RE teachers graduate with Parramatta Certificate of Religious Education

On Wednesday 18 November, 50 teachers and staff from the Parramatta diocese attended a graduation ceremony that marked the completion of their Parramatta Certificate of Religious Education course.

The graduation ceremony took place at the Diocesan Assembly Centre, Blacktown with many school leaders, family members and representatives from the Catholic Education Office in attendance.

The course incorporates two qualifications - a Certificate IV in Theology and the Parramatta Certificate of Religious Education and is administered by the Parramatta Institute for Mission. The course includes eight modules of study over two years in the areas of Theology, Scripture, Sacraments, Liturgy, Religious Education and Church History.

The course aims to achieve three main outcomes:

• examine aspects of the Catholic faith and what it means to be a Christian, gaining knowledge and reflecting on their personal faith journeys
• gain a deeper awareness of the Catholic culture in schools, improve religious literacy and appreciation of the religious symbols and celebrations
• expand participants’ knowledge, skills and commitment in the actual teaching of Religious Education in the classroom

With this qualification, teachers who are Catholic and appointed to school positions can apply for Unconditional Accreditation to teach Religious Education.

In her address to the graduates, the Catholic Education Office’s adult faith coordinator, Cecilia Zammit, congratulated the graduates for their dedication to their studies while juggling their professional and personal lives.

‘As many of you discovered this study was unlike other tertiary study you may have done before. The sharing in groups helped deepen the knowledge and hopefully now you can teach with more confidence and conviction,’ said Cecilia. ‘I encourage you to initiate or join in conversations more freely on issues of God, faith and church with others.’

Cecilia thanked Institute for Mission directors, Sr Linda Ferrington and Sr Maria Bongiorno, and their staff for the professional way they administered this course of study and for the way they supported the teachers along the way. She expressed too, great appreciation to the mentors and assessors who journeyed with the teachers every step of the way.

One of the graduates, Nicole Sprainger spoke on behalf of the graduates about how they had benefitted from the course.

‘This was a very rewarding course which gave us the faith development and confidence to teach Religious Education in the classroom,’ said Nicole. ‘We were exposed to rich and diverse viewpoints of our Catholic faith and had a lot of time to reflect on the challenges the Catholic Church is facing in these times. For me personally, it certainly renewed my interest in religious studies.’

Anyone interested in enrolling for the Parramatta Certificate of Religious Education can register for 2010 via the CEO website under professional learning or contact Cecilia Zammit on 9840 5718 or cecilia.zammit@parra.catholic.edu.au. The next course will commence in February 2010.

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