Meet our Lay Chaplain

I’m Hugh Cafferky and I’m delighted to serve as your Lay Chaplain at De Lisle and across the local Catholic primary schools. I am passionate about a welcoming and supportive environment for all students, staff, and families within our community and together fulfilling our school’s mission. Through my vocation and mission, I am here to support and guide all through prayer, worship and to be able to help shape our Catholic Life and Mission. I hope to accompany you and I look forward to building meaningful relationships and being a trusted companion on your journey; whether you need someone to talk to, seek advice, or simply share a moment of joy, I am here for you. I’m excited to be part of this wonderful community and look forward
to the positive impact we can make together.

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The Mission Team

The Mission Team is a core group of students spanning from Year 7 – Year 13. Their objectives are to evaluate Liturgical Prayer, evaluate tutor group’s faith boards, and prepare afternoon prayer and complete audits for afternoon prayer.

To find out more about how our Mission Team serves the De Lisle community check out our Mission Team page here.

The Eco Team is doing lots of excellent work making the school more ecological and sustainable. The Eco Team meet up every Thursday from 3:30pm-4:30pm and complete a variety of tasks such as planting vegetables in our courtyard area, completing audits around school making sure lights are turned off when the rooms are empty, creating Eco posters and collecting pens that no longer work. 

 

Catholic life at De Lisle

The De Lisle school community joins together each morning and afternoon to pray together in standing assembly and in form times. Prayer slides are created and are sent out each week to form tutors to display the prayers.

You can find these prayer slides here

We also celebrate the feast days of our house patrons throughout the Year (Saint Margaret Clitherow, Saint John Fisher, Saint Thomas More and Saint Ralph Sherwin) and have termly house gatherings to celebrate our patron saint and the students within that house.

Liturgical prayers happen Every Wednesday – Friday each week. This is student led and always includes prayer, scripture, a reflection on the scripture and a mission for the students to complete.

We base both the prayer slides and the liturgical prayer off the Nottingham Diocese ‘Extra-Ordo-nary’ document.

Residential Retreats

There are many opportunities for our students to encounter the Lord, outside of the classroom

Year 7 have the opportunity to attend The Briars, which is a Catholic Retreat Centre within our Diocese. The retreat gives students a chance to develop their faith, get to know the Lord more deeply whilst creating new friendships and memories that will last a lifetime!

Year 8 go on a retreat to Alton Castle, which is a Catholic retreat centre based in Stoke-On-Trent (Birmingham Diocese). During this retreat, the Year 8’s will experience outdoor adventurous activities such as trekking, biking, indoor climbing, survival, archery and much more. This is combined with spiritual development through enabling the students to encounter Christ through liturgies, Mass and adoration.

Year 9 have an opportunity to go SPEC, which is a Catholic retreat centre based in Westminster Diocese. Here, the students will have the opportunity to have a spiritual and personal encounter with Christ and be equipped to live out the mission entrusted to them by the Lord.

Year 10 – Year 13 have the opportunity to go on Pilgrimage to Lourdes, located in the South of France. The Lourdes Pilgrimage is a fun and faith-filled 5-day experience. It includes attending Mass, exploring Lourdes itself, going on processions, visiting the baths, and the Grotto where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette and much more.

Retreat Days

We also run in school retreat days where a whole year group spends the day off-timetable exploring a particular theme. We have the wonderful support of guest speakers and workshop leaders and our local clergy who bring our days to a close with the celebration of Mass. They are an opportunity to grow in faith, become inspired and help our students reflect on the wider world and their place in it!

Find out more about our latest retreat days here:

Year 11 ‘More than a grade’ retreat day 

Year 7 ‘Young people demand change’ retreat day