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NEWCASTLE Serving Newcastle High and Merewether High
The NSW Education Act (1990) states “in every government school, time is to be allowed for the religious education of children.”
The provision by our government for weekly SRE is an acknowledgment that religious instruction is vital to a balanced education. It is distinct from Religious Studies in that it is taught by a representative of that religion.
Typically in our primary schools the Christian SRE lessons are presented by a team of unpaid volunteers from local churches.
However in high schools this model is rarely workable. As a result in many of our high schools SRE lessons are timetabled as a free periods.
Paid SRE teachers allow the Christian community to use SRE periods to present the life and message of Jesus Christ on a weekly basis in our high schools. They encourage the youth of today to consider their place within God’s purposes. They also become an integral part of the school system in which they work, their lives being a witness to both the staff and each generation of students.
The Newcastle SRE Board is responsible to support and develop SRE programmes in our local public schools. We have 12 primary and 3 high schools in our region. There are approx. 5500 students in the 15 public schools here in inner-Newcastle.
Primary Schools:
We have approx. 50 volunteers teaching in our primary schools. Each primary school also has a contact person who co-ordinates the school’s SRE programme. Merinda Handsaker, our Regional Primary SRE Coordinator, helps to support and develop all areas of Primary SRE in our region.
High Schools:
The Newcastle High programme has been running since 1996 when 8 local churches got together to employ a teacher. Now we have 14 churches and employ two paid SRE teachers, Aaron Williams and Scott Leith, who teach every year 7 and 8 class once a fortnight.
The Merewether High programme has been running since 2007 with seminars for years 7—10. In 2009, we began timetabled classes for year 7 while continuing seminars for years 8—10. This is continuing into 2010. Our two teachers for 2010 are Josh Allen and Ben Broadfoot.
The Hunter School of the Performing Arts has timetabled lessons for year 7. Craig Eade, Matthew Wilesmith & Graham Nattress teach our SRE programme as volunteers. We hope to employ a teacher shortly.
Chaplaincy:
While the programme in each school is essentially communicating the same concepts, the methods vary from school to school.
The Board is made up of volunteer representatives from our churches who are committed to supporting the ministry. We meet monthly to consider the needs and opportunities which arise in relation to the SRE programmes. We also meet on alternate fortnight for prayer.
The Board is responsible for:
· Maintaining a healthy relationship with the schools.
· For raising awareness of this ministry amongst the Christian community of Newcastle.
· For developing and sustaining the strategies required to fund and support the teachers.
The board is a registered charity and is governed by a constitution which outlines the rules of operation.
Below is a brief outline of the current financial commitments and needs of our Board. Our plan is to continue to expand this ministry so that we will ultimately be able to offer SRE to every class in the three high schools we cover, while also providing support for the Primary Programmes.
All donations are Tax Deductible
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