Religious Education at St Clare’s is integral to the life of the school and has two dimensions— the educational component (content) and the faith formation (experiential) component.
The classroom teaching of Religious Education is the educational component and is a formalised program that has been adopted from Brisbane Catholic Education. It is delivered in the same style as the Australian Curriculum, with academic standards for each year level.
Catholic schools have an additional 2.5 hours of tuition per week in comparison to state schools to incorporate the Religious Education program.
Throughout the years of primary school, a strong emphasis is placed on the importance of passing on Catholic tradition to the students. The development of Religious Literacy for the students is also of great importance and acts as a strong focus throughout the years of schooling.
The Curriculum has been developed in accordance with the needs of children at different stages throughout their primary education. They provide opportunities for students to learn about and celebrate the Catholic faith traditions at a level that is meaningful to them.
Content for the classroom teaching and learning of Religion is organised around four strands with three sub-strands for each. The strands and sub strands are:
- Sacred Texts (Old Testament; New Testament; Spiritual Writings and Wisdom)
- Beliefs (God, Jesus, Spirit; Human Existence; Religions of the World)
- Church (Liturgy and Sacraments; Communion and Community; Church History)
- Christian Life (Moral Formation; Mission and Service; Prayer and Spirituality)
The deep understandings and knowledge, along with the skills, in each strand are taught in an interrelated and integrated way.
This second component of the Religious Education program, faith formation, is characterised by the many ways that our faith is expressed, lived and celebrated within our community. At St Clare’s this is done in the following ways:
- Prayer in the classroom
- School Liturgies, Masses and celebrations
- Weekly assembly
- Parish based Sacramental Programs
- Farewell Mass for Year 6 students
- Liaison with Parish and Community activities
- Altar boys and girls
- Class visits by the Parish Priest
