The Vision for Religious Education gives voice to what St Mark's hopes for our students in terms of their religious literacy and faith formation. We aspire 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.
Religious Education consists of two distinct but complementary dimensions, namely an educational dimension and a faith formation dimension. The first dimension, most commonly referred to as the classroom teaching and learning of religion, is focused on Religious Education as an educational activity. It utilises a range of teaching and learning processes and resources. The second dimension, faith formation, is reflected in the religious life of the school, family and parish (see more:
Religious Life of our School). St Mark’s acknowledges that the educational dimension and the faith formation dimension are inextricably linked.
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The classroom teaching of religion is one element in a complex web of experiences that have the potential to nurture the faith life of young people. In the schools of the Archdiocese of Brisbane the classroom learning and teaching of religion aims to develop the religious literacy of students to enable them to participate critically and effectively in the life of their faith communities and the wider society. Here at St Mark's we are using the Religion Curriculum developed by Brisbane Catholic Education in 2013. It has been granted the Imprimatur by Archbishop Mark Coleridge for use in all schools in the Archdiocese of Brisbane. The Religion Curriculum P-12 describes core content that is to be taught and that students should learn, and is therefore the starting point for planning for teaching, learning and assessing of Religion in schools. The four strands of the Religion Curriculum P-12 (Sacred Texts, Beliefs, Church and Christian Life) are interrelated and their content is taught in an integrated way.
Of particular interest for St Mark's students is the focus placed on the rich history and tradition of Catherine McAuley and the Sisters of Mercy who pioneered our school. We also explore the past in our local area, in particular the role the Parish has, and continues to have, within the school community.
When teaching Religious Education teachers are required to use an Inquiry model and pose Fertile Questions for students to explore and answer. This process helps students become more active in the process of learning. Here is a snapshot of what students are learning about in Religious Education:
Our commitment to responding to the Christian call defines our school – the framework for our responses to what happens in the wider community and the way we go about being members of St Mark’s Catholic Primary School.
© Brisbane Catholic Education, (2023)