Sue-Anne Sherwood

My CCD colleagues and I have been talking a lot about literacy lately We think that the two lockdown periods in consecutive years may have impacted on formational years across early stage 1 and stage 1 students. These are the years where basic skills for reading and mathematics are being laid down and for a whole cohort of children, they spent close to two terms learning from home

No doubt that parents were doing the best that they could, but many were juggling work and multiple children. It was a time when parents began to appreciate the work of teachers

We are seeing the trickle down effects of this time in our SRE classes, particularly in students in years 1, 2 and 3, but perhaps beyond. However for us the effect is twofold: reading/writing and religious literacy. Some families missed church services, others stopped going altogether and could never get back to regular routines And for those whom SRE classes was the only form of exposure to their faith, there was a very long break where we weren't allowed back in schools to teach, way beyond that of regular classes.

I must stress that there is hope By naming what we observe, it affects how we approach our teaching Perhaps more time needs to be spent on foundational concepts, or catering towards different learning styles There are many ideas in this issue. Incorporating play, art, craft, prayer, songs and symbolism we can begin to bridge the gap

It is almost unbelievable that we are now in the second half of this year Last term’s highlights for me include two firsts that I experienced as part of the CCD team

The CCRESS (Catholic Conference of Religious Educators in State Schools) Conference was a remarkable event As you all know, Alicia and I are both new to our roles and we had not experienced what it takes to host a conference before It was such a fruitful event, meeting different people across our NSW/ACT CCD network. For me it was truly inspiring to hear everyone's stories. I was blessed to share crochet crosses that I had made with all the attendees in colours of the liturgical seasons of the church with all the attendees Their words of appreciation will stay in my heart forever One delegate said that she will always remember me when she looks at the crochet cross and will pray for me. Isn’t that very moving?

Another first for me was the Pentecost Reflection Day event I relished being back in Chatswood again to help out with the reflection day for North Shore and Northern Beaches The mass celebrated by Bishop David Walker and concelebrated by Fr Marek was amazing! Thank you for the positive response that we received from the huge number of participants Fr Marek’s drone was a hit If you have not seen the drone video, go and check our CCD facebook page and be inspired with the aerial view of the Chatswood Church We look forward for the good numbers again at the end of the year reflection day.

I will surely have another first this term as we prepare for the CCD annual Mass to acknowledge the wonderful work you do Thank you for sharing your gifts with the children in our state schools Continue to be an inspiration to others.

Recently, when learning about the Holy Spirit a few students were keen to share that they were preparing for Confirmation A few weeks later when visiting a parish with our grandkids a student came up to introduce her family. Back at school she was happy to recount our meeting at Mass on Sunday I commented that her family seem very connected and involved in the parish community to which she replied: ‘Yes, we always go there’

The combination of home, school and parish in preparing children for the sacraments of initiation has long been the ideal. Obviously, families play the biggest part in the faith of their children but catechists do well to partner with families to support and reinforce the experience As one SRE student proudly spoke of his recent Confirmation I noticed others paying particular attention Later I overheard these students talking about the processes and encouraging each other to participate.

After class last week another student confided that she was to be baptised on the weekend It occurred to me that every family has their own reasons for deciding when and where to offer these opportunities to their children Our challenge as a Church is to meet them where they are at and accompany them as they journey on with Jesus

Next term as the days get warmer and the signs of Spring emerge it may be a good time to present a unit on the care of creation There are some beautiful lessons in the program that call upon a sense of awe and wonder to develop an appreciation of stewardship for the environment The attitudes and values encompassed in these lessons echo the ones presented in their regular subjects We can complement these for families of faith by adding a Catholic Christian perspective

Last term’s update began with a comment on the busyness of the term Well term 2 was not much different There has been lots of things happening in the various parishes as well as training via Zoom for Safeguarding and the conclusion of the CCDMI, started in Term 1

The recruiting situation is showing fruit, with a steady number of new catechists presenting for the Safeguarding/Child Protection training so that they can get into the classroom , This is always encouraging By the way, Term 3 is a great time to get out and recruit some more catechists. They can get the paperwork done, do the Safeguarding training and be able to get a taste of what it is like in the classroom before the year ends This may well give you a few new people to take a class or two and split the stage classes into year classes

Our Pentecost Reflection Day, held on the 26 May at The Entrance was well attended. "Come Holy Spirit," was the theme and was designed specifically for catechists to pause, pray, and reflect on their own experience of the Holy Spirit Tân Nguyen led the presentation on the day and all present were delighted with his sharing The term ended with the ongoing training for Using the Authorised Curriculum. Again those that turned up for the face-to-face training at Terrigal had an informative and enjoyable day It seems that the face-to-face events are enjoying a revival as we are enjoying meeting up once more as we did before Covid arrived

The only sad note this term was that we were unable to present our Tools for Teaching Workshop Day These days last year were a lot of fun and we are looking to offer it again in the second half of the year I hope and pray that you have a fruitful term and as you help the children walk with Jesus, they in turn bring smiles to your face and a deep peace to your heart.

Welcome to Term 3! The first half of the year has passed so quickly, and it has certainly been busy! Term 2 was full of activity, with lots of training, reflection days, and a conference.

I enjoyed meeting many of you at our Pentecost Reflection Day at The Entrance Despite the downpour of rain as our catechists made their way to and from Mass, the day was enjoyed by all We especially appreciated the contribution of Tan Nyugen, the seminarian at The Entrance Parish, who led our morning reflection

I also had the opportunity to meet many of you when you have called in to our Resource Centre at The Entrance to borrow some materials for classes We have a huge variety of resources here, so if you’d like to come by to have a look, feel free! Please call ahead to check our opening hours Or you can email or phone us to request resources, and we can deliver them to your Parish

This term, we will be spending time with many of our new catechists as they complete their CCD Ministry Induction training on Wednesday evenings on Zoom We’ll also be running our Level 2 Certificate course over a 12-week period, beginning late August I look forward to hearing from many of you as you register for this training

Don’t forget to check the CCD Website for the latest WWJ Powerpoints, the Term 3 links have just been added If you have any questions or feedback, please email ccdresources@bbcatholic org au Wishing you all a wonderful Term 3