Religious Education Curriculum

St Joachim's Catholic Primary School shares and promotes the Vision for Religious Education articulated by Brisbane Catholic Education and the wider church. This vision is:

 ‘We are a Christ-centred community empowering our learners through faith, respect and service.’

The schools and colleges of the Archdiocese of Brisbane 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.

The Vision for Religious Education appropriately aligns with the goal for learning and teaching as articulated in the Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) Learning and Teaching Framework.

As a Catholic Christian community founded in the Josephite tradition, 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.

The Vision for Religious Education challenges students to be a religious voice in the world. The Vision gives greater prominence and a renewed orientation to the critical interpretation and evaluation of culture. Through vibrant and engaging Religious Education, students become active constructors of culture rather than passive consumers. In this way, students are challenged to live the gospel of Jesus Christ in their everyday lives.

Religious Education at St Joachim’s seeks to nurture students’ religious literacy within the Catholic Christian tradition, empowering them to engage critically, thoughtfully and authentically with contemporary society. At the heart of this vision is Jesus Christ, whose teachings inspire all that we do. Guided by our values of Faith, Respect and Service, we strive to foster meaningful learning, nurture positive relationships, and encourage students to live out their faith through their words and actions.

Religious Education is central to the identity and mission of St Joachim’s Catholic Primary School. Through learning, prayer, worship and participation in the life of our Catholic community, students are supported to develop their knowledge and understanding of the Catholic Christian tradition and to explore questions of faith, meaning and how we live in relationship with others.

At St Joachim’s, Religious Education recognises and respects the diverse faith traditions, cultures and experiences represented within our school community.

Two Dimensions of Religious Education

At St Joachim’s School and across BCE, Religious Education is contextualised in two distinct and complementary dimensions, as outlined in the diagram below.

The Religious Education Curriculum (P-12) has the following strands.

Sacred Texts comprises three distinct yet interrelated sub strands of Old Testament, New Testament, and Christian Spiritual Writings and Wisdom.

Beliefs has three distinct yet interrelated sub strands of Trinity: God Jesus the Christ, Spirit, Human Existence and World Religions.

Churchcompromises three distinct yet interrelated sub strands of Liturgy and Sacraments, People of God, Church History.

Christian Life compromises three distinct yet interrelated sub strands of Moral formation, Mission and Justice, Prayer and Spirituality.

Together, these dimensions provide opportunities for students to develop religious knowledge and understanding while also encountering the Catholic Christian tradition through the lived experience of our school community. 

The first dimension, most commonly referred to as the classroom teaching of religion, is focused on Religious Education as an educational activity. As one of our Key Learning Areas, Religious Education is based on an outcomes approach, emphasising the alignment of this learning area with the others in the Australian Curriculum.

The content of the Religion Curriculum has been organised into four interrelated strands: Sacred Texts, Beliefs, Church and Christian Life. Planning for the classroom learning and teaching of religion balances and integrates all four strands as demonstrated through the School Scope and Sequence.
Guided by the Brisbane Catholic Education Religious Education Curriculum, students develop knowledge and understanding of the Catholic Christian tradition while also learning about other Christian traditions and world religions.

Learning experiences invite students to engage with scripture, beliefs, traditions, history and contemporary questions. Students are encouraged to think deeply, ask questions, make connections and consider how religious traditions and perspectives can inform the way people understand themselves, others and the world.

As with all learning areas at St Joachim’s, the Religion curriculum is carefully planned, explicitly taught and assessed, with learning building progressively across the primary years.

The Religious Life of the School is focused on the second dimension of Religious Education, commonly referred to as “teaching people to be religious in a particular way” (Moran, 1991).

The St Joachim’s community is enriched by the vibrant Religious Life of the School, which is at the heart of our identity and mission. Students, staff and families are invited to actively participate in the four interconnected dimensions of the Religious Life of the School through regular prayer, meaningful faith formation opportunities, liturgical celebrations and the celebration of the Eucharist. Together, these experiences nurture a deep sense of belonging, faith and community.

Inspired by Saint Mary MacKillop’s call to “Never see a need without doing something about it,” our students are encouraged to live their faith through action. They actively engage in student-led social justice and service initiatives that support organisations such as Caritas Australia, St Vincent de Paul, Richie’s Rainbow and a range of other community causes. Through these experiences, students develop compassion, empathy and a commitment to making a positive difference in the lives of others. 

The Religious Life of the School P-12 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. Each component is further subdivided into three elements as the graphic organiser below indicates:

 ©Brisbane Catholic Education, BCE Catholic Identity (2023)

Students participate in age-appropriate prayer, liturgy and opportunities for worship throughout the year. These include classroom prayer, whole-school prayer and liturgies, the Opening School Mass, Ash Wednesday and significant celebrations within the Catholic liturgical calendar.

A particularly important celebration for our community is the Feast of St Joachim and St Anne, the grandparents of Jesus and patrons of our school. Each year, we celebrate our connection with St Joachim and St Anne and warmly welcome grandparents and significant older people to share in this special occasion.

Our Catholic identity is also expressed through our commitment to compassion, service, social justice and care for others. Students are encouraged to recognise the dignity of every person and consider how their choices and actions can contribute positively to their community and the wider world.

St Joachim’s values its relationship with the Holland Park Mt Gravatt Catholic Parish and the important connection between school, family and parish.

Through shared celebrations, prayer, community events and opportunities to engage with parish life, students experience what it means to belong to a Catholic community.

We welcome families from a diversity of backgrounds and beliefs. Our approach to Religious Education remains authentically Catholic while fostering an environment characterised by inclusion, dialogue and respect.

Opportunities for St Joachim’s students to prepare and receive the sacraments of Confirmation, First Eucharist and Reconciliation are provided by the Holland Park Mt Gravatt Parish each year.

If you would like to enrol your child in the sacramental program please call the Parish Office on (07) 3349 2280 or email sacpr.hpmg@bne.catholic.net.au.