Contemporary Contexts
At St Anthony’s, recognition is given
to the four contexts identified as having significant impact on
Religious Education in contemporary Catholic schools. They are the Societal Context, Ecclesial Context, Educational Context and Digital Context.
The St. Anthony’s RE program recognises
and supports both dimensions of Religious Education, the classroom
learning and teaching of Religion and the Religious Life of the school.
The Vision for Religious Education is realised in a contemporary context
where we strive to deliver quality education in Religion to all our
students as we do for all other subjects.
The learning and the teaching of
religion has its focus in the classroom religion program identified in
St Anthonys’ RE Program Scope and Sequence: Focus Area. In the same way
as other subject areas, it endorses a range of learning and teaching
processes that include rich learning experiences and resources.
Differentiated instruction and learning provides for the diversity of
our students and offers different avenues for the acquiring of content
and the demonstrating of that knowledge and skills.
Our school program has at its source of
reference from the Archdiocesan Religion Curriculum P-12. Which
describes core content that is organised into four strands, Sacred
Texts, Beliefs, Church and Christian Life. This document also gives
direction to the explicit teaching of Prayers from the Catholic
Christian Tradition and Scriptural Texts from both the Old and New
Testaments.
The Religious Life of the school is
about teaching people to be religious in a particular way. The focus is
on the spiritual formation of students and their faith development. The
interrelated components of Religious Identity and Culture;
Evangleisation; Faith Formation; Prayer and Worship; and Social Action
and Justice; are identified in the St Anthony’s RE Program Scope and
Sequence: Religious Life of the School.
St Anthony’s RE Program recognises that
the Religious Education of a person has a broader context other than
that of the school. The Parish of St Therese and St Anthony (http://www.kedroncatholicparish.org.au/ ) is integral to the Religious Life of our school.
Our school recognises the diversity of
our students both culturally and socio-economically. Contemporary
students are exposed to a wide range of values through media. An
increasing number of students and their families are less engaged with
the formal life of the church. The school is a place where students and
their families experience the mission and outreach of the Church.
Pastoral care link photo of Sacramental program label photos in relation
to the previous idea. Our school is committed to being a relevant
source of influence in a student’s life, integrating faith, life and
culture.
The classroom learning and teaching of
Religion is modelled on the best educative practice used in other
subjects. The tools and skills needed to engage with electronic and
digital Technology provides opportunities for students to express their
learning in rich and relevant ways.
Societal Context
St Anthony’s operates in a complex ever
changing world. Students come from a range of background
andexperiences. One of the reasons parents choose to send their children
to St Anthony’s is its connection to the Franciscan heritage and
values. Families are drawn to the relationship that exists between the
three schools St Anthony’s, Padua and Mt Alvernia. A high percentage of
families in our community come from a Catholic Christian background,
however our school is part of a broader Australian society and despite
the fact that many of our students come from a Catholic background they
are not literate in the Catholic Christian tradition. Religious
Education at St Anthony’s seeks to reflect a Catholic Christian
worldview that integrates faith, life and culture. At the same time it
seeks to embrace an ecumenical perspective and reflect the multi-faith
context and reality of a contemporary school.
Ecclesial Context
At St Anthony’s the Charism and Ethos
of St Francis remains strong within our school community. The Franciscan
Friars administer the Parish and Padua College across the road and the
Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception are still
involved locally in the Parish, Mt Alvernia and St Anthony’s. The Parish
Priest regularly visits the school and the children and is heavily
involved in the daily life of St Anthony’s. Many of the retired local
Franciscan Sisters visit and volunteer in the school. The Franciscan
tradition enriches our school life a provides a spiritual direction for
our school. Many families in our school are strongly connected to the
local parish and St Anthony’s students are regularly involved in parish
events including singing at weekend Masses and attending weekly Parish
Masses.
Educational Context
St Anthony’s seeks the transformation
of the whole person so that all in the school community are empowered to
live the gospel of Jesus Christ in their everyday lives. As a
Franciscan school we also walk in the tradition of St Francis. We seek
to nurture and develop the faith of individuals in ways that are mindful
of their cultural and religious identity. We recognise that the scope
of education has become more complex and that students require new
skills and capacities to address present and future challenges. As a
Catholic school we have a strong evangelizing mission and need to meet
the challenges and realities of this mission to live and proclaim the
good news of Jesus Christ. We are called to be relevant; to read the
signs of the times by integrating faith, life and culture.
Religious Education at St Anthony’s
builds on best practice of the broader educational community. The
classroom learning and teaching of religion reflects the philosophy,
content, structure, academic rigour and assessment and reporting modes
used in other learning areas. The religious life of the school forms and
skills students to negotiate the tension of maintaining Christian
integrity when confronted with the complexities of life in contemporary
society.
Digital Context
St Anthony’s believes in being a
technologies enriched learning environment to ensure the best possible
educational use of all digital devices so that the students can
collaborate and create in the digital space. We recognise the importance
of using digital tools as means of communicating ideas and creating
educational partnerships. The tools and skills needed to engage with
electronic and digital Technology provides opportunities for students to
express their learning in rich and relevant ways.
