Faith Formation experiences for students, families and staff that enrich our relationship with God are at the heart of our Catholic School. We enjoy a strong relationship between school, home and Parish. Everyone, no matter their background is invited in to be a part of these interwoven experiences:
• Celebration of Mass, Liturgy and Feast Days
• Sacraments
• Prayer
• Gospel Values
• Religious Education lessons
• Social Justice Outreach
Religious Education lessons are part of our curriculum for all students. Teachers use the South Australian RE (Religious Education) Frameworks of Crossways and MITIOG (Made In The Image Of God). They use these frameworks to plan and teach lessons that develop a relationship with God and help students to develop their own faith and appreciation, and an understanding of other people’s beliefs and faith.
Events and experiences of the time will also be incorporated into RE lessons as deemed appropriate.
The celebration of Masses and Liturgies is an essential part of our Catholic school life. Masses and Liturgies are hosted by individual classes or the whole school. The Masses and Liturgies have a celebration focus such as: a class topic (Creation, Love, Missions), the Feast days of our Patron Saints, Grandparents, Mothers and Fathers Day, Advent, Lent, school or diocesan themes (Year of Mercy, Year of the Family), First Communion, Confirmation and so on.
School Masses occur during the school week and we also have Family Masses on the weekend during the school term (usually Sunday 9.00am) when children assist with the ministries (reading, Gospel and Offertory processions).
Parents, friends & parishioners are always welcome to celebrate with us.
Sacraments are celebrated in St James Parish as follows:
Sacramental preparation is taught through the classroom Religious Education lessons. All class members (Catholic and non-Catholic) participate in the Religious Education lessons and are invited to attend information evenings and Sacrament celebrations. Parent involvement is a requirement for the Sacramental programmes.
We are committed to core Christian Values which come from the Gospels. We have a Gospel Values programme that highlights a value for a period of time; we look at the scriptures and learn from Jesus and explicitly teach how to incorporate the Gospel Value into our own lives. St James School has identified the following Core Gospel Values for our community: