Religious Education

Religious Education in Our High Schools

Each of our nine high schools is committed to providing you with rich programs that are infused with Gospel values. We integrate our Catholic beliefs and values into the required courses provided to us by the Ministry of Education. Whether it is science, English or religion class, the information we teach you reflects our Catholic beliefs. For more information about our faith-filled approach to student learning, please visit the school board website.

In addition, students attending one of our Catholic high schools must complete four religion courses in order to graduate. For more information about what you need in order to receive an OSSD, please visit the school board website.

Our Religion Courses


Grade 9 – Be With Me: This course invites you to gain a deeper understanding of both the joy and the demands of following in the way of Christ and living out the call to discipleship as it is described in the Scriptures. Using the Beatitudes as a touchstone, students examine the attitudes and actions that characterize Christian life. Students will explore a variety of topics related to the themes of person-hood, interpersonal relationships and sexuality. They are encouraged to understand and nurture within themselves the virtues which will enable them to deepen their relationship with God, in and through Christ, in the context of a spirit-filled community.

Grade 10 – Christ and Culture: This course both invites and challenges you to personalize the principles that guide Catholics in understanding their role in shaping culture through our discipleship. The exploration of these principles starts with the Scriptural foundations and moves to the questions of what it means to be human and how God has and continues to shape our humanity through culture. The principles are then developed through the Gospel themes that reveal how Jesus’ kingdom of God is expressed in all of our relationships: to ourselves, to others, to our civil society, to our Church, and to our global community.

Grade 11 – Faith and Culture: World ReligionsThese courses fulfill the Church's desire that students in Catholic schools develop an objective and respectful understanding of other religious traditions from the perspective of the Catholic Church. To that end, student learning will include an understanding of the Church’s teachings on world religious traditions and those principles which inform ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, together with an historical overview of the Church’s relationship with various religions. For all students, this course will help break down prejudice about other religions, and for some it may lead to a deeper understanding and more authentic adherence to the teachings of the Church concerning spiritual and moral truth. Other religious traditions are encountered through the unique perspective of the Catholic Church.

Grade 12 – Church and Culture: This course aims to assist students in understanding themselves as moral persons living the way of Christ through an examination of ethical theories, the revelation of sacred Scripture, and the experience and teaching of the Catholic Church. Students will explore their own ethical and moral stance through an examination of various arenas of life such as issue of justice and peace, freedom, reconciliation, family, marriage and political life. This course is intended to prepare the senior student for the lifelong task of discerning what is good and of God, while growing in their ability to live accordingly as moral persons and active, life-giving members of a global society. It engages students in critical reflection on significant contemporary moral and ethical issues in light of Scripture, Church teachings, and their own experiences. Social and ecological justice issues are explored along with a study of topics that focus on Christian mercy and forgiveness.