<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Salesian schools UK]]></title><description><![CDATA[The salesian approach to education is human, heart centred, rigorous and uplifting. Find out more here.]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Fri, 10 Jul 2026 19:21:23 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.salesianschools.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[St Phillip Neri]]></title><description><![CDATA[Today we celebrate the feast of St Philip Neri. A saint very close to Don Bosco's heart and to Salesian spirituality. Philip was born in Florence and worked for many years in Rome where he established the congregation of the oratory. Don Bosco used him as an icon of cheerfulness which he saw as a pathway to holiness and shared many stories of the saint to encourage his young people. But he was not just a figure of cheerfulness and fun, he was also a skilled listener and confessor who guided...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/st-phillip-neri</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a15672e5a29a5f5090213e0</guid><pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2026 10:06:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b393b9_fa7e3f2a37c9471dbac92b2a95151718~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_310,h_162,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Finding the sparks in Young People]]></title><description><![CDATA[Finding sparks in young lives]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/finding-the-sparks-in-young-people</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69e0c08fc0d279b375a938e8</guid><pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:41:13 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b393b9_72b8c1ba2d58481f8da3b0ad01c8e20e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_694,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Pope Leo  Peace and your Lent]]></title><description><![CDATA[Peace begins with each one of us: in the way we look at others, listen to others and speak about others. In this sense, the way we communicate is of fundamental importance: we must say 'no' to the war of words and images, we must reject the paradigm of war."   On January 1st Pope Leo XIV released the theme for the 2026 World Day of Peace, which is: “Peace be with you all: Towards an ‘unarmed and disarming’ peace."     This peace must be unarmed, that is, not based on fear, threats or weapons,...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/pope-leo-peace-and-your-lent</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69971a6e506845fe36d8588f</guid><pubDate>Thu, 19 Feb 2026 14:13:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b393b9_266e2e8845d246c69f39fe2c935b1a31~mv2.webp/v1/fit/w_960,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[EVER AT PLAY IN GOD'S PRESENCE]]></title><description><![CDATA[This weekend sees many Salesian schools leaving lessons behind and taking time to play and celebrate the feast of Don Bosco. This is fantastic because Don Bosco's work began with play, and it remains at the centre of his  spirituality. To play means to be in the present moment. It means being together without any other agenda. It allows the world to turn without you for a while and creates a space for people to be together with games and entertainment or alone with a hobby. In the emerging...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/ever-at-play-in-god-s-presence</link><guid isPermaLink="false">697b38d6dbf46e99c1e9e9b3</guid><pubDate>Thu, 29 Jan 2026 11:18:44 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="http://video.wixstatic.com/video/b393b9_b6778dc7c3e444a6923c254b0ffb3581/720p/mp4/file.mp4" length="0" type="video"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Accompanying Young People in Salesian Schools]]></title><description><![CDATA[As we move towards the feast of Don Bosco this weekend here is a reflection on one of his key skills as an educator and friend of the young. One that lies at the heart of our conference in March.   Accompanying young people is a central role of teachers in Salesian schools. That accompaniment of learners is a helping relationship aiming to remove the obstacles to learning at many levels in a young person’s life. It includes and at times goes beyond the achievement of academic success. The...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/accompanying-young-people-in-salesian-schools-1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">697374fabefaa1002190e0e7</guid><pubDate>Fri, 23 Jan 2026 13:33:29 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b393b9_c9e6acc15e8f4fdfbfb9a2f5a0dce11b~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_563,h_777,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Fights and Forgiveness]]></title><description><![CDATA[A story of the young Don Bosco John had an older brother called Joseph. Generally, they got on very well and were to become life-long friends. But, as a young child, John would occasionally take delight in winding Joseph up. When Joseph, being older and stronger, reacted in frustration the young John Bosco lost his temper completely and a full scale fight began. On one such occasion his mother Margaret took control. She knew that it was John who had provoked the quieter Joseph to fight and so...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/fights-and-forgiveness</link><guid isPermaLink="false">696a56e5d896cb8b69391524</guid><pubDate>Fri, 16 Jan 2026 15:53:29 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b393b9_94aba9a57e9b4377975e33ebfbb1dcfb~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_626,h_569,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Taking Jesus for a ride at Christmas]]></title><description><![CDATA[Based on a true story from Sherbourne Abbey in Dorset* The parish priest was so proud at Christmas midnight mass! He had been working for a year with the parish liturgy group to update the nativity scene. He knew that a good crib could help his parishioners to pray. He preached about the beautiful figure of the baby Jesus in his midnight homily and the liturgy group shared in blessing the whole nativity scene at the start of that mass. So, it was with horror and disbelief that the parish...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/taking-jesus-for-a-ride-at-christmas</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6947e66c93dd8b221e6b8a24</guid><pubDate>Sun, 21 Dec 2025 12:42:49 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b393b9_da48732354ea46709d429f2a04f074a6~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The DNA of Christmas]]></title><description><![CDATA[I have suspected for a long time that many of us do not really believe in the nativity. We know the story, pull the crackers, slice the turkey and we see only the trimmings of a seasonal pause in the year. If we really did believe in the nativity we would need to make room at Christmas for confusion, wonder and even fear because the crib tells us that Jesus is closer to us than we even dare to think. We are spirally bound into God My own experience of that closeness is that it ebbs and flows....]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/the-dna-of-christmas</link><guid isPermaLink="false">693bdd24055df7302e904796</guid><pubDate>Fri, 12 Dec 2025 09:34:26 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a27d24_42c34095cb4b452bb049872ccb174cf3~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_431,h_270,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Drawing new Maps of Hope]]></title><description><![CDATA[A video summary and a longer text Pope Leo’s Apostolic Letter “Drawing New Maps of Hope” is a strong reaffirmation of “Gravissimum Educationis” from 1965, emerging from Vatican II. Both texts point to an awareness that education is part of the fabric of evangelisation and therefore at the heart of the church mission. Education is presented as vital to the life and the health of the church. Leo, like Francis before him, has been a classroom teacher and speaks with a lived experience of...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/drawing-new-maps-of-hope</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6932a4ffd6a3f601d648d0d8</guid><pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2025 09:28:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="http://youtu.be/gYyYTrBLaMM" length="0" type="video"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Decoding John Bosco's dream at the age of nine.]]></title><description><![CDATA[Read the dream in Don Bosco's own words then listen to the podcast below. When I was about nine years old, I had a dream that left a profound impression on me for the rest of my life. I dreamt that I was near my home in a very large playing field where a crowd of children were having fun. Some were laughing, others were playing, and many were cursing. I was so shocked at their language that I jumped in their midst, and I started swinging my fists wildly shouting at them to stop. At that...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/decoding-john-bosco-s-dream-at-the-age-of-nine</link><guid isPermaLink="false">690ddc5ae124b778611974b8</guid><pubDate>Fri, 07 Nov 2025 11:58:58 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b393b9_3ecb7a9b007d4dd79a670c66f49c4904~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_904,h_600,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A reflection for teachers on returning to school]]></title><description><![CDATA[Its time to dive back in! There’s no going back now! You’ve done it! You’ve started a new school year. You are surrounded by colleagues...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/a-reflection-for-teachers-on-returning-to-school</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68af0f1cb557bd83403f8b5d</guid><pubDate>Wed, 27 Aug 2025 14:15:42 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b393b9_f9b25651fcc04d62b2c4640be836841d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_675,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Welcome to the silly season!]]></title><description><![CDATA[It’s August, it is hot and we have entered what people call “the silly season.” Weird stories appear on the news and all around the...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/welcome-to-the-silly-season</link><guid isPermaLink="false">689b27bcd81f1e4318a78517</guid><pubDate>Tue, 12 Aug 2025 11:55:23 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b393b9_309c05c4e8e14a7a82e39ac4894b6873~mv2.webp/v1/fit/w_1000,h_720,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A tribute to Mary at the end of May]]></title><description><![CDATA[Most of May seems to have slipped by with the emphasis on Easter and the changes in papal leadership. In these last days of May I want to...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/a-tribute-to-mary-at-the-end-of-may</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68388204d569a830f8aaf75b</guid><pubDate>Thu, 29 May 2025 16:03:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="http://video.wixstatic.com/video/b393b9_9ef680756dd7462daa26ae9a28e45669/1080p/mp4/file.mp4" length="0" type="video"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Coffee Shop]]></title><description><![CDATA[There's more to coffee than coffee It’s just a coffee shop on a high street near you. It’s full of buzz, bangs and bags of shopping. ...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/coffee-shop</link><guid isPermaLink="false">682af3e5d8ae4f7fc34cd0e6</guid><pubDate>Mon, 19 May 2025 09:43:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b393b9_29916a1b5a9b49bc9c29514e3f1c7986~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Pope Francis]]></title><description><![CDATA[Francis, thank you for all you have done for our church, the Gospel and humanity. Rest in peace, our prayers will follow you to heaven....]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/pope-francis-1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">680607c2e58449047ec81a15</guid><pubDate>Mon, 21 Apr 2025 08:58:38 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Pope Francis]]></title><description><![CDATA[Thank you for all you have done for our church, the Gospel and humanity. Rest in peace, our prayers will follow you to heaven. Official...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/pope-francis</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6806032b7dce486abaa6aac3</guid><pubDate>Mon, 21 Apr 2025 08:42:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b393b9_4124faaf925243f59ea84406aae2066f~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_300,h_168,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[There's no escaping Easter]]></title><description><![CDATA[I didn't get to the Easter vigil last night. I wasn't well and stayed at home. But Easter reaches all of us, and the shock of...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/there-s-no-escaping-easter</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6805fff00306f55bd56f73cf</guid><pubDate>Mon, 21 Apr 2025 08:29:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b393b9_e4b40becca044c7f8ffb3e3ea5fdbbca~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_960,h_502,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Holy Saturday The empty day?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Holy Saturday is a unique day in the liturgical pattern of the church. Today there is no formal ceremony until the vigil service of...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/holy-saturday-the-empty-day</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68022f2e4823aecc154ca70a</guid><pubDate>Fri, 18 Apr 2025 10:56:43 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b393b9_6c17192891e84f97a8a4a6e2c029df4e~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_686,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The presence of Jesus is unstoppable]]></title><description><![CDATA[Flame 2025 Flame 2025 saw more than 10,000 young people from every part of England and Wales, as well as a group from Gibraltar, Austria...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/the-presence-of-jesus-is-unstoppable</link><guid isPermaLink="false">67d6be2a7f6f9dfc8271a91a</guid><pubDate>Sun, 16 Mar 2025 12:23:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b393b9_25b500ed60094a84b84a96b03a19e2ed~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_641,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[An MOT in Lent]]></title><description><![CDATA[Lent, a time to look under the hood Listen to the podcast We all know that every car has to have a regular check-up to see if it is safe...]]></description><link>https://www.salesianschools.com/post/an-mot-in-lent</link><guid isPermaLink="false">67b45fcd4e9f793e1b7f2082</guid><pubDate>Tue, 18 Feb 2025 10:42:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b393b9_f09a2e8365244d61a9fda6c65ed76c47~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_580,h_262,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>David OMalley</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>