DVD Training Kits for SRE Teachers

Kit 1 - Everyone Counts, Everyone Belongs: Educating Students with Special Needs.
Kit 2 - Implications of Learning Difficulties for Classroom Learning.
Kit 3 - Effective Classroom Management: What Works, What Doesn't and Who Can Help.
Kit 4 - Cultural Differences: Teaching a Multicultural Class.
Kit 5 - Special Needs of Aboriginal Students.

To order one or more of these kits, download the order form.
If you would like further information contact the ICCOREIS Executive Officer.

2007 ICCOREIS Conference - Effective SRE for Young Australians

Strategies for Teaching Values in SRE, presented by John Gore of the NSW Department of Education and Training.

Drama in Ministry, presented by Tony Jones of Anglican Youthworks.

Children with Special Learning Needs, presented by Patricia Mowbray of the Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn. For further details, or to obtain a copy of the workbook, contact Patricia Mowbray, e: disability@catholic.org.au; p: 02 6201 9868.

2009 ICCOREIS Forum - Valuing Volunteers

Workshop Materials (workshops were led by ICCOREIS members):
Acknowledging Volunteers - Mandy Jones.
Advertising for Volunteers - Sue Sneddon.
Recognising and Discerning Gifts in Others - Helen Ryan.
Mentoring - Mary Smith.
Volunteer Networks - Peter Adamson.

Resources flyer. The flyer contains information on a number of organisations that support volunteering as well as other tools and resources available online.

DVD 1 - Sessions 1 and 2 presented by the keynote speaker, Michael Ryan.
DVD 2 - Workshops: Meeting Volunteers' Expectations, Advertising for Volunteers.
To order the DVDs, download the order form.

Teaching Guidelines

Guidelines for Religious Educators Teaching Students with Special Needs, produced by the NSW Department of Education and Training.

GenR8 - NSW High Schools SRE Association

GenR8's mission is to impact young people in NSW state schools through the gospel of Jesus Christ, through the provision of Special Religious Education (SRE) and chaplaincy for every possible student in every state school.

GenR8 is a Christian organisation representing Scripture Union NSW, Baptist Churches of NSW & ACT, Sydney Anglican Youthworks and NSW Presbyterian Youth. GenR8 seeks to grow Christian ministry in NSW state schools through employing, resourcing and equipping SRE teachers and chaplains*. GenR8 uses the field advisors for Scripture Union NSW and Anglican Youthworks for support and training.

GenR8's vision is to promote:
- the development of SRE teaching in all state high schools;
- churches in NSW giving support to SRE in high schools, especially through the establishment of local SRE boards;
- local SRE boards working closely with young people's ministries in local churches;
- the National School Chaplaincy Programme, increasing the presence and availability of Christian ministry in NSW schools.

For more information see the GenR8 website or contact GenR8 on e: info@genr8.org.au; p: 02 8268 3328.

* The Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR, formerly DEST) contributes funding to Chaplaincy services through the National School Chaplaincy Programme. The views expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of DEEWR.

Prayer

The Uniting Church Board of Education has many resources available for children's ministry, including a number of ideas for prayer. These can be found on their Children's Ministry website.

Church Resources' online prayer page.

Promoting SRE

ICCOREIS has produced an orientation pack for use by SRE coordinators and teachers, to explain and promote SRE to parents enrolling their children for kindergarten.

The Overview describes the files listed below and gives suggestions for their use.

These files have been designed to be downloaded and customised. To download, click on the filename and select Save, or right click on the filename and select Save Target As. All files are compatible with MS Office 97-2003:
Orientation presentation - MS PowerPoint presentation to be used at orientation days/evenings (1054kB).
SRE and Your Child - brochure about SRE that can be modified to include details for a particular school.
Sample letter for the class teacher - template for a letter from the SRE teacher to the classroom teacher.
Sample letter for parents/carers - template for a letter from the SRE teacher to the parents/carers of children in their class.

The following brochures have been produced by Anglican Youthworks. For further information or to order copies of the brochures, contact Youthworks on 02 8268 3344 or sales@youthworks.net, or see the Youthworks website:

Shape the World invites Christians who may be interested or who know only a little about SRE, to be involved and take advantage of the opportunity we have to teach children in our public schools. It includes some common questions on curriculum and teaching, information on the impact of SRE, and different ways that people can be involved.

Why Consider Christian SRE? presents information for parents, to give them an overview of the benefits of Christian SRE for their children and provide contacts if they wish to know more. Also available in Chinese and Korean.

Understanding Christian SRE
Primary - Explains how SRE works and parents' rights and obligations. Intended to be given to parents during school orientation days. Also available in Chinese.
Secondary - Explains how SRE works in secondary school and parents' rights and obligations.

SRE Assemblies and Seminars

The following documents have been produced as a guide for those who are planning SRE assemblies or seminars:

Guidelines for Christian SRE Assemblies
Guidelines for Christian SRE Seminars

Christmas and Easter

Christmas play script. As featured in the September 2005 SRE Update, this script is for a Christmas play that can be performed by adults at a primary school assembly.

Richard Cootes. Richard's CD Remember Me focuses on the events of Holy Week and Easter. The songs have been written for a dramatic re-enactment of these events, by children. Available from the Catholic Mission Office, PO Box 768, Newcastle 2300.

Activities

Quiz Worx. Quiz Worx provides a wide range of resources for SRE teachers, including a music CD, comic books with scripture themes and live presentations. For further details see the Quiz Worx website.

Shelley and Son. Owen and Stephen Shelley have developed a variety of interactive children's ministry resources, designed to be used with a computer and data projector or an interactive whiteboard. They include revision quiz games, Bible stories, puppetry resources and teaching aids. These are available on CD or via email. For further details and other free downloads, see the Shelley and Son website.

Children for Christ. Children for Christ specialises in running after school missions for children aged 5-12 years. These run for three days, 3:30pm - 5:45pm, and activities include games, craft, story times and singing. For further details contact David Young, on 02 4722 5433. David is also available to conduct SRE assemblies in schools.

Guest Speakers

Michael Perini. Michael is a former primary school teacher and school chaplain. He lectures at Sydney Missionary and Bible College and shares his skills at children's ministry training days. He is a sought after children's speaker and quick sketcher.
Contact details: e: blue-easel@bigpond.com; p: 02 9816 1666.

David Young. David works for Children for Christ. He is keen to be involved in conducting SRE assemblies in schools.
Contact details: 3/8 Coombes Dr, Penrith 2570; p: 02 4722 5433.

Music, Books and DVDs

Colin Buchanan. Colin has produced such well-known titles as 10, 9, 8, God is Great and Jesus Rocks the World. His CDs are enhanced, meaning that the full music scores are on the CDs. They also include instrumental backing tracks and other bonuses such as colouring books. A number of his albums are also available on DVD and video. For full details see Colin's website.

Monica Brown. Monica's adult music is specifically Catholic but her children's CDs are less so. Titles include God Delights in You, Praise and Blessing, and One People One Land (focusing on Australian spirituality). Word books and music books are available for each CD. For full details see Monica's website.

It's Your Move. This book, produced by Scripture Union, has been designed to help students in their final year before secondary school. Revised and reprinted due to popular demand, it is a handy tool for anyone involved in chaplaincy, lunchtime groups or SRE. Available from Scripture Union. Phone 1800 808 639 to order.

The A-Z of Understanding & Communicating Gospel Concepts. In this book, Owen Shelley has defined more than 70 terms relating to the gospel message, giving illustrations to make their meaning plain. Published by Scripture Union, the book is available from Christian bookshops.

What the Bible Is, by Denise Abrahall. This book is particularly suitable for 11-14 year olds with learning difficulties. It answers questions young people might have about the Bible and its importance to Christians. Available from Christian bookshops.

Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, by George Barna. The author states, "building tomorrow's church begins with today's children". This book challenges us to seriously reconsider the focus of evangelisation in our churches. Available from Christian bookshops.

The Animated Kid's Bible DVD Collectible Series, produced by The Kids Bible Company. This is a DVD series that presents both the Old and New Testaments in an easy-to-understand storytelling format, designed for six to 12 year old children. Each DVD contains one episode and many bonus features. For more details and to order, see the Animated Kid's Bible website.

The Bible - Alive and Active. This DVD has been produced by the Bible Society NSW and Logosdor, to make the Bible more accessible to primary aged children. It contains videos, songs and music clips, activities and discussion topics, and is designed to be used in SRE classes, churches or Sunday schools. For further information contact Chris Melville at the Bible Society, on 02 9888 6588.

Story-Telling - A Short 'How To' Course on Telling Interesting Bible Stories. In this presentation to SRE teachers in the Northern Territory, Owen Shelley demonstrates how to tell Bible stories in ways that will gain and hold the attention of children and help make God's message memorable to them. Available in DVD or video format from Christian Indigenous Media Resources, on 08 8988 9616 or sales@cimr.asn.au.

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