Religious Education
Welcome to Armidale Catholic Schools
Religious Education is a mandatory subject for all students K- 12.
One of the features of our Catholic Schools is the rich religious education programs which are an integral part of all our schools from Kindergarten to Year 12. The Bishop of Armidale, as chief pastor, mandates our religious education programs and ensures that they are theologically sound and provide a rich foundation for growth in the faith for all students.
While recognising that parents are the first educators of their children in faith, the Armidale Diocese Religious Education curriculum enables young people to see and respond to God in their lives.
The pedagogical and theological underpinnings of Religious Education in schools across the Diocese of Armidale is founded in the Emmaus Story (Luke 24:13-35), a post-Easter story where two of Jesus’ disciples encounter the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus.
Four stages are identified in the two disciples’ journey
These four stages are reflected in the learning and teaching activities.
Making Sense
of life experiences.
Gaining Access
through Scriptures and Church teachings.
Celebrating
the life of the risen Christ.
Responding
to God in their lives. Students are led to understand their own life experiences within a Catholic context.
In K-2 the storytelling process is central to developing students’ foundational understanding of the scriptures, liturgy, and traditions of the Church.
Throughout their primary years, children are invited to reflect on Sacred Scripture, talk with God through prayer, discover the beauty of God’s creation and explore the meaning of symbols and rituals. Above all other things, this is the time when young people come to know how much God loves them, and when they are drawn into a love of God and others.
Students in Years 7-12 are invited into a deeper and more intimate relationship with God through their exploration of the Scriptures, their participation in personal and communal prayer and their living out of Catholic social and moral teaching.
Students in Year 11 and 12 have the opportunity to study either Studies in Catholic Thought which is a NESA endorsed course or Studies of Religion which is a NESA developed course.
