School Houses and Charity
Children at Our Lady of Lourdes have been put into house groups. Our houses are named after places that Our Lady appeared to people over the years, namely Carmel, Fatima, Lourdes and Walsingham.
Below is information about our different house names:
Carmel
Traditionally, Mary is said to have appeared to an early Carmelite named Saint Simon Stock at Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. Carmel House is the red team.
fATIMA
Our Lady appeared to three shepherd children in the small village of Fatima in Portugal in 1917. Fatima is the yellow team.
LOURDES
The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette in 1858 in the vicinity of Lourdes in France. Lourdes is the blue team
wALSINGHAM
Mary appeared to Richeldis de Faverches, a pious English noblewoman, in 1061 in the village of Walsingham in Norfolk, England. Walsingham is the green team.
In competitive sports events in school, we use house points to score and reward the winning team.
Our House Captains in year 6 work to support charities by fund-raising and teaching our children about the work charities do.
Carmel is supporting the charity Missio. Missio spreads God’s love by helping local missionaries to work alongside global communities that are poor or in need, regardless of their background or belief.
Fatima is supporting the charity Golden Geese. Gold Geese is a small, local charity providing tailored practical and emotional support to families of children and young people fighting cancer in the Southend and Basildon areas.
Lourdes is supporting Little Havens. Little Havens provides specialist care and support for babies, children and young people living with complex or incurable conditions, from Essex and the surrounding boroughs.
Walsingham is supporting Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society. Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society delivering vital mental health and emotional wellbeing services in schools across Essex and East London. Counsellors from this charity support children at Our Lady of Lourdes.