Religious Education

At Sacred Heart Primary School, our Catholic identity is at the heart of all we do—shaping how we welcome, relate, serve, and celebrate. We aim to form students who are reflective, compassionate, and inspired by Gospel values to make a difference in the world.

Faith is most meaningful when it is lived through dialogue, prayer, action, and community. Our Religious Education is inclusive and contemporary, grounded in the traditions of the Church while engaging with the questions and diversity of today’s world. In this way, students not only learn about faith but are empowered to live it with hope, justice, and love.

Enhancing Catholic School Identity (ECSI)

Guided by the ECSI framework, we nurture a Catholic identity that is dialogical (rooted in respectful conversation), contemporary (engaged with today’s world), and recontextualised (bringing the Catholic story into meaningful dialogue with students’ lived experiences).

In practice, this means we:

Create safe classrooms where big questions, doubt, and curiosity are welcomed with respect.
Invite students to connect faith with life—ethics, justice, ecology, wellbeing, digital citizenship, and relationships.
Value diverse backgrounds, including those of other faiths or no religious tradition, so every child can belong and contribute.
Encourage critical and creative thinking, so students can make sense of symbols, Scripture, and Catholic teaching in age-appropriate ways.

Our preferred stance, consistent with ECSI insights, is Recontextualisation—deeply rooted in the Catholic tradition while genuinely engaging with contemporary culture.

Religious Education Curriculum

We use the Awakenings Religious Education curriculum, developed by the Diocese of Ballarat. This is based on the Shared Christian Praxis model, where students reflect on their own experiences, explore Scripture and Catholic tradition, and consider how faith invites them to act.

The model follows five steps: Focusing, Naming, Reflecting, Responding, and Evaluating.

At Sacred Heart, we give special attention to the Respond phase, where students are encouraged to live out their learning in ways that are practical, creative, and meaningful. This may include:

Personal reflections or acts of kindness
Creative responses like art, music or writing
Participation in prayer, liturgies, and community service
Leading class initiatives that promote care, compassion and justice

Whether writing a prayer, leading a liturgy, or supporting a social justice cause, students learn that faith is something to be lived—not just studied. Responding helps make Religious Education personal, purposeful, and connected to real life.

Fullness of Life for All: Relationships & Sexuality Education

Our Relationships & Sexuality Education (RSE) sits within our Fullness of Life for All framework. Grounded in Catholic teaching and aligned with ECSI and Child Safe standards, it is age-appropriate, dialogical, and recontextualised—connecting the Catholic story with students’ real lives. The program builds skills for safe, respectful relationships (including age-appropriate learning about consent, body safety, and digital citizenship), honours every person’s dignity, and welcomes the diversity of our families. Learning is planned across F–6 and integrated with Religious Education, Wellbeing, and Catholic Social Teaching, with regular communication to families and opportunities to view resources in advance. For more information, please contact our Religious Education or Wellbeing Leader.

Fullness of Life for All: Relationships & Sexuality Education

Our Relationships & Sexuality Education (RSE) sits within our Fullness of Life for All framework. Grounded in Catholic teaching and aligned with ECSI and Child Safe standards, it is age-appropriate, dialogical, and recontextualised—connecting the Catholic story with students’ real lives. The program builds skills for safe, respectful relationships (including age-appropriate learning about consent, body safety, and digital citizenship), honours every person’s dignity, and welcomes the diversity of our families. Learning is planned across F–6 and integrated with Religious Education, Wellbeing, and Catholic Social Teaching, with regular communication to families and opportunities to view resources in advance. For more information, please contact our Religious Education or Wellbeing Leader.

Prayer

Prayer is an essential part of our spiritual life, but we are moving beyond traditional routines to make prayer more intentional, reflective and meaningful.

Students engage in a variety of prayer experiences, including:

Stillness and silent reflection
Guided meditation
Student-led liturgies
Spontaneous or responsive prayer
Class-based prayer connected to real-world events or classroom learning

Prayer becomes not just a daily habit, but a deep and personal space for students to slow down, listen, connect with God, and connect with themselves.

Catholic Social Teaching

Catholic Social Teaching (CST) underpins the way we live out our faith at Sacred Heart. We teach students to see every person as made in the image of God and to act with compassion, fairness, and courage.

Our CST focus includes:

Respect for human dignity
Care for creation
Solidarity with the vulnerable
Participation in community
Promotion of peace and justice

These values are explored in the classroom and lived out through action.

Some of our faith-in-action initiatives include:

Fundraising and awareness for missionary work in Peru
Volunteering at the local Parish Soup Kitchen
Supporting the St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal
Eco-justice projects inspired by Laudato Si’

By participating in these experiences, students learn how faith can be a force for good and how small actions of kindness and justice can make a big difference.

Sacramental Program

The Sacramental Program is parish-based, school-supported, and family-centred. We work closely with the Parish of Saints Anne and Joachim to support families who choose to celebrate the Sacraments.

The Sacramental journey typically includes:

Year 2 – Reconciliation
Children complete an online preparation program with their parents and celebrate Reconciliation during a special liturgy.
Year 3 – Confirmation
Preparation is completed through a digital platform at home. Students receive the Sacrament during a weekend parish Mass, often around Pentecost.
Year 4 – First Holy Communion
Families attend several parish Masses and complete an online course before celebrating Eucharist at a special Mass, usually near the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.

The school supports the program by facilitating communication, coordinating enrolments, and nurturing faith through Religious Education—but preparation is led by families in partnership with the parish.

This model ensures that the Sacraments are a personal and meaningful part of each child’s faith journey.

Our Parish Community

Sacred Heart is part of the Parish of Saints Anne and Joachim, which serves the Sunraysia region. The parish includes the Catholic communities of Mildura, Irymple, Merbein, Ouyen, Robinvale, Werrimull, Manangatang and Underbool.

We maintain strong links with:

Fr Matt Thomas (Parish Priest) and the pastoral team
Local parish schools including:
- St Paul’s Primary School, Mildura
- Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Merbein
  St Joseph’s, Red Cliffs
- St Mary’s, Robinvale
  St Joseph’s College, Mildura (Secondary)

Families are always warmly welcomed at parish events, Masses, and celebrations throughout the year.

For more information, visit: Parish of Saints Anne and Joachim – Sunraysia