School Curriculum

The Religious Education Program at St Mary's endeavours to help all children to develop a knowledge of God and assist them in developing a personal relationship with God. We do this by developing an awareness of God as a loving Father, as Jesus our friend and teacher, and as the Holy Spirit who guides and strengthens us.

 

Through liturgical celebrations the children have an opportunity to express their faith, grow in understanding in the traditions of the Church and experience a sense of community. Whole school liturgical celebrations mark special occasions and events in the Church year. Each class takes a turn at preparing and participating in the fortnightly celebration of Mass in the school church . The school supports the Parish in the Sacramental Program which follows the Diocesan Policy of being Family Centred, School Supported and Parish based.

 

St Mary's follows the Diocesan Religious Education Curriculum Journeying Together in Hope. The curriculum is described in a framework covering doctrine from the Catholic Church. It covers eight strands: God; Jesus Christ; Scriptures; Church; Sacraments; Christian Prayer; Christian Life; Religion and Society.

 

The material and concepts presented take into account the different stages of faith development of children. There is a Parent handbook available which provides material to assist parents in the religious education of their children.

Religious Education

Teachers at St. Mary’s are highly qualified and continually attend in-services for the benefit of children’s learning. Our school is gradually implementing the Victorian Learning Standards (VELS) as per Government guidelines.

 

Within each strand of learning, the essential knowledge, skills and behaviours are organised into domains with further divisions and dimensions. Standards are written for each dimension. The relationship between the strands, domains and dimensions is shown in the table below.

Victorian Learning Standards (VELS)