Religious Education as a particular curriculum area is critical to education in a Catholic school. It deliberately attends to the spiritual development of each person, acknowledging and celebrating the Holy Spirit at work, inviting relationship with God and a Christ-like stance towards others. At the same time, it is a disciplined process of ‘faith seeking understanding’, where the questions of God, beliefs and life are articulated and explored in dialogue with the Catholic Tradition to develop students’ faith lives and stimulate a search for meaning and truth. It is interpretative by nature and deepens learning when students are invited to explore cross-curricular connections. Horizons of Hope Religious Dimensions of Catholic Schools
At St Francis Xavier, the Religious Education curriculum is built into our Inquiry-Based Learning. This practice helps build connections between faith and life and a life informed by faith. Within the Inquiry Approach, the Pedagogy of Encounter is used and places students’ lives and questions at the centre of the learning, with dialogue as both the process and the valued outcome of Religious Education.
The Religious Education curriculum draws from the content areas of Jesus and Scripture, Church and Community, God, Religion and Life, Prayer, Liturgy and Sacrament and Morality and Justice. Our learners are supported to develop their:
- Knowledge and understanding – seeking truth
- Reasoning and responding – making meaning
- Personal and communal engagement – living story
Our students participate in the sacramental life of our Church and are prepared for the sacraments of Reconciliation, First Eucharist and Confirmation. Students of all faiths participate in this learning and are included in our religious celebrations.