Catholic Character Best Practices

The following suggestions are drawn from best practice in our Catholic schools. Schools may find them worth replicating.

2022

Examples of Good Practice Identified in the 2022 Catholic Special Character School Review/Evaluation Reports

Dimension	Focus Area	Examples of Good Practice
Encounter with Christ	Spiritual Formation	Senior college students facilitate retreats to year 5 & 6 feeder schools. A classroom prayer resource with an emphasis on using te reo Māori in prayer. Gratitude diaries for students to record what they feel grateful for. ‘Tagged’ Teachers Team who provide karakia, kai and kōrero opportunity at break (secondary). Religious Education teachers (secondary) provide professional learning and formation to whole staff through a ‘Ask a Catholic’ session. A focus on one Gospel value each year. Each year level focuses on one Gospel value each year with an identified role model (i.e. Mother Teresa, Dorothy Day). Staff prayer journals where they can reflect after a prayer provocation i.e. a video, music, prayer a song, art. A school prayer in both te reo Māori and English. Dedicated scripture time where students read and hear Scripture then reflect on what it means for them and their family.
	Evangelisation	Catholic special character (CSC) is re-enforced with engaging school wide visual displays often linked to Scripture and/or the founding order. Bring a friend to Mass Staff involved in Australian Catholic University Spiritus programme to promote evangelisation. Fortnightly school newsletter has a Catholic a Q & A section-i.e., items in Church, Liturgical Seasons, Gospel of Luke etc. Senior students preparing the Gospel reflection for a weekly Liturgy of the Word. Director of Religious Studies writes newsletters with guiding questions to assist whānau in engaging with their children on faith matters. Gathering, evaluating, and sharing of student data on Catholic practice and sacramental reception to share when transitioning into a Catholic college. This is used to make changes to sacramental programmes, junior Religious Education programme and retreat programmes (privacy requirements need to be met).
	Faith Leadership	Students lead lunchtime liturgy when priest not available for Mass (Secondary). A focus on identifying and growing teachers for future leadership in a Catholic school. Meetings for teachers in CL47 positions (tagged) to discuss how they can further foster and serve the school faith community. Formation of a group for teachers in special character positions (tagged teachers) has resulted in a greater desire to be involved in the organisation of Mass and liturgies. Planned two-year senior student leadership programme (primary).
Growth in Knowledge	Leadership	The college offers management unit for Assistant Head of Department Religious Education (junior school). The Director of Religious Studies meets individually with Religious Education teachers twice yearly to identify what is and isn’t working.
	Religious Education	Year 12 & 13 Religious Education teaching times above the minimum requirement. College maintains contact with past students who may undertake teacher training. Student evaluation of affective domain at the end of each Religious Education unit to gauge the impact of learning.
	Catholic Curriculum	Staff members engaging in learning and formation on “What it means to work in a Catholic school’ (Auckland Diocese). 100-day induction programme for students (secondary). Staff ‘graduation’ ceremony on receipt of Religious Education and/or Catholic special character qualifications. Staff offered professional learning and formation on the history of the land that the college/school sits on. Graduate profile includes a faith element.
Christian Witness	Catholic School Community	Students who have completed Sacraments of Initiation buddy with those on the journey. The Halo Club (to support students new to a Catholic school). Year 9 Catholic Special Character Day as part of orientation. Topics covered are the Sign of the Cross in te reo Māori and English, the Alpha programme, faith journey stories from senior students, sacramental programmes/opportunities, the Religious Education curriculum, and service/outreach/social justice opportunities.
	Partnership and Collaboration	A day set aside to support students who identify as Māori to connect with their identity, language, and culture. Engagement with mana whenua to develop a cultural narrative for the school. Teachers in primary school working with teachers in Catholic secondary schools on health and sexuality programmes.
	Pastoral Care	Staff led wellness team for staff and students. Seasons for Growth (dealing with grief programme) runs in the school and staff are trained as facilitators.
	Service and Outreach	Students expected to complete at least 20 hours of service in the community annually (could be part of an awards system). Outreach works are completed in partnership with the parish.
Safeguarding and Strengthening	Stewardship	Strong presence of all school board members around the school and especially attending Catholic special character activities and events. Strong focus on Catholic special character in Professional Growth Cycles.

2020-21

Examples of Good Practice from 2020-2021 Catholic Special Character (CSC) Review Reports

Examples were combined from 2020 and 2021 reports due to the limited number of reviews undertaken in the two years due to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Dimension	Focus Area	Examples of Good Practice
Encounter with Christ	Spiritual Formation	When lunchtime Mass is planned for no other activities or meetings are timetabled Student special character team model classroom prayer throughout the school Staff, board and parish priest/s engage in retreat together The board budgets for and the principal engages with a spiritual director Staff prayer journals for reflection Fortnightly a ‘Spirit hour’ in house groups focused on the school charism and house saint and lead by student house leaders (primary)
	Evangelisation	Systematic approach to monitoring and recording preference criteria to target invites for sacramental programmes School and parish websites are interconnected Parish priest visits the families who desire Baptism for their children. When planning weekly class Mass with the parish, personally invite parents/caregivers of those tamariki/rangatahi proclaiming the Word and Prayers of Intercession, offertory bearers, welcomers asking them to support their tamariki/rangatahi if possible, by attending Education in Faith handbook for whānau providing an overview of the connection between home school and parish New families who are not familiar with the faith are given an introductory book We are Catholic
	Faith Leadership	Teachers in special character positions (tagged) meet regularly to discuss opportunities for supporting the principal and DRS in faith leadership DRS as a senior leader has leadership professional learning and formation (PLF) including coaching Ministry Team incl. Principal, DRS and a number of teachers plans and leads Catholic special character (CSC) activities and events. This provides good faith leadership succession planning Principal is part of professional learning group with other Catholic principals DRS on Senior Leadership Team (both primary and secondary) The principal meets fortnightly with a group of parents to discuss and receive parent voice
Growth in Knowledge	Leadership	Leadership ensures staff professional growth cycles uses the Catholic Schools Elaborations: Standards for the Teaching Profession to identify PLF needs Role of teachers in special character positions (tagged) is identified and grown to support the CSC of the school The DRS provides PLF for teachers who hold special character positions Long term plan to support teachers in gaining appropriate RE and/or CSC qualifications DRS tracks staff PLF for Certification and to identify PLF needs Senor leadership develops graduate profile that include CSC indicators As part of CSC PLF staff unpack one Gospel each year Longitudinal induction programme for teachers Induction programme for students new to a Catholic school and parish life Student goal setting includes one on faith development and another on service Diocesan education team run a Catholic leadership day for students in Years 7 & 8
	Religious Education	Non-Catholic primary teachers of RE are required to complete a paper in Theology and in Scripture prior to teaching RE (Proprietor’s requirement)
	Catholic Curriculum	Teachers/staff engage in PLF provided by their founding order Separate transition/induction day for any new students coming in at other than ‘normal’ transition times Guidance Counsellor as part of a Catholic Counsellors’ Network and having a Catholic supervisor Relief teachers are given induction to CSC Learning areas combined to offer simultaneous learning activities that link to the annual Caritas theme (secondary). Students hīkoi to Aotearoa Catholic pilgrimage site/s, places significant to the charism and/or history of the school PLF on what it means to be Katorika Māori and their local history Annually a rich Catholic concept is the foundation of the school’s connected curriculum College health teacher (having completed Having Life to the Full programme) expertise used with local Catholic primary school teachers in the development of relationship and sexuality programmes that reflect Catholic teaching
Christian Witness	Catholic School Community	All senior student leaders are involved in leading special character
	Partnership and Collaboration	Parish priest is involved in school faith-in-action activities Parish liturgy music group come in and lead whole school singing College student on the parish pastoral council Unpacking the diocesan strategic plan with the parish Working with the parish to develop a whānau formation programme aimed at those who are disconnected from the Church Forming a small school choir to lead singing at parish Masses
	Pastoral Care	Developing a staff well-being committee Student and teacher voice in evaluating or constructing the behaviour management plan gives witness to subsidiarity
	Service and Outreach	Student Extra-Ordinary Ministers of the Eucharist serve in their parishes Principal/DRS/teachers in CSC positions involved in parish ministry Teachers other than the DRS taking up responsibility for outreach programmes Senior ambassador programme with local Catholic primary
Safeguarding and Strengthening	Stewardship	Principal’s CSC report to board based on the dimensions in the CSC review for development document Internal Catholic special character evaluation reflects the voice of students, community, staff and parish. Board engages in regular and longitudinal CSC professional learning and formation The board budgets for teachers to complete RE/CSC qualifications The school board budgets for release time to complete assignments for those completing CSC or RE qualifications Board members completing the Having Life to the Full Programme to increase their knowledge of how sexuality and relationships programmes are delivered in a Catholic setting.

2019

Te Tutaki Ki A Te Karaiti/Encounter with Christ

Senior students provide the ‘Last Word’ at assembly; a personal reflection on the Gospel
Deans attend year level retreats
Students who have completed a sacramental programme are buddied up with another student in their parish – this assist students in developing a sense of belonging and developing parish participation
Senior Leadership Team members attend a Sunday Mass in the parishes of head students – they are then available after Mass to chat with families
Use of Catholic School Elaborations: Standards for the Teaching Profession in the appraisal system
Emphasis on enrolling/inducting the whole family not just the student/s: schools offer a parent/family induction programmes
100 days of induction for Year 7 students (progressive induction)
Parish priest at school gate at 3pm to talk with whānau
Retreat opportunities with diocesan youth ministry team for senior primary children in areas outside cities and in remote areas.
School based secondary RCIA programme combined with sister school
Trained student liturgy leaders who assist other students in developing prayers and liturgies.
Students reflect on the impact of their faith learning through a Journal of Learning
Distribution of special character positions (S464(C), now Schedule 6:Clause 47 Education and Training Act 2020) positions across curriculum faculties (secondary)
Students identifying and setting faith development goals
Yr 13 graduation letters that outline the effect the college has had on them
Video resource on the charism of the school
Adult formation programme for primary new entrants’ parents (parish/school)
Pilgrimage to trace the footsteps of the founder/s

Te Whakatupu Mā te Mātauranga/Growth in Knowledge

Religious Education taught by qualified specialist teachers (secondary)
New staff given a ‘buddy’ who has time allowance to help induct new staff into the Catholic character of the school
Having a preference for relief teachers who are Catholic
Relievers given professional learning and formation on teaching in a Catholic school
Teachers new to teaching Religious education ‘buddied’ with experienced teacher
Individualised professional learning and formation- Religious Education/Catholic character programmes for staff
Three-year school wide Catholic character (incl. Religious Education) professional learning and formation plan which identifies, analyses, and monitors both school and individual professional learning and formation
Evaluation of the Affective Domain in Religious Education to understand the impact of teaching and learning on students faith journey
All staff meetings have a Catholic character component

Te Whakaatu Karaitiana/Christian Witness

School Guidance Counsellor is part of a network of Catholic school guidance counsellors
College and primary school hospitality held after combined parish weekday Mass
Catholic leadership programme for senior primary students (diocesan run)
New Zealand Wars and history of Parihaka taught in the school.
A Dean for Pasifika students

Te Kaitiakitanga Me To Whakapakari Te Tuakiri Katorika/ Safeguarding and Strengthening Catholic Character

Kaiwhakarite (intermediary) Māori Apostolate (who is an educationalist) as part of the review team/her introduction at the beginning of the report
Principal appraiser who has strong knowledge and competence to appraise Catholic character aspects
Board of Trustees Professional Learning and Formation on Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the context of a Catholic school (presented by Catholic Māori Advisor)
Student voice included in Catholic character reports to the Board

2018

TE TŪTAKI KI A TE KARAITI / ENCOUNTER WITH CHRIST

A number of parents and families have become baptised, and there are whanau in school supporting other whanau in the RCIA programme. People feel supported in a safe, inclusive and non-judgemental community which allows them to explore, reconnect with or deepen their faith.
Students preparing for the sacraments of initiation are linked with an older student who is already attending Mass in the student’s home parish.
Gathering to pray is the main way of facilitating an encounter with Christ, for staff as well as students; if each person present has a clear understanding of why they gather – as members of a faith community, rather than “because it’s the way we start the day/lesson” – the encounter becomes deeper and more meaningful. An awareness and practice of varied forms of prayer – Lectio Divina, silent contemplative prayer, meditation using a prayer mantra – is to be encouraged.
Once children complete the Sacramental programme they are invited to become altar servers. Parents who show an interest in the faith are referred to the Priest in Residence who runs a Faith Formation programme for them. At the start of the each year all staff attend a staff day on Catholic Special Character and RE teaching.
The principal and Board have developed a faith-based staff code of conduct and this initiative and its process has been a powerful tool in establishing a concrete way of safeguarding and strengthening the school’s Catholic Character. The process included extensive staff consultation and promotion with the community. The Code is based on the expectation that all staff exhibit Gospel values in their day to day professional interactions.
The Campus Minister is studying the role of spirituality in youth development as part of a Master’s degree in social work. She is a deeply faith-filled young woman who describes the ministry component of her role as building relationships with students and accompanying them on their faith journey. She talks about how to pray, and helps them to understand some Church teachings which can be seen as a barrier to faith. She is a familiar presence in the playground at break times, with small groups and individual students.
The induction session for new parents includes a Mass which they and their daughters, as well as other family members, attend. This Mass is said by the the College Chaplan who provides a “walk –through” for unchurched families, which helps to encourage attendance at Sunday Mass. The same kind of “teachable/evangelising moments” during Mass are included in the Grandparents’ Mass.
The central and inviting sacred space provides a retreat for quiet reflection and prayer. Senior students called this a place for “moments of silence”, “one to one time with God”, and “feeling the presence of God.” Staff noted that whānau are often there in quiet contemplation as they await the release of their children from class.
Senior students advise that the school encourages the growth in faith of their whānau and themselves “by having moments to talk and be with God”,” teaching us that we can be like God and Jesus”, “helping us to relate to God, teaching us to pray”.
Teachers are strong vehicles for evangelisation and show how an integration of faith and life is achieved. They show this by “ Encouraging our children to have a relationship with God,” “I have a role sharing the faith with students and helping them on their faith journey,” “Modelling how to live as a Christian… the way I interact with students, staff and community,” “Being a living role model in my own faith journey – seeking to grow my own faith,” “Being an active participant in parish events and roles.”

TE WHAKATUPU MĀ TE MĀTAURANGA / GROWTH IN KNOWLEDGE

Staff who are new to teaching Religious Education are not expected to teach Religious Education or lead prayer by themselves immediately; they are involved in the planning, but a team teaching approach allows the new teacher to work alongside an experienced teacher in Religious Education and prayer. When the experienced teacher feels they are ready, the new teacher takes the lead with the other teacher still involved until such time as both feel confident that Religious Education and prayer can be taught and facilitated appropriately and strongly.
The Senior Leadership Team is committed to further articulation of a Catholic world view in assemblies, and to providing connections for Year 13 students with guest speakers from Catholic organisations in order to keep them involved after leaving school.
Teachers are collegial and collaborative. They plan in teaching teams, sharing ideas and activities. Each team has at least one experienced RE teacher who holds a S464 position. This provides extra support and guidance for those new to Catholic education and teaching the curriculum. Teachers share their faith journey and perspectives to model and link ideas between faith and life.
There is a focus on the affective domain or spiritual formation within teaching and learning. The DRS and RE support teacher facilitate professional learning and formation around this. Teachers transpose the ideas into the teaching practice by identifying affective domain reflections and evaluations for the class. Evaluation data is collected from students and this is useful in examining the effectiveness of spiritual formation programmes.
A Catholic perspective is intentionally embedded into the inquiry and thematic areas of the curriculum. Teachers begin by brainstorming the links between the topic, Scripture and Catholic understanding including the principles of Catholic social teaching. The DRS advised that “this means we are seeing things and helping our children to see things through Catholic eyes”. An example was a sustainability unit where stewardship of creation and Laudato Si’ were integrated. The DRS also advised that a ”previous unit on inventors was planned to allow for reflection on the purposes of inventions – how can we invent things that are for the good of all people especially the poor and vulnerable?” This is the nature of Catholic education that: “As an ecclesial entity the Catholic school reflects the nature of the Church. It proclaims the word of God in its programmes and activities.” (The Catholic Education of School Age Children (NZCBC, 2014, pg 4)

TE WHAKAATU KARAITIANA / CHRISTIAN WITNESS

The teacher appraisal system is very well set up with each teacher developing a ‘Prayer’ goal and a ‘Religious Education’ goal.
A Gratitude Diary, is issued to every student in the school, and written in each day for five minutes after lunch each day. It includes a prayer as inspiration for a focus on the God-given gifts we have received; this prayer is also in the student diary. Pastoral Care prefects work closely with the Guidance Counsellors, and have taken the initiative this year to set up a “Games Room” where senior students are present at lunchtime to socialise with and offer support to students who appear lonely or not quite “fitting in”.
Parents named Jesus as the “why” behind the school’s values, and see the encounter with Him in being as Christ to to others, citing an incident at a hockey match where an opposing player was cared for when injured.
The school’s commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi is outlined in the Charter through the concepts of: manaakitanga (pastoral care), whanaungatanga (establishing links, making conncections and to the people one meets), ako (the reciprocal teaching and learning relationships), and mahi tahi (the unity of the group of people working towards a specific goal). These concepts were broken open by the staff to identify how they are witnessed and to find new opportunities for growth. The school is growing in its understanding of bi-culturalism and this is witnessed by: the Principal leading the local Māori Achievement Collaborative, The Board’s development work after breaking open the Hautū-Māori cultural responsiveness self-review tool for boards of trustees, the development of a small Māori advisory group identified for dialogue around issues, concerns and the way forward, staff professional learning formation in te reo and tikanga Māori through He Papa Tikanga, and working with Ngāti te Whiti hapū to name the school’s sacred space.

TE KAITIAKITANGA ME TO WHAKAPAKARI I TE TUAKIRI KATORIKA / SAFEGUARDING AND STRENGTHENING CATHOLIC CHARACTER

A comprehensive Catholic Special Character Report written by the Director of Religious Education is presented at each meeting of the Board of Trustees. These regular updates are supplemented by the Principal’s Report that highlights monthly updates to Catholic special character and Religious Education goals and strategies identified in the school’s Charter. Furthermore, specific reports relating to the school’s internal self-review of the Catholic Special Character dimensions are presented.

2017

PARISH

To re-enforce life in the school also means life in the parish whanau new to the school are welcomed at the next school/parish Mass by faith community, parish priest and principal. They are presented with a certificate of welcome and a Bible.
The principal, staff and board of trustees work to build strong relationships with families, the parish and wider community. The responsibility of being part of a parent, school and parish partnership is highlighted at all orientation, curriculum and RE meetings.
The Forming Faith Together Programme brings parish, parents and school together to discuss the role each has in the faith formation of the child.
Artwork from the school is displayed in the church foyer and parish lounge.
School and Parish Priest decide together what they value about the school involvement in liturgy and then make more effort to engage the children and parents.
Each class takes a turn as greeters at Sunday Mass.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Written reports to whānau provide information on students’ key learning and knowledge from RE strand work as well as attitudes towards learning in RE.
There are no COL targets related specifically to Special Character, a participating teacher teaches RE, and the particular literacy emphasis on boys’ writing offers opportunities to use the RE programme as a vehicle.
The DRS provides an overview of the Sunday readings at Monday morning school assemblies, which is followed through with practical exercises in the classroom or by the children in their breaks or at home.
The DRS has developed a specialised RE induction programmes for non-Catholic students who come from other parts of the world.
Year 7-8 students are empowered to exercise leadership as liturgy leaders. They read the preceding Sunday’s Gospel and lead prayer related to that Gospel.
RE library books are available in the classrooms so students can access them during free reading time.
The RE faculty undertakes rigorous internal review and evidence from this assists the faculty in setting goals for development.
RE teachers gather data and uses it to identify strengths and needs within the junior classes so as to adjust RE lessons as needed.
RE teachers use assessment tasks in years 7-10 RE to measure understanding and identify gaps in learning before students reach year 11 and NCEA.
The Head of RE completes an annual faculty report that outlines achievement in RE at all levels, including a breakdown on Māori and Pasifika achievement.
The focus of current Religious Education topics is communicated to all in the community via the weekly newsletters.
The Principal presents a homily each Monday morning to the whole school in which he explains the previous Sunday Gospel in a way children understand.
The parish Priest joins classes for prayer.
A Jesus house has been created in the junior area for children to experience the life and times of Jesus.
The DRS leads a school-wide prayer programme based on the Gospel reading for the coming Sunday. Each day in prayer the weeks reading is broken down some more and reflected upon using a variety of strategies eg. Lectio Divina, prayer writing, artistic expression, mediation and creating drama responses.

PASTORAL

The concept of being one parish/school community is built by actively working to communicate this, e.g. the official welcome for new whānau being held within the parish Sunday Mass.
Continue to work with the parish to identify barriers and introduce ways that will encourage whānau to see that involvement in parish life provides a basis for their children’s own faith practices as teenagers and adults.
The HOD Health/PE takes the approach that spiritual health is part of the student’s identity, and stresses the importance of staying strong in one’s beliefs and values.
There is a comprehensive follow-up of school leavers and even after they have left the school, the Careers Adviser assists past students who are not in employment, education or training.
Prayer is rich with variety, engagement, ritual, reflection and is often student led. Teachers link prayers to key learning or topics such as Year of Mercy. Teachers foster development of student’s spirituality through a variety of experiences including modern forms of prayer.
A strong parish youth group ensures that the older youth continue to have a relationship with the school.
Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are trained. The procedure includes contact with the parish priest to ensure connection with the Eucharistic Community. The students can also be part of the ministry of the Word and the Eucharist in their parish.
The school is working with the parish to draw younger people into parish life. After Sunday Mass prefects share their faith journey and encourage a small number of younger students with theirs.
Library displays are linked to the current RE theme.
Catholic publications and books are set up in the school foyer on a bookrack. Parents are encouraged to borrow these to take home to read.
An oral language group is run for 4 year olds, which encourages links between parish and school.
A ‘Saint Start’ programme engages soon to be enrolled children and their parents into the life of the school. The parish catechist works with the parents on introducing them to the Catholic ethos of the school and provides a link to the parish.
All parents that enroll a child for the first time are visited by the parish priest or pastoral assistant.
The school has a strong transition to school programme. It builds working relationships with families prior to their children starting school. Starting with a parent morning where information is shared and staff introduced, a family pack is given consisting of a whanau book, rosary beads, prayer card, list of Sunday Mass and reconciliation times and contact details for the parish pastoral assistant.
New students are buddied with older students who look after them for the first two weeks to help them settle into playground culture.
Youth music groups encourage children to attend Mass by giving them a meaningful purpose.
A prayer table is displayed in the staffroom, including names of community members in need of prayers.
Any document with the principles of pastoral care is directed to both school and parish.
Liturgies and prayers are collated ready for use at the time of a death within the school community taking the stress out of preparation at this difficult time.
The school is sensitive toward less fortunate families and parishioners assist with donations etc.
Pastoral Care specific needs are discussed at all staff meetings. This community dimension of the life of the school fosters a commitment to the common good of all members of the school community.
Supporting children through Tear Fund – money is collected each morning at prayer time and when the children put it in the box they explain how they earned it.
The school supports an international Catholic organisation called ‘Mary’s Meals’ whose aim is to feed every child in the world one meal a day. The children are encouraged to understand how fortunate they are to have good food and to donate to this cause.

CATHOLIC CHARACTER

Integration of the Catholic Character of a school can be enhanced by establishing a Catholic Key principle before planning each topic unit. This can be from the Catholic social teaching principles, virtues or scripture. This key principle sits at the top of each unit plan and everything planned relates to it.
Use the preference criteria enrolment data to make a strategic goal and actions to further encourage all families with a Catholic connection to continue on their sacramental and faith journey. The parish must be part of this if an outcome is to be a greater involvement in the life of the parish.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

The understanding of Social Justice – centre the activities in a philosophical framework rather than being an end in themselves. For example a ‘whacky hair’ day was not for fundraising but designed for all to focus on the school value of Courage and to experience not being like others by having different and unusual hairstyles. This reflects the Social Justice principles of Solidarity, Human Equality and Participation among others and is an excellent illustration of how complex ideas can be adapted so that children can enact them.
Students can select a Social Justice course as a way of deepening their understanding as well as providing practical assistance in local communities. This course provides their sixth subject. Less academic students are able to enrol for this course, credits are available. During term one the focus is on social, economic and human sustainability.
A culture immersed in Social Justice and the call to service. Divided into three groups – Mercy, Liturgy and Service.
The Principles of Catholic Social Teaching are seen visibly around the school and are embedded into units of teaching and learning.
Parents are given strong encouragement to bring their children to Mass.
Children are involved in the Mass/liturgy.
The school attends (one class at a time) the Friday lunchtime parish Mass and then stays for lunch, socialising with parishioners.
Senior and junior classes pair up to plan, prepare and attend a class Mass twice a year.
The whole school attends the parish Mass held on Friday. The school has increased the number of school community celebrations at these Friday Masses such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparent’s Day, Solidarity Day, Daffodil Day, Anzac Day and Mission Day. The student writes a personal invitation to their parents to attend.
The school has built up a valuable resource of illustrated picture books and novels that draw students into learning on particular themes. Teachers use this to support children in the understanding of how their faith is lived in today’s world.
The school radio station is run by year 5 – 8 children who share their prayers and discuss current learning and run competitions.
Parents are encouraged to attend a question and answer session about the church and Mass.
As part of the Catholic Character the school treasures all languages – classroom programmes are pitched to meet the language learning status of all students.
Students participate in school challenges such as Catholic Character/Service where one of the elements is adding Mass attendance as a challenge.
The whole school gathers in the church every Monday morning for prayer, Gospel reflection, songs and liturgy.
In all rooms the Gospel values are on display.
Faith formation material is on the school website and in newsletters and blogs.
Floor to ceiling crosses are embossed on the wall linings, displaying learning in RE and Catholic teaching that occurs in the classroom. Prayer focus areas are at the base of these.
Students who are spiritually mature are offered extension opportunities just as students with gifts in other areas have extension opportunities.
All children are given the opportunity to lead prayer and act as monitors in their own classrooms.

TEACHERS AND CLASSROOM PROGRAMMES

Use a digital programme such as See-saw to share both RE learning and Catholic character understandings with whanau. Written reports to whanau will start to reflect key learning and knowledge from strand work as well as attitudes towards learning.
All members of the school community are encouraged to be examples of Catholics living in faith. This is evident in:
- Many children visiting the Church on the way to school.
- A parish and school Hub Mass held once per term at the Saturday evening parish mass.
- Many teachers at the school are members of the parish and participate as Ministers of the Word and Eucharist, readers, overhead projector operators and music group. Senior students take up some of these roles also.
Create a ‘Graduate Profile’ that includes respecting the dignity of themselves and others, be willing to serve, live faith-filled lives through living the gospel values, the Beatitudes and the Acts of Mercy and to understand and act for the common good.
Individual classes attend the Parish Sunday Mass – this has received glowing praise from the parish and school community.
A strategic goals survey of parents will rate the teaching of a range of curriculum areas – Religious Education should rank highly.
Each current Yr13 student writes a note for the incoming Yr7 students of the following year, welcoming them to the college and identifying key features from a student perspective. This helps with the assimilation of new students into the college culture.
When students enter the school at Year 7 they undertake a unit on Restorative Justice and the reasons for it from a Catholic perspective. The following Year 7 unit is an introduction to the school, including prayer, what we do at Mass, the liturgical year and the story of the school. This fits very well with the realigned 7-10 curriculum in what was previously the Year 9 unit ‘My Story, Our Story’ and provides a substantial induction for students new to Catholic schools. It is more difficult to provide this induction for students who enter the school in later years, but the DRS runs tutorials on a Thursday afternoon to which the Deans can refer students.
The school and the parish need to follow up on families after enrolment, to encourage them to include their children in the various programmes and to become more fully involved in the life of their faith community.
New families are interviewed by the Principal and shown around the school and Church, an appointment is made for the family to meet the parish priest and they are buddied- up with another Catholic family as support.
Early Childhood Centres are invited to the Easter Passion play and the school production each year. A preschool pack has been developed with the Special Catholic Character of the school clearly outlined.
Love/Aroha, Compassion/Arohanui, Respect/Whakanui, Justice/Tika, Forgiveness/Murua, Integrity/Honesty/Whakapono are known throughout the community as Mercy Values. These are true Gospel values appropriate for a Catholic school.
Helping induct and support new students (not new entrants) – they are introduced to concepts that would have been taught in earlier years e.g. being able to identify significant parts in the church or learning how to take part in liturgies. This programme exercises differentiation, meets specific learning needs and builds on the sense of belonging.
The Principal speaks to each family as they enrol about the expectation of their participation in parish as well as school life. The DRS inducts all new students into the Special Character of the school and takes them to visit the church and sends home a booklet about prayer life. The Soul Friends relationships support non-preference students, in particular, to understand the Catholic way of life.
Silent meditation is taught – a completely silent Year 12 retreat held to focus students on the gift of reflection about the choices they make in their life’s calling.
Additional service programme – this requires students to carry out community service for a minimum number of hours each year, ranging from 10 at years 7 and 8 to 20 for years 11-13. The school needs to work closely with parents. A coordinator records all student hours. Pre-requisite for Prefect candidates.
A Computers in home initiative is run by the school – this enables families to purchase a laptop for $50 if they have attended the required number of training sessions in its use.
Staff new to a Catholic Lasallian school participate in a 3-day formation programme, Heritage One, in the school holidays, focuses on the spirituality of Jean Baptiste de la Salle. They are also offered a 5-day reflective retreat focused on Catholic spirituality and the role of staff as educators in the lives of the young men they teach.
Each week of the term has a specific Catholic focus. Could be a feast day, one of the school’s Gospel values or a principle of Catholic social teaching. It ties the week together from the Monday whole school liturgies to Friday assemblies and immerses the community in Catholic concepts.
The school long term plan is based on having a ‘Catholic Curriculum’. The year’s teaching and learning is planned around the school’s Gospel values, accompanying Scripture and links to Catholic social teachings.
The library has engaging Catholic themed displays.
A deliberate display of the school virtues in every classroom. Virtues are unpacked each week and regularly referred to. Special Character Honours Awards are presented fortnightly to students who always live by the school virtues.
An excellent resource has been prepared for parents entitled “So you are Sending Your Daughter to a Catholic School” – a friendly guide to the Catholic tradition at Marian College. The booklet informs and expands on the Forming Faith Together Meeting and outlines the Mass, the Sacraments, Prayer in English and Te Reo, principles of Social Justice and includes timetables of Catholic Special Character events for the coming year.
A large printed poster in the school foyer with dates and times of up-coming liturgical celebrations and notices.
The school runs one full day and two half days of leadership training for year 6 students.
Students are shown that one way of living the gospel message is through striving.
The pro-active capability of Form Teachers for the pastoral care and safety of their students is enhanced by the continuity of advancing through the school from years 9 – 13 with the same students.
Students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own behaviour. Introduction of the STAR card (Stop, Think and Reflect) enables students who are under extreme circumstances to exit any classroom immediately and go to the Guidance Centre for assistance.
The introduction of senior Social Studies into the curriculum is a mechanism for a Catholic world view on global issues.
All staff to work on the same TCI paper eg ‘Maori Spirituality’.
All staff take a turn at leading daily staff prayer.
Tagged teachers take on responsibilities to assist the DRS in leading Catholic Character eg. create and maintain Catholic Character displays around the school, take responsibility for prayer in team meetings, work with students to plan and lead the Sunday’s Gospel or values presentation, ensure Catholic Character and RE resources are up to date, take responsibility for liturgical music within the school.
Tagged teachers witness to their faith, through faith conversations, role modelling and involvement in the parish.
Each term a Prayers resource is provided for Tutor Groups. It is used by tutor groups during Morning Prayer. Teachers new to the role are provided with a resource containing ideas for using tutor time to nourish the spiritual and social life of students.
The science department has a resource on Christian Values and Science Teaching – this provides scriptural quotes to demonstrate that Christianity and Science are not mutually exclusive but complementary.
The Principal meets with a professional supervision provider regularly. Future directions and goals are discussed along with current school issues.
The school has a public document showing a clear vision of what graduate from the school looks like.
Annual faculty reports provide a system to monitor the inclusion of a Catholic perspective within the curriculum. Heads of Faculty are asked to comment on how the faculty has worked to reflect and support the Special Character of the College.
Curriculum areas, other than RE, reflect Catholic Character – lessons can be linked to Catholic Character including principles of Catholic social teaching.
When planning units of work HOFs or lead teachers identify Catholic teaching that applies and explicitly state the core concepts in some detail so that all teachers using that unit can include the language in their classroom teaching.
Time is included at curriculum meetings to discuss the Bishops’ document and examples of good practice in the integration of Catholic theology into curriculum other than RE.
Staff are encouraged to use key Church teaching in the classroom wall displays, including quotes from Pope Francis.
Professional development is provided on the principles of Catholic social teaching to those teachers who have not been exposed to them.
A formal invitation is given to the parish priest to attend morning tea and class visits at the school on a regular basis, and this invitation is repeated regularly.

CULTURAL

Identify who within the local iwi is the person to discuss consultation with and work with them to identify the best way, including place, to facilitate consultation. This allows for a more authentic consultation and will provide an opportunity for true partnership and participation by all stakeholders.
Ways for the school to support cultural diversity:
Annual Māori hui, Pasifika Fono and Assyrian group
Cultural dance festival
Story hui – staff inquiry with a target group or student, knowing who they are and the gifts they bring
Caritas – students studied and shared their stories about Migrants and Refugees.
Samoan, Tongan and Tagalog Speech competition – represent the school at APPA Zones.
Middle Eastern, Samoan, Filipino, Tongan and Māori cultural weeks.
Students speak their first languages at liturgies and Masses with the English translation on the screen.
English Language Assistants who support the needs of second language students.
A closer liaison with iwi lifts the bar for te reo and kapa haka, and increases the familiarity of students to whakatau and mihi. Appoint a Whānau Dean whose key responsibility is the pastoral care of Māori students, including developing a sense of pride in their Māori identity. Waka Ama raises the profile of Maōri students.
As part of their graduation process Year 13 students write a letter stating what their time at the College has meant to them.
Staff consider Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the commitment of the Church to it, and the implications this has for the school.
Children are encouraged to pray in their first language then translate the prayer into English.
Māori parents are regularly invited to the school for Hui on topics of importance to them.
A whānau support group is established. The school has a radio station which is broadcast to the local community. The children operate this and share their prayers, learning, competitions and up-coming Church and school events.
Māori teachers on the staff support teachers with pronunciation, teach waiata and train the Kapa Haka groups.
Māori vocabulary is integrated into the classroom displays.
Te Reo Māori is incorporated into the RE curriculum through prayer and in reference to a range of topics and values/virtues.
Children know their school motto in Maori.
Waiata is incorporated into assemblies and liturgies.
A sustainable programme in Te Reo Māori is established across the school.
Principal and senior staff attend sessions on Māori spirituality and pass this learning on to the staff.
A Treaty of Waitangi Committee with support of whānau advisers, takes into account Māori tikanga, customs and spirituality in the daily life of the school.
A Māori version of the school’s Mission Statement is displayed alongside the English version.
Māori prayers are taught and said in classrooms, Liturgies and Masses.
The free supportive programme such as He Papa tikanga through Te Wananga O Aotearoa helps to stimulate a bi-cultural perspective in the classroom and is very helpful as an introduction to tikanga Māori practices.

SACRAMENTAL PROGRAMME

Students are encouraged to develop their witness to faith by assisting, planning and leading in many liturgical events. The school’s Catholic Character policy and procedures states that students are given these responsibilities to ‘increase leadership roles and to develop confidence within the Church and to lead students towards mature witness and ministry in the future’.
The sacramental programme encourages a culture of “belonging to the school – belonging to the Church,” which assists the students to identify their next step as a person of faith.
The Board writes to parents whose children are of Preference 5.2, 5.3 or 5.4, and they are invited to consider having their child prepared for Baptism while s/he is at the school.
The parish Priest and principal visit families of children who are to be baptised – to help encourage and strengthen the relationship with the parish.
Families are invited to be part of a sacramental programme – the parish pastoral worker leads a sacramental programme for the children while the principal leads a programme for the parents.
The school works to assist students and their families on their faith and sacramental journey. The school collaborates closely with the parish to run a ‘Kids becoming Catholic’ programme – if there are 3 – 4 baptisms a year.
Identify all students who are eligible to make their First Communion and make personal invites to them and their families to be engaged in the parish First Communion programme, then ensure both parish and school continue to encourage students and whānau to take part in parish life, particularly Sunday Mass.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

The Board receives RE reports on every Religious Education strand each year. Areas of greatest progress, concept deficit (‘Hotspots’) and next steps in learning are identified as is future professional learning. These reports assist the Board to engage with the data and to have conversations about learning, theology and the direction of RE within the school.
To ensure the BOT understands the needs of parents, ten new families are selected each year and are contacted prior to a BOT meeting to gather feedback and suggestions.
The BOT and staff are commissioned at Mass at the beginning of the year in front of the wider parish.

COMMUNICATION

The school Facebook page is kept up to date with photos and array of special character vocabulary woven through captions to accompany and celebrate learning and school events
The Principal places tweets on twitter and photos on Facebook to update whānau on their young people’s activities.
The school uses Facebook, an app and YouTube, where appropriate, to inform parents and the community of happenings in the school.

2015