Catholic Identity and Mission

'Catholic schools are called to be real and living expressions of the Church’s Pastoral Mission in the world. Our Mission is to be centres of "the New Evangelisation" and to proclaim and give witness to Jesus Christ. Catholic schools nurture students in their lifelong journey in faith and help them develop as mature people empowered to shape and enrich the world by living the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their everyday lives'. - Catholic Schools Office Lismore Catholic Identity & Mission.

The Mission of Catholic Schools is for all to come to know Christ and the ‘fullness of life'. Every student can learn and has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. As a quality Catholic school, St Francis Xavier’s vision is to: 'Serve every learner'.

The wellbeing and growth of each student and each staff member is a collective responsibility of the whole school community. Students need positive role models who are courageous to share their faith journey and offer witness for students. 

'Students listen more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if they do listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses', – Pope Paul VI

St Augustine’s Parish

St Francis Xavier is an important part of the Parish Community of St Augustine’s, Coffs Harbour. Our Acting Parish Administrator is Fr Joe DSouza, and our Assistant Priests are Fr Joy D'Souza and Fr Peter Rebello. Classes attend Parish Mass on Wednesday mornings. Our priests regularly visit our school to talk to staff and students.

We believe our school is an active part of the Body of Christ manifested in the Parish Community. Our school actively encourages its students, parents, grandparents, carers, and teachers to be involved in parish life and to adopt ministry roles where possible. On the first Sunday of each month, the school takes responsibility for the various ministries for the Mass. This includes Proclaiming the Word, leading the music and hosting morning tea.

Religious Education Curriculum

The Religious Education Curriculum we implement in the Lismore Diocese is also used within the Archdiocese of Sydney, the Diocese of Armidale and the Diocese of Wollongong.

The Curriculum provides an educational framework for classroom Religion teaching consistent with the approaches to the content and methodology as found in any other Key Learning Area. The teaching time allocation for Religious Education per week from Kindergarten to Year 6 is 2.5 hours per week.

The Curriculum model aims to meet the challenges and the vision of our education in a faith perspective in the 21st Century. Central to our program are the teachings of Jesus Christ, Church doctrine, Prayer and Scripture and understanding our personal call to Christian discipleship. The theology in the Religious Education Curriculum and student text is approved by the Bishop of Lismore, the Most Reverend Gregory Homeming, OCD, and is integrated with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Proclaim Lismore

Proclaim Lismore is an exciting, collaborative adventure to enhance and strengthen the foundations of Catholic culture in Catholic education. Proclaim is an initiative by the Diocese of Lismore aimed at supporting the faith formation of students, staff and parents.

Proclaim Lismore aims to ensure that Catholic education is strategically placed to enable the hidden energy of the Good News to positively impact the consciences of each person and transform Catholic education. This will enable the promotion of schools that are truly Catholic in their identity and life, centres of the New Evangelisation, achieving high levels of Catholic religious literacy and practice, and led by staff who will contribute to these goals.

Sacramental Program

Our Sacramental Program is school-based and takes place during Religious Education lessons. Parent engagement is key to the success of the program and there is a compulsory family information night at the start of each Sacramental Program. Candidates receiving the Sacraments are given the opportunity to participate in a retreat experience during school time to embed their understanding, deepen faith and build upon their Sacramental experience. 

In our Parish, the Sacramental Program is received in the following years: 

Confirmation - Year 3

Reconciliation & First Communion - Year 4 (students must have received Confirmation prior to receiving Reconciliation and Communion)

Students in older grades are more than welcome to prepare for the Sacraments and special provision can be made to accommodate this.

Enrolment in the Sacramental Program is via a Google Form sent out at the start of each school year.

Becoming a Catholic

Families who would like to find out more about our Catholic Faith or would like to become a Catholic are encouraged to contact St Augustine’s Parish Office at the Curran Centre on 6651 0000.