PRESS RELEASE
23 JUNE 2004
NEW CATHOLIC RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAMME FOR
NORTHERN IRELAND LAUNCHED BY BISHOP DONAL MC KEOWN
“Today is a good day for religious education” – Bishop McKeown
The Auxiliary Bishop for Down and Connor, the Most Rev Donal McKeown DD,
launches a new religious education series in Omagh today and Belfast
tomorrow. Fully Alive 1 is a religious education programme specifically
for schools in Northern Ireland and is the first in a new series for
‘Key Stage 3’ Catholic religious education, which covers the 11 – 14/15
year old age groups.
Fully Alive 1 contains new resources (see second bullet point below)
and was written in collaboration with post-primary diocesan advisors
and teachers. This new religious education series has been requested
and sponsored by the Northern Ireland bishop members of the Irish Bishops’
Conference and their diocesan advisors as currently there is no programme
specifically designed for Key Stage 3 in Northern Ireland
Commenting on Fully Alive 1, Bishop McKeown said, “I am delighted to
launch the first in the series of Fully Alive 1 for religious education
in schools. Fully Alive meets the requirements of the core curriculum
and the General Directory for Catechesis and has been piloted by teachers
throughout Northern Ireland.
“The central purpose of this programme is to challenge and encourage faith
development in students by helping them to relate to God in their own lives,
in the life of the Church and in the local community, as well as in the
wider world. This practical approach to religious education makes this
initiative relevant and timely.”
Bishop McKeown concluded, “Fully Alive is the natural progression from the
primary school religious education programme (Alive-O series) and is suitable
for use with a wide range of abilities. It fosters a spirit of prayer in the
students by offering an opportunity for prayer during for each lesson, and
encourages celebrations of the liturgical year at class and school level.
Today is a good day for religious education.”
Ends
Notes for Editors:
* The two launches of Fully Alive 1 will take place in St Joseph’s
Parish Hall, Omagh on Wednesday 23rd June 2004 at 1.30pm, and in St
Mary’s University College, Belfast on Thursday 24th June 2004 at 1.30pm.
* Fully Alive 1 is the first book of a series of three. The next
two programmes will build on this first book. Student text books,
student workbooks, student activity books and teacher notes & resources
on CD-Rom are all available from Veritas.
* The books are published by Veritas. The Pupil Book is £12.00, Workbook
is £2.00, and the Activity Book is £3.00.
* For further information please contact: Amanda Conlon-McKenna Marketing
and Public Relations Co-ordinator at Veritas 7-8 Lower Abbey Street Dublin
1. Email [email protected] Tel 00 353 1 8788177
Fax 00 353 1 8786507 or Martin Long CCO Director of Communications at
00 353 86 1727 678.
