Human Development - Health and Religious Education
27th April 2016
Dear Parents of Silver Room,
Re: Health
and next Religious Education Unit to be explored in Year Six
The basic purpose for which God created the human
body is so that human beings can express the love and the goodness within them.
Sexuality is the distinctive ways males and females express love and goodness
through their thoughts, feelings, bodies and relationships.
The next Religious Education unit begins by
exploring the Catholic understanding of sexuality. It focuses in particular upon
the special way husband and wives express their sexuality in the Sacrament of
Marriage.
The unit introduces to the children ways in which
Jesus always expresses love and goodness through his body. It then presents how
he makes his followers ‘new creatures’ through Baptism so that they can do the
same. The Rite of Baptism and symbols used during the Baptismal ceremony will
also be explored.
Finally, the unit explores ways in which the two
Great Commandments help people understand how to express love and goodness
through their bodies.
In conjunction with the RE Unit of Work, during
our Health classes I will be using the CEO approved “Things are Changing”
programme to help the students further understand the physical and emotional
changes that occur during puberty. There are work books and DVD presentations
that will be used to cover the different content along with whole class and
small group discussions.
I will place in the classroom a “Questions Box”
where students will have a chance to write out any of the questions that they
may have but might not feel comfortable asking in front of others. Those that
are appropriate to be shared can be discussed during this time. There will be
occasions when I will feel that it is best for them to discuss this with you at
a later time, so I will say to them, “that is a question/conversation for mum
or dad.”
The content that we will be covering during our
Religious Education and Health sessions is very important and I will spend time
discussing the importance of demonstrating a mature and respectful attitude. If
at times it becomes “a bit much” your child may take a moment to step outside
as sometimes the content presented may be something that they are not quite
ready for. I will contact you if this has occurred so that you can follow up
with your child at home.
Some of the concepts that will be covered are
outlined below. There will be times when it will be a whole class discussion
and there will be times when it will be appropriate to have the students split
into groups of boys or girls.
|
Girls
|
Boys
|
|
Puberty, what’s it all about?
|
Puberty, what’s it all about?
|
|
From girl to woman
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From boy to man
|
|
General physical changes
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The male reproductive system
|
|
The female reproductive system
|
|
|
The gift of life
|
|
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The menstrual cycle
|
|
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Periods: the essentials
|
|
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Feminine Hygiene
|
|
|
You
could help your child during this unit by:
·
talking with them about the changes which are
occurring in their bodies as they grow older
·
sharing personal experiences of puberty that
you experienced yourself
·
encouraging your child to ask questions –
through the question box or at home with you privately
·
answering any questions they may have as
honestly as possible
·
identifying ways in which family members use
their bodies to relate with each other
·
being open and honest about the many confusing
things that happen during Puberty
·
masking your own embarrassment about topics
that you may find difficult to talk about
|
As all children develop differently it is
important to let me know as soon as possible if any of the content being
covered makes your child uncomfortable.
Additionally, if I feel that your child may be
making it difficult for others to participate in our learning I will contact
you to discuss the matter further.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate
to contact me as soon as possible.
Please fill in the permission slip at the bottom
of this letter and return it to me by Monday
2nd May. We will be having our first Health lesson on Tuesday 3rd May so if
I don’t have your signed permission slip, your child will be given alternative
work and asked to work in another class for this time.
Kind regards,
Caitlin
Delane
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RE: Health and next Religious Education Unit to be explored in Year
Six
I_________________________________ (give / do not give) permission for
my child ________________________to participate in these Health and Religious
Education lessons.
Signed ______________________________ Date: _____________________________