Catholic Community

Involving Families in Catholic School Life

CSPV encourage parents to explore what it means to be a family attending a Catholic school. How are you involved in the Catholic formation of your child in your learning community? This includes how you engage in their learning about Catholic teachings through religious education and how this is acted on in their daily lives and yours as a family.

There are various ways families can be involved in the life of a Catholic school by:

  • Attending liturgical celebrations at school – many schools will present liturgies in the form of drama plays or special presentations at assembly that tell the story of Jesus to teach the children the messages of how to live as Jesus did in their daily lives – learning to treat others well and make a difference in the lives of others who are less fortunate.
  • Understanding how religion is taught in a Catholic school – have conversations with your child’s teacher about how the religious education curriculum is integrated across learning at your school.
  • Read more information about the religious education curriculum to understand the positive messages that children are learning about how to become model citizens through social justice learning at school.
  • Families are able to then compliment this learning in the home through teaching children about the world around them and how we need to care for others in our local and global communities.
  • Explore the stories the children are learning at school and how they relate to their every day world. What can they learn from these stories and how can your family lead by example?
Voices and Visions resource

What is Religious Education?

Religious education in Australian Catholic schools develops students’ knowledge and understandings of Christianity in the light of Jesus and the Gospel, and its unfolding story and diversity within contemporary Australian and global society.

It expands students’ spiritual awareness and religious identity, fostering their capacities and skills in discerning, interpreting, thinking critically, seeking truth and making meaning. It challenges and inspires their service to others and engagement in the Church and the world.”

NCEC, Religious Education Framing Paper (2018) 7.

Horizons of Hope Statement – Families as Partners in Catholic Education

The three major contexts in which children learn are the family, the school and the community. Families are the first educators of their children. From the moment of welcoming a new life into the family, parents take on the serious responsibility of raising, nurturing and educating their child. This duty extends to every aspect of the development of the human person.

The Horizons of Hope statement emphasises the importance of families in the education of their children and the ways in which they can be involved and engaged in Catholic communities.

 

Horizons of Hope Statement link

What is the mission of Victorian Catholic schools?