St Peter's College

Religious Studies Faculty

The aim of the Religious Studies Faculty at St Peter's College is to develop intelligent, philosophically and theologically aware young men, who are spiritually confident and knowledgeable of the universal Catholic Christian tradition, in a contemporary context open to the world's religions. It offers a wide range of high calibre courses in Scripture, History, Ethics, Spirituality, Philosophy and Theology, which inform, develop and challenge students to achieve these aims. Religious Studies is part of the core education offered at St Peter's College and is part of its Special Character and therefore is compulsory for all students.

Head of Faculty

Dr David Legg - B.A., M.A., M.A.(Hons.Dip.Phil.), Dip.Tchg., Ph.D.

dlegg@st-peters.school.nz

Director of Special Character and Religious Studies Teacher

Mr Hayden Kingdon - B.A., Dip.Tchg.

hkingdon@st-peters.school.nz

Specialist Religious Studies Teachers

Dr Daniel Stollenwerk  - B.A., M.A., STL., STD

dstollenwerk@st-peters.school.nz

Mr John Hall - B.A. Grad.Dip.RE., TTC.

jhall@st-peters.school.nz

Mr Dermot O'Brien - B.A., M.A., Dip.Tchg., TTC.

dobrien@st-peters.school.nz

Mr Cedric Piggin - B.A. in Ethics, Dip Tchg.

cpiggin@st-peters.school.nz

Religious Studies Teachers from other Faculties

Mr Antun Poljanich B.A., M.Mus., Dip.Tchg. - Head of Music Faculty

Mrs Sue Parker B.A., Dip.Tchg. - Literacy Centre

Overview of Religious Studies Years 7 to 13

Religious Studies courses are offered from Years 7 to 13 and are a part of each student's timetable.

• Years 7 and 8 Religious Studies course is: Introduction to Catholic Christianity and St Peter's College. These full year courses include topics about God and Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Church, the Sacraments and the Liturgical year, Edmund Rice and St Peter's College. The courses are based on the New Zealand National Centre for Religious Studies programme and texts (3 periods / week).

• Year 9 Religious Studies course is: Introduction to Scripture both Old and New Testaments. This is a full year course that introduces students to the main persons and events in the Scriptures, including background studies, texts and visual resources (3 periods / week).

• Year 10 Religious Studies course is: History of Christianity its Art and Architecture . This is a full year intensive study of the history of Christianity that begins with the early Church in the Roman Empire and develops through to the Contemporary world (4 periods / week).

• Year 11 Religious Studies consists of two courses: Introduction to Philosophy and Introduction to Theology . The first semester aims at developing an intellectual approach to discussing basic philosophical ideas and arguments. The second semester focuses on developing a theological understanding of God, Trinity, death, miracles and prayer (5 periods / week).

• Year 12 Religious Studies consists of two courses: Introduction to Ethics and Introduction to Spirituality. The first semester introduces students to the foundations of ethical thinking. The second semester introduces students to an understanding of a wide variety of religious experiences found in the religions of the world (5 periods / week).

• Year 13 Religious Studies consists of two courses: Philosophy and Theology . The first semester is a study of several important Philosophical texts, from Socrates to the 20 th century, on the topics of: truth, knowledge and meaning. The second semester is a study of Theology seeking to understand faith and its relationship to reason. It examines the arguments for the existence of God, and discusses how humans can reasonably think about God. It introduces students to a study of St John's Gospel, beginning with an examination of the Prologue of St John in Greek (5 periods / week).

Aims and Achievement Objectives of each Year Level

Years 7 and 8 - Introduction to Catholic Christianity and St Peter's College

The aims of these courses are to develop students' understanding of

• the origins and ideals of St Peter's College,
• the Creator, the life of Jesus, his teaching and His Spirit,
• the meaning of Baptism and Eucharist,
• positive personal relations and reflection on their spiritual development.

Students will achieve these aims by:

• studying the origins of St Peter's,
• understanding God as Creator, recalling the life of Jesus, and Holy Spirit,
• understanding the meaning of Baptism and Eucharist,
• learning about healthy relationships and enjoying silent times of reflection and prayer.

Year 9 - Introduction to Scripture - Old and New Testaments

• The aims of this course are to develop in students their ability to
• read selected texts of Old and New Testament,
• understand the context of the lives of key persons in the Bible,
• grasp the underlying themes in the Bible,
• deepen their enjoyment of reading the Bible.

Students will achieve these aims by:

• a close reading of selected Biblical texts,
• describing the main events in the lives of key persons,
• understanding the central theme of the Bible,
• meditating on readings from the Bible.

Year 10 - History of Christianity, its Art and Architecture

The aims of this course are to develop in students an historical knowledge of

• the key persons in the history of Christianity,
• the relationship between Christianity and its Art and Architecture,
• the relevance of major events and persons in the Church,
• the positive and negative aspects of the development of the Catholic tradition.

Students will achieve these aims by:

• critically reading selected texts and viewing relevant images,
• identifying important key events and persons,
• researching the lives of chosen persons in the context of their times,
• writings essays about the virtues and lives of influential Christians.

Year 11 - Introduction to Philosophy (First Semester - 5 periods/week)

The aims of this course are to develop in students their ability to

• argue logically about the ideas of learning, truth, knowledge and opinion,
• clarify and define key concepts in political philosophy and law,
• discuss critically topic from different viewpoints,
• write well presented and logically argued formal essays.

Students will achieve these aims by:

• a critical reading of selected texts,
• analyzing concepts and arguments,
• discussing topics intelligently,
• writing well presented and argued essays.

Year 11 - Introduction to Theology (Second Semester - 5 periods/week)

The aims of this course are to develop students' understanding of   

• the different ideas of God in Greek, Hebrew and Christian traditions,
• the development of the Christian teaching about the Trinity,
• different ideas about life after death, miracles and prayer,
• the central qualities of Hinduism in the life of Gandhi and of Islam in the life of Muhammad.

Students will achieve these aims by:

• a close reading of selected religious texts,
• viewing relevant visual material related to topics,
• discussing empathetically different theological insights,
• writing well presented and researched essays about different religious concepts.

Year 12 - Introduction to Ethics (First Semester - 5 periods/week)

The aims of this course are to develop students' ability to

• discuss human nature and evolution
• understand emotions and the complexity of sexual relationships,
• explain different philosophical Ethical theories,
• argue coherently about practical ethical issues,

Students will achieve these aims by:   

• critically reading and studying selected texts,
• clarifying the basis of different ethical theories,
• participating in discussions about ethical questions,
• writing logically argued essays about ethical issues.

Year 12 - Introduction to Spirituality (Second Semester - 5 periods/week)

The aims of this course are to develop students' ability to

• understand mystical experiences,
• analyze true and false spiritualities of the self,
• understand different cultural spiritualities,
• be aware of early forms of spirituality.

Students will achieve these aims by:   

• reading selected texts in spirituality,
• discussing key features of spirituality,
• understanding different forms of spirituality,
• discussing and writing about spiritual experiences.

Year 13 - Philosophy (First Semester - 5 periods/week)

The aims of this course are to develop students' ability to

• clarify important philosophical concepts,
• to argue critically from different viewpoints,
• to read primary texts from important philosophers,
• to explore the key questions in the foundations of knowledge.

Students will achieve these aims by:

• critically reading and analysing selected texts,
• clarifying key philosophical ideas,
• discussing basic philosophical questions,
• writing logically argued essays.

Year 13 - Theology (Second Semester - 5 periods a week)

The aims of this course are to develop students' ability to

• understand important theological concepts,
• critically discuss major theological questions,
• clarify important theological texts,
• analyse complex theological theories.     

Students will achieve these aims by:

• critically reading and understanding of selected texts,
• intelligently discussing theological issues,
• writing insightful well argued essay,
• researching and conducting a seminar.

Assessment required for Religious Studies

All Religious Studies courses are assessed. The courses in Years 7 and 8 are assessed by the classroom teacher and by common tests. Courses in Years 9 to 13 are assessed and reported on based on marks out of 100 gained from both internal work and final examinations. Religious Studies courses from Years 11 to 13 are divided into two semesters per year. The examination for the first semester is held at mid-year, and for the second semester is held in the third term during final internal examinations.