It is hard to believe that half of the year is already behind us.

In Religious Education, that means the commencement of new units at each year level.

At Year 7, having finished the Liturgical Year, the Hebrew Scriptures come into focus. Students will be spending some time understanding how the Bible came together before looking at the messages and purpose behind some of the key books that inhabit its many, many pages.

In Year 8, students will have the opportunity for two different aspects – firstly, looking at a new unit that the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools has assisted in creating about prayer. They will then look at some of the key people who have influenced the Church, the saints.

Year 9s moved classes at the end of Term 2 and are now enjoying their second elective choice in Religious Education. As teachers, we are excited about this, and hope that our experience with our classes in Semester 1 can help inform us of any potential changes needed to this new program. We also intend to survey the Year 9s as they work through this semester, to ensure that the changes that have been made align with their expectations.

With Year 10s completing the Unit 1 course of either Texts & Traditions or Religion & Society, students are now moving into the third area of study of their courses. They are also faced with the choice of what to undertake in Year 11, with subject selection looming. Year 10s have been given information on all of their options for 2026, and the Pathways Expo may have helped cement their ideas. Students can speak to their current Religious Education teacher about their choice to:

• Continue into Unit 2 of their current study of either Texts & Traditions or Religion & Society
• Swap into the alternate Unit 2 study, or
• Accelerate into the Unit 3 & 4 study of their chosen Religious Education subject.

The Year 11 students are also moving into their final area of study for Religion & Society Unit 2, where they will take what they have discovered about ethics and morality and apply them to real-life situations.

Finally, the Year 12s, in their school-based study of Religious Education will finish with either looking at Spirituality or Core Values to take with them in their life after Kilbreda College.

As teachers, we see the Religious Education program at Kilbreda College as something that should – and does – continue to evolve and develop to meet the needs of all of our students in an ever-changing world.

Jane Watkins

Learning Leader: Religious Education