Student Spirituality

Retreat Days & Reflections

Students at St John's are invited to apply for Retreat Day opportunities. These opportunities are available in years 4,5 and 6. Students apply in writing to the Leader of School Evangelisation. Such opportunities include:

  • Accendere in Term 2 of year 4
  • Exuro is Term 3 of year 5
  • Incitare is Term 1of year 6

Below is an explanation of the available retreats:

Accendere means to ‘switch on’, kindle to catch fire, light to strike, to produce/spark the flame.

Exuro (Latin for “on fire”) is a student discipleship formation program for Year 5 students that will strengthen the Catholic lives of students and keep the fire and passion of Proclaim Lismore Students alive in parish primary schools.

Incitāre means to stir up, incite, urge, spur, egg on. This will be a one day retreat using various group processes and student led discussion. Students will experience faith nurturing activities and skilling for being faith leaders in their respective schools. It is intended that this cohort of students will be invited back for similar days as part of student discipleship and peer leadership programs each year while they are in Catholic education.

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Religious Education 

Learning in Religious Education

Curriculum:

At St John’s Jesus Christ is at the heart of all we do, as we strive to bring the children to the fullness of life (John 10:10). This ‘Christ focus’ is reflected in the Religious Education curriculum in which the Gospel teachings of Jesus are central to all learning programs. Children have the opportunity to listen to, wonder about, respond to and retell the Gospel stories during Religious Education lessons. In this way they learn about the Gospel values of ‘love for one another’ and how they can live out these values in their lives each and every day. 

 

Teaching of Christian Values at St John’s

Making Jesus Real (MJR)

Making Jesus real brings the Catholic faith to life for our students by showing them how to live it every day. Through classroom lessons it gives them all the tools they need to  feel the Spirit of Jesus each day and find the God Moments that are always happening around them. 

MJR is not a program, but a way of life – Christ’s way.

MJR is easy, you are already doing it.

MJR is a simple message, it is part of our lives, the way we live our daily lives.

Every fortnight one child is selected from each stage for our MJR award. The qualities they display are highlighted at our Assembly and also in our school Newsletter.

 

Christian Meditation 

At St John’s, Christian meditation is practised in every classroom. 

Meditation is a form of prayer, a way to experience God through the stillness and silence of our hearts. It is John Main’s (the founding father of modern Christian meditation) belief that God is always with us, both surrounding us and within us. In order to find God, we become aware of the presence of God’s Spirit as love. A way to grow in awareness of this presence is through prayer and a consistent practice of meditation.

Meditation has many benefits for the children: it lowers stress, decreases the symptoms of anxiety and depression, enhances experiences of wellbeing and helps in the ability to stay attentive and to concentrate (www.cominghome.org.au/benefits).

To find out more about Christian meditation visit the World Community of Christian Meditation website at: http://www.wccm.org/

 

Social Justice & Reaching out to Others

Mini Vinnies 

Mini Vinnies empowers St John’s students to become advocates within our school and local community by putting their values into action. Mini Vinnies consists of students in Year 5 & 6.  They meet regularly to learn about social justice issues, develop leadership skills and engage with the wider St Vincent de Paul Society. They also organise fundraisers to raise awareness and money for those people in our local community experiencing social injustice. 

Caritas 

Students and teachers explore resources and information from Caritas Australia to learn about Poverty and how we as Disciples of Jesus can work together to create a more ‘just’ and ‘fair’ world. Students are empowered to respond to current social justice issues by creating fundraising events to bring awareness and raise money for those people experiencing poverty.  

 

Parish School links

Sacraments:

At St John’s we offer a Sacramental Program supported by the Parish. Students have the opportunity to receive the Sacraments of Confirmation, Reconciliation and First Eucharist during their time at St John’s. Students who are taking the sacraments learn about the sacrament during Religious Education lessons, in addition to this they attend after school instruction and preparation prior to the sacrament. 

 

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