Diocesan LIVE Festival

Interested students in Years 10 and 11 are invited to attend the Diocesan LIVE Festival being held at the Wollongong Entertainment Centre on Friday, 2 September. Students and young parishioners from across the Diocese of Wollongong will be attending this exciting event. The festival consists of a number of special presentations and workshops. Further information and permission letters are available from our Youth Ministry Coordinator, Ms Lewis.

Year 8 Religious Literacy Assessment 

The Religious Literacy Assessment has been an annual event run in our Diocesan schools. 

Covid 19 interrupted the test last year but we will be reengaging with the assessment this year. 

The assessment will be completed by Year 8 students on Wednesday, 17 August for the purposes of collecting system wide information to inform schools in refining pedagogical and curriculum practices. The test is one hour in duration, consists of forty multiple choice questions and will be completed online via a Google Form. 

The assessment is a wide ranging assessment over Stage 4 Religious Education curriculum, not exclusively Year 8 content and as such, will not be published individually to students. 

There is a spread of questions that test our schools ability in knowing Catholic tradition (knowledge and understanding outcomes); working with the Catholic tradition (reasoning skills) and applying Catholic tradition (practical and social skills). 

YOUTH ALPHA

The Youth Alpha series culminated this term with the Holy Spirit Retreat. Roughly fifteen students engaged in conversations to discern; Who is the Holy Spirit? How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit? How can I make the most of the rest of my life? The compelling stories, episodes, images and dialogue shared on this day enabled participants to reflect upon the presence of the Holy Spirit in their daily lives.

Activate Fire

St Michael’s Primary School hosted a Youth Ministry event called ‘Activate Fire’ this term. As part of the Year 6 Religion Curriculum, the Year 6 students immersed themselves in the Spiritual Experience along with students from St Mary’s of the Sea, Milton. The day was based on the unit; Confirmation of the Gift of the Holy Spirit. St John’s Youth Ministry Leaders were invited to attend and assist in the running of the day, leading small group discussions and connecting with the year 6 students. Through faith, our leaders built relationships and community and would be there to greet these students into high school in 2023.

Youth Ministry Leader's Formation Day

Caitlin Fairs, Gemma Taylor, Finn Lochrin, Catherine Rajeev, Matilda Sinclair, Dylan Tsilifis, Phoebe Szymoniczek and Annabelle Morison had the opportunity to further develop and affirm their leadership skills, explore and further develop their own spirituality, as well as foster the spirituality and faith of the school community. These students were among the 50 students involved in Youth Ministry at each of our diocese’s Catholic systemic secondary schools, to have gathered at Stanwell Tops for a Youth Ministry Leaders Formation Retreat. An opportunity for our students to immerse themselves in reflecting and sharing what it meant to be a Youth Ministry Leader of 2022. Enhancing their capacity to be leaders, strengthening their relationship with God and unifying them as a team.

NOWRA PARISH