As a Catholic school in the Mercy tradition, St Joseph's College places great emphasis on educating students in the Catholic faith tradition, while respecting other religious traditions.
Religious Education at St Joseph's has several dimensions. Firstly, the foundation of the entire College curriculum is the traditional Catholic quest to integrate faith in the mystery of God with supporting reason and knowledge. This Catholic perspective permeates and challenges every Key Learning Area.
Secondly, Religious Education is a specific Key Learning Area, with formal classes in Years 7 through to 11. This curriculum is developed within the guidelines for the Ballarat Diocese called "Awakenings". It is planned so as to be relevant to the developmental levels of students and to be sequential in its development of concepts. It is aimed at challenging students in their personal faith responses and in their understanding of the Catholic and other religious traditions. The acquisition of religious literacy and religious tolerance are outcomes being promoted strongly.
Students in Years 7 to 10 are engaged in a range of units consistent across the year level groupings. VCE students, and those in Year 10 who choose it as an option, participate in a number of accredited VCE units - RE Art, RE Drama, International Studies and Religion and Society Units: 1 (Religion in Society), 2 (Ethics), 3 (The Search for Meaning) and 4 (Challenge and Response). These units offer an analysis of religious communities in the light of current religious and social trends. Year 12 students are expected to participate in a series of seminar days centered on Relationships, Social Justice and Personal Faith issues.
Thirdly, the Religious education of St Joseph's is supported and reinforced by the Mercy ethos, which permeates the College in all its structures and relationships. The Gospel values underpin curriculum planning in all Key Learning Areas and are reflected and promoted constantly in interactions between staff, students, parents and the wider community.
The College community celebrates and expresses its Catholic beliefs and practices in daily prayer, class liturgies, Year Level liturgies and major College liturgies and celebrations such as the Opening Mass, the St Joseph's Feast Day Mass, the Mercy Day Mass and the Final Year 12 Mass. These are community gatherings for worship and thanksgiving that are opportunities for growth in prayer, unity and a better understanding of the importance of our Mercy tradition.
St Joseph's College has a proud tradition of engaging students in the wider call of service to others, especially to those in the most need of loving assistance. We offer the College community a range of projects such as the Mercy Missions, Project Compassion, the Year 11 and Year 12 Community Service Programme, St Vincent de Paul Society group, visitations to local centres for the elderly, ‘Clean‐up Australia' programmes and a host of appeals for various welfare and social action agencies. These are aimed at awakening a keen sense of social justice and compassion in our community.
The Religious Education programme is, therefore, a multi‐dimensional approach which links formal classes and curriculum with a range of opportunities for experiential development through participation in activities which encourage the development of the spirituality of our students, families and staff.
The developments in the area of information technology provide both challenges and opportunities for students and staff to grapple with the search for meaning and search for God in this modern multicultural global world‐view, which is the experience of our community.
The Religious Education faculty and College community as a whole welcome the challenges of bringing the Gospel message to youth and families of our community in a way that provides knowledge, skills and stimulus for personal and communal growth in the Mercy tradition.
VO Religious Education Subject Information 2009
VCE Religious Education Subject Information 2009