Special Character
Religious Education Report
Keeping
the faith
& Finishing
the Race
T
he past three years have seen
significant changes in the
Religious Education Curriculum.
We have now fully introduced
Achievement Standards and they
are implemented in all NCEA Levels.
The boys have embraced them in the
Curriculum to them and are succeeding
well academically which is a measure
of their positive approach to their
RE studies, the hard work of their RE
teachers and the appreciated support
from parents and caregivers.
Religious Education encompasses;
Curriculum, Catholic Character, Retreats
and Chaplaincy and we are lucky at St
Bernard’s to have such a dedicated,
gifted and hard-working team of people
committed to the College and our
students. Mr Nick Wilson has
taken the lead on retreats, Young
Catholic Leader and O’Shea
Shield at SBC and we have all
witnessed significant growth and
development in these areas over
the past two years. Mrs AnnaMarie Dickinson is our College
chaplain and she is responsible for
the class masses, the preparation
of our Eucharistic Ministers and the
running of our sacramental programme
(Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults). This
year we have had two fantastic Special
Character leaders, Jonathan McMillan
and Joshua Dominikovich, who have
led the school social justice programme,
masses and liturgies with enthusiasm,
inclusivity and creativity. I am grateful
to the two of them for their strong rolemodelling of their faith, their positive
leadership and demonstration of their
Marist values and their commitment to St
Bernard’s College. My thanks also to Mr
Michael Fowler, Mr Hamish Sutherland,
Ms Kathy Taylor, Mrs Sue Johnson and
Mrs Natalya Mansell for their support of
14
Young Vinnies
Religious Education and SBC Catholic
Character, their positive relationships
with their students and parents and their
knowledge and expertise of Religious
Education taught in the classroom.
We will be saying farewell to Mr Nick
Wilson and Mrs Natalya Mansell at the
end of the year and I wish the two of
them all the very best of luck in their new
endeavours. Nick particularly has been an
awesome asset in the Religious Education
team. He is deeply committed to his faith,
genuine and confident in his relationships
with others, passionate about all things
Catholic and an inspirational teacher.
He will be sadly missed by the entire St
Bernard’s Community. Natalya leaves us
after a year and during this time she has
proven
herself to be a team player,
an enthusiastic teacher and
a person willing to always
get involved.
Finally I wish to thank
the St Bernard’s College
community for their
ready acceptance of
me and the changes
made in both the RE
Curriculum and in the
structure and presentation of Catholic
College at the College. It is indeed a
wonderful place to work when you know
you have the support of staff, students
and parents who are genuinely willing to
try new ideas, to reach new expectations
and to dare to be different, all the while
keeping our eyes, hearts and minds on
our common purpose – our St Bernard’s
boys. I leave with a heart full of love and
a deep pride in the students that we seek
always to serve. It has been a privilege
working with such dedicated, amazing
staff and I will treasure the memories and
relationships made here. God Bless,
Ms Maria Fouhy.
St Bernard’s College 2013