Welcome to St. Catherine of Siena House. At Archbishop Ilsley School and in St. Catherine of Siena house will work together as a family in pursuit of excellence - in our studies, spirituality, personality and socially. Our house colours are Black and Gold, signifying our desire to be the best.
As soon as we all cross the school gate in year 7 or as a member of staff, we have all chosen to represent Archbishop Ilsley School and for us, St. Catherine of Siena House. With that we all strive to follow four core principles:
Commitment - Our motivations day by day may change, but we all choose our attitude. We come to school to be winners. We are all in charge of this attitude and as soon as we enter our school we have to work towards this goal. This comes from and intrinsic drive where we all have to be committed to succeed.
Ownership - In our house everyone is expected to have an opinion and have a voice. We work in a positive learning environment where everyone is happy and obliged to communicate in our family. The 'crown' is place firmly on the pupil.
Responsibility - Everyone is accountable for their actions in our house, and we have a 'blame culture.' We decide our behaviours, we choose our attitudes and we are in charge of our attitude and what is needed to be the best we can be.
Excellence - When we have commitment, take ownership, and understand our responsibilities, we will all achieve excellence. This is personal excellence, and being the best person we can be, the best we can work towards and excellence for ourselves.
WHO WAS ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA?

Catherine was the 25th child of wool dyer in northern Italy. She started having mystical experiences when she was only six year old; seeing guardian angels as clearly as the people they protected.
She became a Dominican tertiary when she was 16 and continued to have visions of Christ, Mary and the saints. Catherine had one of the most brilliant theological minds of her day, despite never receiving any formal education. She persuaded the Pope to return to Rome from Avignon in 1377 as part of her endeavour to heal the Great Western Schism.Catherine's letters and are considered among the best writings in the history of the Catholic Church.
In 1375 she received her Stigmata, which was only visible after her death. She died in 1380 at the age of 33. In 1430 it was discovered that her body had not been corrupted.
Feast Day: 29th April
Born: 1347
Died: 1380
HOUSE MOTTO, PRAYER AND COLOURS

PRAYER:
Dear Lord,Help us follow in the footsteps of our house saint, Catherine of Siena. Give us strength to be committed to our faith, work and education, like she was.
Help us to work hard, be inspirational and achieve in all that we do. Let us love and care for our family, friends and everyone around us. Help us to be the best people we can be.
St Catherine of Siena, pray for us
MOTTO:
'Embedding the foundations to set the world on fire'
This motto underpins our whole philosophy that if we all get the basic right and establish strong fundamental foundations, we can call be the person God meant us to be in St.Catherine of Siena House.