Education in Faith

What is distinctive about a Catholic school?

• Promoting a particular view of the person, the community, the nation and the world, centred on the person and the teachings of Jesus Christ

• Challenging students to find, through God, meaning and value in their lives

• They aim to be welcoming and reflective communities whose most distinctive sign is the discernment of God’s presence and their spiritual lives.

• They form part of an active ministry which reaches out to parents and the community

• Acknowledges, promotes and celebrates the particular God-given gifts of each member of the school community

School of the Good Shepherd is situated on the same site as Good Shepherd Church. The children attend weekly Masses and School Assembly is held in the Church.

Rationale:

Religious Education is the key subject in the curriculum of the school. It has Jesus as its centre. Religious Education connects the ordinary to the spiritual by teaching children to interpret our world within the context of Gospel values. It develops individual relationships with God by teaching children about God through Scripture, Liturgy, Prayer, Tradition and Life.

Curriculum:

Our Religious Education curriculum is implemented in accordance with diocesan guidelines, based on the Religious Education Texts “To Know, Worhship and Love”. It is taught through an inclusive, creative curriculum, which is planned, sequential and relevant to the School of the Good Shepherd community. It follows the Good Shepherd Experience in the Junior School and the catechetical process in the Middle and Senior Schools.

For the Religious Education curriculum to be effective, staff need to:

• Have a good knowledge of the Good Shepherd school and parish community
• Have a good knowledge of Diocesan guidelines and the catechetical process
• Include time for Religious Education planning within planning time
• Participate in professional development in planning curriculum

Principles that Guide the Implementation of the Religious Education Policy

At School of the Good Shepherd, we believe that:

Prayer is a faith experience and is an important part of our faith expression. It is an expression of the connection between our lives and our relationship with God. We pray for a variety of reasons, for example, to praise, to thank and to ask.

Therefore we:

• Provide the children with a variety of ways to express themselves through prayer,e.g. dance, song.
• Give the experience of prayer in Liturgy
• Provide regular times for prayer both in classrooms and as a whole school.
• Encourage children to discover their preferred way of praying
• Use symbols and liturgical artefacts to focus attention and to evoke a response
• Teach formal prayers, e.g. Our Father, Hail Mary....

Scripture is a starting point and foundation in our teaching. It is an opportunity to reflect upon our human experience of the Christian Story as told through the Scriptures. Scripture provides nourishment in our life of faith.

Therefore we:

• Tell, read, reflect and role play scripture stories
• Explore scripture through dance, song and multimedia resources
• Reflect on Scripture through prayer and meditation
• Use Scripture as a reference to enrich the teaching and learning of the story of God’s people
• Study the Scripture text as literature e.g. Psalms

Liturgy is an expression of our faith. God is revealed to us through the story of Jesus’ life and participation in the Liturgy. The Liturgy provides a focus for the community to gather in God’s presence in word and sacrament. Through Liturgy we can assist students in developing an awareness of the sacred within themselves. Liturgy ritualises the relationship of life and faith through our Catholic heritage and traditions. The Liturgical celebration involves signs and symbols that connect our humanness to the sacred.

Therefore we:

• Provide opportunities to gather both formally and informally
• Develop student’s understanding of Scripture in order for them to fully participate in liturgical celebrations
• Create opportunities for students to gather in class, school and Parish communities
• Encourage students to more fully participate in the preparation of liturgical celebrations
• Provide experiences which help students develop an understanding of their sacredness
• Allow students to creatively respond to their faith
• Explore and deepen student’s understanding and knowledge of Catholic heritage and traditions.
• Explore with students the use and meaning of signs and symbols in Liturgical celebrations.

Sacraments are an essential part of the Religious Education curriculum. They celebrate God’s presence and activity in the lives of the school community. Because of the continuing revelation of God in our lives, the developing meaning of Sacraments is a life long process. Providing the opportunity to celebrate Sacraments in a sacred place helps children connect to the nourishing, healing, welcoming, loving and embracing God in their lives. It helps families and the parish community celebrate, remember and renew the Sacramental times in their lives.

Therefore we:

• Explore all church sacraments
• Explore the sacraments at an appropriate level of understanding from grade prep to 6
• Utilise units from “To Know, Worship and Love: as the basis of our exploration, and supplement these units with a range of resources
• Provide opportunities to inform and educate parents and encourage them to share their faith with their children
• Expose children to the life/service and activity of their local parish family and wider community
• Celebrate the Sacraments of Penance and Eucharist biannually in Grade 3 and Grade 4
• Celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation biannually in Grades 5 and Grade 6

Family involvement in the Religious Education program is vital to the continuing faith development of our children. For some families the school, as a domestic church, is a place of renewed faith experiences.
Through a mutually supporting relationship, the school and family work together as the Religious Educators of the children. Through involvement of families we are able to take account of the rich traditions from which the children come.

Therefore we:

• Provide opportunities for parental involvement, e.g. sacramental nights, family faith nights, participation in liturgies....
• Make efforts to understand various family practices
• Draw upon the rich family traditions and stories of our families