Religion

This Term students in Religion have been demonstrating both what personal faith looks like and what bringing ‘the Kingdom of God’ to others looks like. They have been applying their sense of faith and justice to real world contexts and exercising their creativity in response to questions of stewardship, sacramentality, faith and personal choices.

Year 7 have been investigating how God’s sacredness is imbued in our everyday faith lives, through our everyday actions, but also special moments in a Catholic believer’s life known as ‘Sacraments’. This term they have researched a specific sacrament, related the important rituals and symbols associated with it, and thought deeply about how God’s invisible Grace transforms a believer.

Year 8 have been applying what they have learnt about ‘social justice’ into real world contexts, discovering how homelessness, disadvantage and hunger are sins against the dignity of the human person, and creating practical student-led plans to dually help the immediate needs of our local community and address the injustice directly through awareness and change. This process has led to strong realisations that Catholics are called to be agents of good in their local and international communities.

Year 9 have been getting creative! Looking at the idea of ‘See, Judge, Act’ in response to an environmental issue, and seeing at how scripture calls us to be ‘stewards’ of creation, caring four our common home and seeing God’s Grace in all living things. Students created either a video, podcast, art piece or song to bring about awareness and effective change. This, coupled with strong reflection, has led students to see the value of creation.

A few select creative works are shown below:

Year 10 have been looking at relationships and how valuing oneself and others through right choices physically and emotionally brings about mutual respect leading to true and lasting love. A deeply personal and reflective module, students have engaged in robust class discussion about physical relationships and the choices one can make to maintain their dignity.

Year 10 students also sat the Diocesan Religious Literacy Test on Wednesday, 17^th of September, which was a one-and-a-half-hour exam focused on the topics that they have learnt this year. The Religious Literacy test aims to extend students’ understanding of faith and allow them to demonstrate their ability to interpret, apply and explain the religious concepts that have been studied throughout the year. Every student in the Diocese sits this test, and results inform decisions about effective future teaching and Religion content. Congratulations to our Year 10 students, as this is a challenging test.

Brendan Neeson, Leader of Learning Religion