Religious Education

 'Hold nothing back and have the courage to ask the "raw" and direct questions about life, love, and vocation.'

Pope Francis was quoted saying this to the youth at a pre-synod meeting in March 2018.

Parish Bulletin

The Religious Challenge

Last week, the staff engaged in some Religious Education Professional Learning regarding rich questioning sparked by the method of inquiry. Our collegial presence allowed us to participate in dialogue which is the cornerstone for embracing diversity, lived experience and challenge.

"If there is one word that we should never tire of repeating, it is this: dialogue. We are called to promote a culture of dialogue by every possible means and thus to rebuild the fabric of society.'' Pope Francis

As a staff, we journeyed down the path of provocation and how as educators, we can safely and professionally challenge one another and learn from one another. The development of rich questioning throughout religious education was a key focus of our learning during the day.  This learning will translate into how we present and provoke curiosity amongst our students to think broadly and question freely.

As educators our rich questioning needs to include an interruption to preconceived ideas and thoughts. We can do this through the development of questions that are: open ended, fertile, connected and charged. We want our students to ask the hard questions and research without hesitation to discover answers and quench their curious minds.

Our diverse school community, with many cultures and faiths, sets the scene for many quality opportunities of encounter. Contemporary education says it's okay not to know all the answers allowing the model of inquiry to give permission for an authentic means and discovery of knowledge sharing. Sometimes it is the journey to discovery rather than the discovery itself.

Jesus’ communication style focused on two things:  He told great stories and asked great questions! Jesus knew all of the answers and yet he focused so much of his interaction with people on asking them questions. 

Did you know that the four Gospels record 339 questions that Jesus asked? 

First Eucharist Candidates 2021

Due to the current lockdown, ALL First Eucharist events have been postponed at this point in time. New dates will be advertised in due course, once restrictions have eased.

We encourage families to keep doing the weekly lessons from the First Eucharist Program, guiding our candidates along their faith journey.

Grow in gratitude and empathy.

Michelle Hinds