College Religious Education

The vision of Religious Education at St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace is centred on our College motto, Servire Deo Sapere: ‘To Serve God is to be Wise’. Our College motto articulates our commitment to the formation and education of ‘young men who will make a difference through service of God, the community and each other’ (College Mission Statement). This vision is congruent with the teaching of Religion through the Brisbane Catholic Education’s (BCE) Religion Curriculum P – 12 and Religious Life of the School (RLOS) which aims to:

‘… educate and form students who are challenged to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and who are literate in the Catholic and broader Christian tradition so that they might participate critically and authentically in faith contexts and wider society.'

(Religious Education, Archdiocese of Brisbane, 2013)

St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace is guided by the compass of our College crest that features the three symbols of the Celtic Cross, the Star and the Book of Learning. These each represent knowledge, humility and wisdom respectively. Hence, through formal Religious Education and in all aspects of College life, we seek to foster the growth and development of young men who demonstrate knowledge of College values, expectations and traditions through action and example; humility in modelling respect for difference, leadership through service and responsibility for actions; wisdom in aspiring to excellence and engaging wholeheartedly in the life and mission of the College.

The Religious Education program of Terrace integrates the classroom teaching of Religious Education and the RLOS. The Dean of Identity, the Dean of Studies, the Dean of Students, the Head of Faculty Religious Education, the Subject Coordinator (Years 7 to 9) of Religious Education, Campus Ministry and the Program Leader of Year 5 and 6 work closely in the macro-level planning and design of the Religious Education Program of Terrace to ensure that it reflects the holistic vision of shaping the Terrace students who have a congruent experience of the head, the heart and the hands during his time at the College, coming to a genuine understanding of Gospel values through their active prayer and liturgical life, classroom experiences and mission and justice work outside the classroom. Furthermore, this collaboration extends to the respective House Deans, who both have primary responsibility for teaching Religious Education in many year levels, particularly in the senior school and who team teach in Religious Education across all year levels through the formation program. On a micro-level each year level teacher plays a crucial role in ensuring that the shaping and implementing the Religious Education program as both classroom Religion lessons and formation lessons are tailored to the learners before them, in terms of relevance, engagement and understanding that Religious is not a stand-alone curriculum subject, but is an integral part of their identity as young men.

As a Religious Institute and Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) school, all planning and delivery of the Religious Education program of Terrace occurs through the application of the Religious Education, Archdiocese of Brisbane and the Charter for Catholic Schools in the Edmund Rice Tradition.