OVERVIEW OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Religious Education is central to the learning and development of students in Catholic schools. Religious Education focuses on the knowledge and understanding of the Gospel as it is handed on by the Catholic Church to those who follow Christ. It is through learning in Religious Education that students, through a process of cultural, systematic, and critical reflection, learn the teachings of the Gospels and understand how Christians live. Religious Education engages students into a systematic study of the teaching of the Catholic Church and the saving mystery of Christ which the Church proclaims. Students learn how religion motivates and influences the way people interact with each other and the world around them.

Religious Education plays an important part in developing the knowledge, understanding, values, attitudes, skills and capabilities of those who will take responsibility for Australia's future as a multicultural and multifaith society.

The College Religious Education seeks to provide rich learning opportunities and environments for young people which nurture them to develop a hunger for lifelong learning. Our goal is to provide students with the opportunity to develop into young people who have learned to serve and be responsible for themselves and others.

The Religious Education program taught in Year 7 – 12 is mandated by the Bishops’ of Western Australia. Students are provided with opportunities to deepen their knowledge of the Catholic Tradition and focus on the school vision and mission statements reflected in the College motto:

“Always Striving Upwards – to You, our God.”

Knowledge and Understanding

Catholic beliefs
Identifies how the Bible reveals truths about God.
Catholic practices
Describes how the Catholic Church as a religious community has structures that draw from the New Covenant instituted by Jesus.

Skills

Questioning and Research
Contributes to discussions and constructs focused questions about the topics by locating, selecting and organising information from one or more primary or secondary sources. Provides relevant responses.
Analysing
Exchanges ideas and information about the topics in a coherent and logical order. Interprets information from one or more sources using evidence-based judgements that consider purpose and context.
Evaluating
Summarises information using subject-specific terminology and draws conclusions that demonstrate understanding of facts.

Semester One
Unit 1 – Belonging and Acceptance in Catholic Communities
Unit 2 – The Universal Need for God
Semester Two
Unit 3 – Creation God’s Original Plan
Unit 4 – Growing in the Image of God

Assessment

Religious Education aims to share Catholic faith by promoting knowledge and understanding of the Gospel, as it is handed on by the Catholic Church, and of how those who follow Christ are called to live this Gospel in today’s world. The curriculum is distinct from but complements faith formation.

Effective Religious Education will reflect ‘the same systematic demands and rigour’ as all other Learning Area…It will have its own outcomes and present ‘the Christian message and event with the same seriousness and depth’ as other Learning Areas present their content (Mandate Letter, para 62).

Assessment Guidelines can be accessed on the College website.

Types of assessment:

• Investigation
• Explanation
• Source analysis

Assessment File

Students are responsible for retaining all of their marked written assessment tasks. Students are to maintain an assessment file (Document envelope) for the course. The file holds all the student’s marked written assessment tasks. All assessment materials are required by the teacher when assigning grades for reports. Students will have access to the assessment file for revision purposes during class time and for study. The files will be available to students for collection at the end of the school year. All materials not collected by the end of the year are securely disposed of by the College.

Organisation
Students are to bring the following to Religious Education class:

• College Diary
• MJR 24/7
• Binder A4 2D
• Exercise book
• Charged laptop
• Earbuds
• Stationery (pencil case containing: blue/black pen, pencil, eraser, highlighters, ruler)
• Bible (Catholic Youth Bible – New International Edition). The classroom teacher will advise if students are to store Bibles in the classroom or for students to keep them in their lockers

Students are to organise their laptops with the following:

• A Religious Education folder in their CEWA OneDrive to store all digital work
• SEQTA log in details to access the Religious Education program, assessment dates and marks
• OneNote and Teams applications, for access to digital resources, lesson instructions and classroom communication
• Email, to communicate with the classroom teacher when necessary