Education Gold Coast introduces St Johns Catholic Primary School in Narraweena, for all your education and learning needs.
The Catholic Church believes that the ‘task of imparting education belongs primarily to the family’ and that parents ‘have a primary and inalienable duty and right in regard to the education of their children’ (Vatican II – Decree on Christian Education nn 3 & 6). This duty and right is emphasised at the child’s Baptism when the Church reminded parents that they were ‘accepting the responsibility of training their child in the practice of the faith’. Catholic schools are a means to provide the Catholic community with a forum to educate and form their children in the faith, and to offer them an experience of following Jesus as members of the Catholic community.
Our main task in Catholic schools, therefore, is to bring children to a commitment to be disciples of Jesus. It involves three aspects of education: intellectual (KNOWING about our faith and its traditions); behavioural (PARTICIPATING in liturgy and being committed to social justice); and affective (developing a sense of CONVICTION, a sense of belonging to the church). It is the interaction of these three sectors that will bring children to an understanding and a commitment to their faith. It is an awesome job and one that we share with you as parents. As it forms the basis for our existence as a Catholic School, it is good to have some shared understanding about our roles. Our purpose as a separate education system is to nurture the faith of all adults and children in our community.
