Year 9 students have been studying World Religions and Their Rites of Passage this term in Religious Education. Students have been learning about rites of passage in both secular and religious contexts, including in Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and Judaism. Students are working on their Rite of Passage Visual Essay in the coming lessons, in which they will compare and contrast a rite of passage in Christianity and one other major religion studied (of their choice).
We were fortunate to have guest speaker Leanne Prichard from the Catholic Education Tasmania office in Hobart visit the College to speak with Year 9 students about Judaism as part of our unit. During Week 7 in each Year 9 Religious Education class, Leanne delivered presentations about Judaism and shared insights from her travel to Jerusalem. She shared several items from the Jewish faith with our Year 9 students, including a copy of the Torah (the Jewish sacred text), menorah (a sacred candelabrum), mezuzah (parchment scrolls with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah in a decorated case), Seder plate (used in the Passover meal), shofar (ram’s horn) and a tallit (prayer shawl).
It has been wonderful to be able to see in real life some of the items we have studied, to see video footage of part of a Bar Mitzvah, and to hear first-hand accounts of Jerusalem. We appreciate Leanne taking the time to teach our classes about Judaism and her enthusiastic presentation, which brought aspects of Judaism to life.
Mrs Sarah Douglas
Religious Education Learning Area Leader (Years 7-10)
