At St Barbara’s Catholic Primary School, we welcome all families, including those of other faith traditions and families with no particular history of Christian Education. As a Catholic School, we hold core Catholic beliefs central to our mission and have developed our teaching and learning across the entire curriculum.
All curriculum areas have a religious dimension: inviting students to examine the world of human culture and the world of religion, exploring a Catholic world view, fostering the search for meaning and truth, and making links to the Good News of Jesus. This religious dimension is given depth by the faith witness of staff through their presence, relationships and teaching.
Catholic schools view Religious Education as a core curriculum area. As well as being an opportunity to develop knowledge and skills, values, and dispositions, Religious Education in a Catholic school invites students into a deepening encounter with the living God.
Our Religious Education Programme, is developed using the Crossways – Religious Education for Catholic Schools and MITIOG curriculum developed by Catholic Education SA. We respect that all students learn differently and the world of students today is rapidly changing. The Crossways framework is grounded in Catholic tradition – yet warmly invites students to deepen their connection with God and the culture of the Catholic Church. All children participate in daily prayer, grace before meals and end of day blessings.
Students are both invited and challenged to deepen their understanding of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the foundation of our entire educational enterprise in Catholic schools and of the way that we believe, live and celebrate.
Prayer
Prayer is the way to enter into a two way relationship with God. Through times of stillness and peace, students come to know themselves and then to know God.
Why do we pray? We pray to keep our balance, to keep our focus firmly on God, to know that whatever happens God journeys with us.
Without prayer we can lose our focus, our direction, our sense of working with God.
To nurture our relationship with God we simply must be a community who know how to pray. The staff pray together once a week and classes share prayer time each day. Grace before meals is one way in which our students learn to be grateful for all that they have and each day is concluded with a blessing.
Religious Celebration
Our rituals and celebrations play an important part in school life. Regular prayer, celebration of the Eucharist and special liturgies are all part of normal school life. On Holy Days and some special Feast Days, the whole school takes part in some form of religious celebration.
Sacramental Programmes
Sacraments are an integral part of our Catholic Tradition. During their time at St. Barbara’s, baptized Catholic children will receive invitations to celebrate the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Confirmation, and Eucharist. All students learn about these Sacraments through Saint BCP, our local Parish in Roxby Downs.
The Sacraments are a celebration of the gift of life and love in a very special way. Therefore, it's crucial that this celebration occurs within a welcoming community and with strong family support and active involvement in the life of the Parish.