Faith Education
The mission of the Catholic school is the integral formation of students.
— Pope John Paul II
Chanel College is committed to fully engaging young people in a secondary education that is enlivened by Catholic ethos and inspired by the Marist and Mercy traditions.
We are committed to a holistic, inclusive and Christ-centred education that provides opportunity for each student to learn the skills, knowledge and values necessary to thrive in an ever-changing world.
As a Christian community, we are passionate about learning and celebrating the unique gifts and dignity of each person.
We contribute actively to our society and seek the common good. We are inspired by Catholic Social Teaching and our motto, To Live Justly.
As a Catholic Education school in the Diocese of Rockhampton, we ensure that opportunities for reflection, prayer and liturgy are embedded in daily school life. This provides students with the opportunity to explore faith and spirituality individually, as class groups, year levels and as a whole College.
Celebrating Success in the Religious Education Classroom – 2021
2021 has been a busy, but very successful, year in the Religious Education Department and students in all year levels have been confronted, challenged and exposed to a wide variety of concepts, ideas and thoughts in their Religion classes and then asked how best to express and respond to these in a variety of assessment tasks. At each year level, teachers engage in collaborative planning and a key teacher is identified each term in each year level to oversee the organization of the Unit and coordinate teaching and learning.
This year saw the introduction of the new P-10 Religious Education Curriculum developed by the Archdiocese of Brisbane. Content for the classroom teaching and learning is organised around four strands:
- Sacred Texts (Old Testament; New Testament; Spiritual Writings and Wisdom)
- Beliefs (God, Jesus, Spirit; Human Existence; Religions of the World)
- Church (Liturgy and Sacraments; People of God; Church History; Prayer & Spirituality)
- Christian Life (Moral Formation; Mission and Justice)
In preparing and teaching this curriculum we ensure that all students are exposed to rigorous, relevant and engaging learning that also addresses their individual learning needs. By the time our students enter their senior studies, our units of work challenge them to more deeply understand the nature of being fully human, of critical thought followed by action in working towards social justice, of being more able to articulate ethical positions in personal and global issues, and to be responsible stewards of all God’s creation.
Again in 2021, students in each year level were offered a retreat experience appropriate to their age, and the work done in ensuring that there is a faith element across all year levels supports our evangelising mission and perfectly complements the Religious Education Curriculum. These retreats are one of the highlights of the year.
Central to our identity as a Catholic school community is the celebration of the Eucharist and we are very privileged to be able to participate in Mass, prepared by a different Religion Class, each week. We are extremely grateful to our Chaplain, Fr Andrew Chase, for his commitment to celebrating this Mass each Thursday at 1st Break and for breaking open the Word with the students as part of their Class Mass preparation.
Congratulations and “Thank You” to all the staff and students who embrace the values of our college with respect and grace. I would particularly like to thank the teachers who taught one, or more, timetabled RE classes as part of their academic program this year. The testimony of their own passion for religion, and their enthusiasm, energy, compassion and dedication to their classes is acknowledged and appreciated and has a powerful impact on all members of our college community.
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!
