Religious Education

48 Religious Education

Many years ago, two brothers, Saint Peter and Saint Andrew, encountered a leader and friend in the form of a man named Jesus. These two men were the first recorded names of the followers of Jesus, commonly known as disciples. Jesus’s model of leadership was that of a Shepherd, one who guides the ones in his or her care. Throughout the year, the Preparatory School students heard stories of men and women who strove to lead people peacefully through challenging life experiences. During chapel services, students were encouraged to learn the power of silence as a way of being calm and peaceful.

The 2019 Sacristans were a team of seventeen enthusiastic students who modelled servant leadership throughout the year, while developing their areas of strengths.

Our school values, where we strive to Develop Positive Relationships (DPR Values), transcend time and place. This year, the three areas of focus were Hope, Compassion, and Respect. Each of these values are required to enable people to flourish. The Pastoral team, teachers, management, and support staff all work together to support students with these values. Students attend one Religious Education lesson per week throughout the school year.

In Years 1–3 the use of the online programme Seesaw was successfully used to share learning with family members.

Year 5 students were given the opportunity to give feedback via Student Voice as a part of Appraisal Connector. Information gathered from students, together with regular reflective practice by teaching staff produced useful data to amend and add to the Religious Education programme.

There were four Sunday Preparatory School chapel services throughout the year. Term 2 saw the introduction of a Year 8 Communion Service, which was a new initiative for this year group and was led by Rev. Paul Morrow. On 24 November, the annual Advent Service was attended by students from Years 1–8 together with

their families and friends. The service was in the form of carols and readings and was overseen by Jillian Fenton. Jillian spoke about the history and significance of gift giving at Christmas time, and the school community responded by giving suitable gifts to be distributed to needy families in the community by the Christchurch City Mission.

To conclude, in order to signify the end of chapel the following waiata is usually sung by all present.

Te aroha (Love) Te whakapono (Faith) Me te Rangimarie (And Peace) Tātou tātou (Be amongst us all).

The school community also supported Christian World Service, who support children internationally.