The ultimate aim of the Religious Education programme is to assist your child to develop a relationship with God and to know and understand the beliefs, celebrations and prayers of the Catholic Church.

We ask you to help your child with this by taking an interest in the programme through discussion on related topics, praying with them and helping them in their understanding. Please assist your child with any R.E. tasks that are sent home. These will be related to the topic in the classroom.

Our day always begins with Prayer. This will begin in each classroom at 9:00am and we expect the children to be present in the classroom at this time. We consider this to be a very important part of our day.

A Family Whanau resource which explains each of the strands the children will be learning at each level, level 1 – 8 is available online at www.faithalive.org.nz.

Traditional prayers such as The Our Father and Hail Mary are still very much part of our prayer life and if the children had some knowledge of these, that would assist in them feeling part of prayer time. Along with traditional prayers your child will be exposed to other forms of prayer during their years at St Marcellin School.

To Tatou Whakapono - RE Curriculum

To Tatou Whakapono is the newly introduced RE Curriculum. There are four Te Rama Whakapono Themes to provide structure to each level of the curriculum. These themes provide a theological, scriptural, historical and pastoral context for knowledge, teaching and learning within Religious Education.

Te Atua God - Focuses on the nature of God as revealed in the scriptures and the Tradition of the Church. It addresses such questions as who, where, what is God and what does God do? It considers each person of the Trinity: God the Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit. It addresses God’s relationship with us — individually and collectively, and our relationship with God

Te Rongopai Good News - Focuses on Sacred Scripture in the Tradition of the Church, as God’s relationship with people, with us (Revelation)33. It addresses such questions as what does the Bible contain, where did it come from and what do the stories mean for me? It highlights the ‘joy of the Gospel’ and addresses the complexity of revelation and interpretation as appropriate to different ages of young people. It invites and equips young people with ways of reading and praying Sacred Scripture.

Ā Tātou Whakapapa Our Story - Focuses on the Church’s story so far, but also on the young people’s own story, the story of their school, people and land. It addresses such questions as where did the Church come from, what are the stories of the Church, and where do these stories intersect with my own life? It considers the Church’s story as a shared story that has influenced the whole world and our own land from the perspective of ‘this is my own story and our story’, rather than just ‘their story’.

Kia Noho Hāhi Being Church - Focuses on individual and collective actions, responses and participation in the world in terms of understanding and living what it means to be in God’s Catholic Church family.              It explores aspects of being Church such as discipleship, Catholic Social Teaching, morality, virtues and values, ethics and human relationships, and how I develop and apply these understandings to my own life and all creation. This is also the theme to particularly develop and consider a ‘Catholic worldview’.

More can be found on the website: Tō Tātou Whakapono – Our Faith – New Zealand Religious Education Resource