Nagle College Blacktown students are embracing an exciting opportunity to celebrate their faith with others, taking on the role of Special Religious Education (SRE) Catechist through the SRE program.
For this group of students, teaching their younger peers about the Catholic faith and helping to guide them in their spiritual journeys has proven to be both inspiring and satisfying.
Nagle College Blacktown currently has 16 Year 10 students taking part in the SRE program each Thursday afternoon. The students have chosen to give up their school sports time to teach Religious Education to students in two local primary schools: Blacktown South and Shelley Public Schools.
The dedicated students plan, resource, and teach the lessons themselves. This important ministry not only educates the younger children about God, knowing Jesus and being Catholic, but also brings the Nagle students closer together and strengthens their own faith.
Elizabeth, one of Nagle’s SRE student leaders, says being involved in the program is such a valuable experience.
“I grew up with stories, testimonies, and beliefs taught to me by my parents, teachers, and peers,” she said.
“Doing SRE means I get to share exactly what I was taught with little children who are the age I was when I learned all these wonderful things.
“This experience is extra special because these children love to learn about Jesus too.”
Students from Nagle College, Blacktown, lead an SRE lesson at a local public primary school. Image: Nagle College/Supplied.
The students are supported with training and teaching resources including manuals and workbooks by the Diocese’s Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) and the College provides them with any physical items they might need such as Bibles and rosary beads.
Loren Pelham, Nagle’s Leader of Mission and Religious Education says the students love being part of the SRE program.
“I think it provides them with a deeper connection with their Catholic faith and a sense that they are doing the work of Nano Nagle, who, first thing in the morning in her schools, would teach the Catechism,” she said.
“For our students, this is a lived expression of being Catholic, living out the College motto In Deed Not Word and being a ‘Presentation Person’ — which is something we emphasise with the students.”
For some students, the SRE program confirms their desire to become a teacher, and some even continue to teach SRE after graduating from Nagle.
This is testament to the positive experience the program provides both for the primary school students and the student SRE Catechists.
To learn about how you can contribute to the sharing of the Catholic faith to children in our public schools, visit parracatholic.org/ccd
Samantha Rich is a Media and Communications Specialist at Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese.
This article was originally published in the 2024 Season of Creation | Spring edition of the Catholic Outlook Magazine. You can read the digital version here or pick up a copy in your local parish.
