​​Evangelisation and Faith Formation occurs at St Pius School through both the religious life of the school and through the Religious Education Curriculum. Our mission to bring the Good News of Je​sus to all is an ongoing mission and is one that involves each member of our community, staff, students, parents and parishioners. We proclaim the Good News through living out the Gospel values and by listening to and reflecting upon the Word of God and allowing it to change our heart by engaging with the world like Jesus did.

Three elements of evangelisation and faith formation are:

• living the gospel
• spiritual formation
• witness to the wider community

Living ​​the Gospel

At St Pius​ School, we live out the gospel in the following ways:

• Create a Christian-centred environment through artwork, stories, public gatherings and the school website
• Plan for prayer and worship in the school that is connected to the cycles of the Liturgical Calendar (Religious Life of the School timetable)
• Make connections between life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and contemporary people and events (celebrate Holy Week and Easter through liturgy)
• Provide opportunities for staff, students and parents to understand how traditions and practices in the school community connect with the gospel of Jesus Christ (newsletter, assemblies, focussed liturgies e.g. the feast of St Pius)
• Identify and use scriptural texts to promote and support the Christian values of the school (assembly – weekend gospel reading and reflection)
• Recognise and ritualise the rich tapestry of students, staff and families through personal and public recognition (weekly Live, Love, Learn awards)
• Introduce elements of Christian joy and hope into the celebrations of school life (school liturgical celebrations, assemblies)

Spiritua​l Formation

At St Pius S​chool the context of the Catholic Christian tradition is evidenced in the following ways:

• Establish priorities for the resourcing of spiritual and faith formation initiatives (APRE responds to resourcing requests during planning sessions and manages this budget)
• Engages people with expertise in spiritual formation to provide appropriate training (Professional development for the staff to teach religion in a Catholic school)
• Participate in faith formation frameworks to enhance spiritual formation of staff and students (participate in the BCE Catching Fire program)
• Provide faith formation experiences for students and staff (Year 6 leadership retreat, staff retreat experiences)
• Utilise resources to enrich and nurture an appreciation of the wide variety of Charisms (Josephite charism) 

 

Witness t​​o the Wider Community

At St Pius S​chool, we witness to the wider community the call to be Christian in the following ways:

• Build collaborative relationships with the parish and local Church in planning joint celebrations (School/Parish Masses monthly, Parish ‘Feastival’ celebrations)
• Provide opportunities for inter-faith opportunities for students (visit to the Jewish synagogue)
• Support parents, staff and students seeking to become Catholic (RCIA program, Rite of Baptism)
• Develop ways of meeting the pastoral needs of students and families (Guardian Angels meals for families in need, Pastoral Care Parent Representative for each class to support class families and provide social activities)
• Engage with and promote parish and Archdiocese initiatives (Parish Masses, Sacramental Program, Parish ‘Feastival’, Mary MacKillop Feast Day Mass at St Stephen’s Cathedral)
• Communicate to the school community information about parish and Archdiocesan events (school newsletter weekly insert)