Elk Island Catholic Schools

Elk Island Catholic Religious Education Consultant Services:

Alene Mutala, EICS Religious Education Consultant
Phone: 780-449-6455

Fax: 780-467-5469

Alene Mutala, our EICS Religious Education Consultant, coordinates the Division's religious education and health and life skills programs. Alene works closely with religious leaders, students, staff, and families to ensure EICS is providing quality, Catholic education.

*** Conrad Sarnecki Memorial Essay Contest Winner -
Sherwood Park, AB - This year's winner of the Conrad Sarnecki Memorial Essay Contest is Samara Draganiuk. Read Samara's essay on how Catholic education has impacted her life ....

Mission:

... At the heart of catechesis we find, in essence, a person, the Person of Jesus of Nazareth, "the only son of the Father... full of grace and truth," who suffered and died for us and who now, after rising, is living with us for ever&.

We must therefore say that, in catechesis, it is Christ, the Incarnate Word and Son of God, who was taught -- everything else is taught with reference to him -- and it is Christ alone, who teaches... (Apostolic Exhortation Catechesis Tradendae, p. 8-10)

Each of us working in Catholic schools is called to be Christ's spokesperson, enabling Him to be present through us! The role of the Religious Education Consultant is to support all the stakeholders in our school division to fulfill this mission. In Catholic schools we work together with the family and parish to help young people mature into disciples of Christ. The Religious Education Consultant specifically provides service and direction in the following areas:

Faith Formation:

Providing resources, direction, and funding for theological, moral, and religious education for staff and students.
Developing and leading retreats for students, staff, trustees, parents.
Overseeing faith formation programs taken at Newman Theological College and St. Joseph's College at the University of Alberta including the cohort of teachers working towards completing a Graduate Diploma in Religious Education.
Offering in-house courses to new and existing staff in faith related areas.
Nurturing the chaplaincy program for secondary students.
Supporting celebrations, prayer services and days of reflection for both staff and students on both an individual school basis and division-wide.

Support for Religious Education Programs:

Supporting existing programs from the National Office of Religious Education and those developed locally with the approval of the Alberta Catholic Bishops.
Working with teachers to implement new and revised official programs and develop alternative modes of delivery for programs.

Theological Consultation:

Vetting documents from all media sources for theological content and suitability for use in Catholic schools.
Providing Catholic perspective at various venues within the division.
Writing and speaking on faith in Catholic education matters, locally and provincially.
Offering direction and feedback on a variety of topics: liturgies, prayer, dealing with controversial issues in the classroom, et cetera.

Liaison with Community:

Establishing and maintaining relations with parent groups, parishes, the archdiocese and Eparchy, church organizations, Catholic agencies, community services, neighboring school districts, colleges and universities, provincial and national organizations.

Sharing Resources:

Providing prayers, liturgies, lessons and a variety of other resources to those requesting them.
Attending conferences to meet and hire inspirational speakers to address students and staff.

The Religious Education Consultant is available to speak and work with all stakeholders within our Division. Contact our Religous Education Consultant anytime - whether it be in assisting in the planning of liturgies, curriculum matters, retreats, prayer life within the school or classroom, the appropriateness of various resources or any other faith or health-related area.