Religious Education

OUR VISION FOR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

St Luke's Catholic Parish School shares and promotes the Vision for Religious Education, articulated by Brisbane Catholic Education and the Archdiocese of Brisbane; aspiring to educate and form students who are challenged to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and who are literate in the Catholic and broader Christian tradition so that they might participate critically and authentically in faith contexts and wider society.

St Luke's Catholic Parish School aligns the school Vision for Religious Education with the goal for learning and teaching as articulated in the Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) Learning and Teaching Framework (2012): As a Catholic Christian community, we educate all to live the gospel of Jesus Christ as successful, creative and confident, active and informed learners empowered to shape and enrich our world.

Jesus Christ is always the centre of this Vision. Whilst remaining faithful to the original Christian narrative, a renewed expression or re-contextualised position is enacted to ensure that the Catholic Christian tradition is clearly visible in the contemporary context. Through engagement with the two complementary dimensions of Religious Education, the religious literacy and faith formation of students is recognised as students are challenged to become cultural agents in light of the Gospel, authentic witnesses to the mission of Jesus Christ in the world today.

CURRICULUM STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION

Religious Education at St Luke's Catholic Parish School seeks to develop the religious literacy of students in light of the Catholic Christian tradition, so that they might participate critically and authentically in contemporary culture. Students become religiously literate as they develop the capacities and skills of discerning, interpreting, thinking critically, seeking truth and making meaning (National Catholic Education Commission, Framing Paper: Religious Education in Australian Catholic Schools, 2018).

The RE Program articulates a Catholic view of learning and teaching and is structured around the Model for Religious Education which emphasises the complementarity of the two dimensions of Religious Education: teaching people religion and teaching people to be religious.​

RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE SCHOOL

The Religious Life of the School complements the formal Religious Education curriculum; integrating prayer celebrations, symbolic actions and the Sacramental life of our local Parish to sustain and nurture a distinctively Catholic religious atmosphere. This, in turn, supports the spiritual growth of students and the school community as a whole. The Religious Life of the School comprises four interrelated components: Religious Identity and Culture; Evangelisation and Faith Formation; Prayer and Worship; and Social Action and Justice. Each of these components, while mutually reinforcing, provides a significant focus on a distinctive aspect of the religious life of the school.

Liturgy, prayer and sacrament are vital aspects of the faith life of St Luke's Catholic Parish School. All children from Prep to Year 6 are invited to be involved in class prayers and liturgical celebrations. St Luke's recognises that prayer and worship have the potential to nourish the spiritual growth of all members of the school community. At St Luke's, prayer is celebrated in a variety of ways.

Through vibrant and engaging Religious Education, students become active constructors of culture rather than passive consumers. St Luke's recognises that each human person is made in the image and likeness of God and has an inalienable human dignity and worth.  Drawing upon Scripture, social justice programs and Catholic Social Teaching principles, St Luke's works to explore the themes of participation, stewardship, sustainability, peace, justice, cultural diversity and inclusion with all students.​

Sacramental Program - Parish

Whilst the school does not specifically prepare children for their first reception of the sacraments, it is committed to supporting parish-based sacramental catechesis. Children are taught, through the school's Religious Education Curriculum, about all seven formal sacraments. The specifics taught spiral in complexity, building on and expanding concepts according to the developmental level of the children.​