The St. Vincent de Paul Society
The St. Vincent de Paul Society was founded in 1839 by a 19 year old Catholic student called Fredric Ozanam. The society is dedicated to helping those in poverty and need by providing practical assistance, irrespective of faith, ethnicity or gender.
St Vincent de Paul was a priest who dedicated himself to serve the poor. He spent his life helping those in need and was known for his compassion, humility and generosity. Vincent's life is a great reminder for us all, to find ways to help those around us.
St Oswald's Mini Vinnies 2022-2023
As a Mini Vinnie we try to...
Set a good example as a role model for others to follow.
Make a real difference to people who need our help.
Learn about some of the problems that are around us and try to make a difference.
Children In Need - Parents Well Being
Coffee Morning
We held a 'Pudsey Says' game with the parents. We think everyone enjoyed it! The Mini Vinnies were great hosts, making sure the parent's had plenty of biscuits to eat. We handed out a Pudsey Mindfulness Colouring page for them to colour at home.
Christmas Cards for the Elderly
In our meetimgs we have been talking about the need to look after the older members of our community who do not have family to visit them over the festive period. The children decided to create some Christmas cards to remind the older residents of the community that we do care and remember them during Advent. The cards will be delivered to our local residential home.
Prayer Garden
The Mini Vinnies have been updating our prayer garden this week. They have been planting shrubs and flowers to ensure our prayer garden looks beautiful. The prayer garden is a peaceful and reflective space which is used to pray, find peace or simply relax.
Easter Cards
The Mini Vinnies have made Easter cards for the parishioners of St. Oswald's. The children worked very hard to create the cards which included a special Easter blessing celebrating Jesus' resurrection. The Easter cards were handed out to our local parishioners after a visit to church to celebrate mass.
Mary Our Mother
During the month of May we are encouraged to pray the rosary and to reflect upon the blessed Mary, Mother of God. During this time the children are asked to write a prayer in a class journal. Ishara, one of our Mini Vinnies, wrote a beautiful and thought provoking prayer which I'm sure you will agree is outstanding. Ishara was asked to read out her wonderful prayer at the beginning of our Mini Vinnie meeting.
Healthy Tuck Shop to Raise Funds
The Mini Vinnies decided this week to raise funds for Hebburn Helps. After much discussion they decided to raise money for a charity which helps families to give food to those in need. Hebburn Helps is a local charity which provides help and support to those families to ensure food is available and to all those in our community who are vunerable. The children decided to run a tuck shop which has healthy snacks as we are a member Healthy Schools community, which encourages a healthy lifestyle. Here some pictures of the Mini Vinnies planning our tuck shop.
Healthy Tuck Shop- 25th May
Our tuck shop was a complete succes, all the key stage children really enjoyed their healthy snacks. The Mini Vinnies raised £50.03, the money will be sent to Hebburn Helps to support families across our community.
Bubble Prayers
Today in our prayer garden we all made bubble prayers. We thought about the scripture of James 1:17 after our Mini Vinnie Ishara read from the bible. This reading tells us of the good things in our lives as it tells us that every gift we have been given, come from God. The children called out the good things in their lives such as peace, family, joy and love. We then took the pots of bubbles and in pairs the children took it in turns to bless their partner with chosen gifts. After their blessings, the children said their own prayer which would be sent to God by blowing bubbles.
"I enjoyed blowing the bubbles because we were sending them to God because I got to pray for other people" Emily
"I enjoyed the session because I like being in the prayer garden and talking to God" Charlie
"I enjoyed blowing the bubbles and the peace and quiet because it was very relaxing" Rosabella
"I liked doing the prayers because I loved it when we blew bubbles and shared gifts" Rosie
Breath Prayers
Today in our prayer group we tried out breath prayers. The children were invited to think or say on the inhale of breath "When I am afraid" and then on the exhale "I will trust in you." We closed our eyes and opened our hearts to God after talking about how God will always be there for us when we need him. The children enjoyed this method of prayer.
“We walk in the footsteps of Jesus so that we may have life in all its fullness”
John 10:10