Faith and Mission

Year 10 Sacred Sites Tour

Last Thursday, March 3rd, all Year 10 students participated in a sacred sites excursion facilitated by the Interreligious Network of Greater Dandenong. This was a part of their study of interreligious dialogue in Religious Education. 

The following reflection was written by Isabelle and Chelsea from St Thomas on behalf of the Year 10 students:

The Year 10s went on an excursion to visit religious sites. We visited the Hindu Temple, Islamic Mosque, Anglican Church and a Buddhist Temple so we could immerse ourselves in interreligious dialogue. Our favourite site was the Islamic Mosque as the interior was exquisite and discovering more about the Islamic religion was intriguing. Though the day was hot, it did not take away our attention from being involved and enjoying learning about different religions. We really enjoyed the day and become more educated about different religions other than our own, it was a time we won’t ever forget! Thank you to everyone who organised and helped make this day possible!

Thanks to Ms Garofalo and Ms Galante and the Year 10 team who took our students on this great excursion which promotes the understanding and appreciation of other faiths. Thanks to Ms Luecke  who extended this idea further by taking a group of Year 10 and 11 students to the Building Bridges program on Wednesday night beginning at the King David School  (Jewish). This program runs over several months and visits five schools of various faiths. It is a great opportunity again for our students to share their faiths with students from other religious backgrounds and so, build bridges of friendship and understanding.

King David students were most impressive as they proudly showed us around their school and explained their faith to our students. Dinner was provided and our students had a chance to meet and connect with a range of faiths and schools. We have a further five meetings to go and look forward to the discussions and understandings we can gain.

Peter O’Neill

Assistant Principal : Faith and Mission