Curriculum Overview
Year 7 at Marymount College is the beginning of a new part of life’s journey for students where they learn about the beliefs, values and practices of Christian communities, past and present. In the unit Where It All Began students explore cultural and historical influences on these communities and change and continuity over time. They learn about the foundations and history of the College in the Franciscan tradition as it has evolved here on the Gold Coast in Queensland. They discover ways in which communities of believers, past and present, express their understanding of God and God’s relationship with human persons. The Old Testament stories of the Patriarchs, the common beginnings of faith shared by Christianity, Judaism and Islam, the structure of the early Church communities and the Church communities in Australia are areas of focus. Ways of belonging to the Church community, in particular, the Marymount College community, are explored.
Through the unit The Power of Words students investigate the idea that words reflect the audience, purpose and context of their human authors and the concepts of ‘The world behind the text, the world of the text, the world in front of the text’ are reinforced. In particular, they develop their understanding of the Apostles Creed and Nicene Creed. The unit Doing Good provides students with an opportunity to examine Church teaching and basic principles of Christian morality that influence the way Christians live out their faith, individually and communally. The importance of Moses and the Exodus account, the Decalogue and the elements of the Church’s teachings on The Common Good and personal gifts for the service of others are studied. In the unit Sacraments and Sacramentality students explore how the Church supports the faith journey through Liturgy and Sacraments. The elements included are a study of the Church Liturgical seasons, initiation rites and Christ’s Paschal mystery.
Throughout the four units students examine ways in which believers nurture their spiritual life through prayer and ritual. By developing their understanding of prayer in the Christian tradition through an exploration of Lectio Divina and Ignatian Meditation, the Examen, reflective journaling, praying with icons and art and the College prayer, the Peace Prayer of St. Francis, students are able to enhance their own prayer life and participate authentically in their faith community.
YEAR 7 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION SCOPE AND SEQUENCE OVERVIEW.pdf