grandparents in for our Christmas Coffee morning. This is a little time for grandparents to meet each other and experience the school environment where their grandchildren spend seven years of their lives. It is a way of thanking grandparents who support our pupils' learning and development. Pupils and staff welcome grandparents and thank them for their support and love.
Goals Book Marks
Each year the Y13 Ethos Team works with the Goals Coordinator to choose appropriate icons, quotes and inspiring characters to design a bookmark for our school community. These promote the Sacred Heart Goal for the academic year and are used to stimulate mindfulness and reflective moments.
Year 9 St. Catherine’s College winners, Aoife and Anna
The JPIC (Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation) Learning Hub is hosted by the International Society of the Sacred Heart (rscjinternational.org) and aims to be an information and learning centre that will support the family of the Sacred Heart.
These talented pupils entered the JPIC International Design Contest. They were invited to design and create images of "Being Artisans of Hope in our Blessed and Broken World.” As a symbolic representation of restoration as beauty, Aoife was given special commendation with her artwork.
Anna was one of four artists who was chosen as the best from among 204 contributions around the world. Anna’s artwork was selected because of its originality in content, artistic skill and colourful harmony. Anna’s piece shares an important message to its audience: “Many people feel that they are in a cave, but the light of hope still shines forth.”