Australian Catholics

05/02/2025

If you subscribe to our weekly Catholic Teacher e-newsletter, you will receive free weekly access to articles, activities and resource links for teachers. Find out what to expect in Term 1 2025.

Find out what to expect if you subscribe to the free Catholic Teacher newsletter in Term 1 2025.

03/02/2025

Welcome back to the 2025 school year! At Catholic Teacher, we’re excited to support you with resources, insights, and ideas for Religious Education. To start the year, check out our latest blog, 'Establishing a Welcoming Classroom', for tips on creating a warm and inclusive space for your students.

Make all your students feel at home with these helpful tips.

06/01/2025

Australian Catholics choice Our choice for Best Australian film of 2024 dramatising human values is Force of Nature – The Dry 2, starring Eric Bana, Anna Torv, and Deborra-Lee Furness. See https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/aus-2024-films-of-year for more.

31/12/2024

The team at Australian Catholics wish you a Happy and Peaceful 2025. In 'The awkwardness of New Year's Day', Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ writes that 'New Year's Day always seems awkward to celebrate. Doubly awkward, if we remember that for Catholics it is also the World Day of Peace.' See his reflection at https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/article/the-awkwardness-of-new-year-s-day

24/12/2024

Thank you for journeying with us this year. From the team at Australian Catholics, we wish you a happy and blessed Christmas. According to Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ, The celebration of Christmas encourages all people of good will to take time to reflect on what kind of a society we want. See his article 'A day to dream' for more. https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/article/a-day-to-dream

23/12/2024

Day 24: Part 1 - Produce an awkwardly-shaped gift and some wrapping paper, then challenge participants to wrap the present without using sticky tape or scissors. Best wrapped present gets points. (Gift, ribbon and wrapping paper needed.)
Part 2 - (Don’t let them know about this until they’ve finished the first task): Unwrap the present and return the paper to the roll as neatly as possible. Most neatly returned paper gets points. See https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/christmas-task... for more.

22/12/2024

Day 23: Blow out the candles on an Advent wreath from as far away as possible. The furthest distance gets points. (Some props might be needed – eg, a garden hose, straws.) See https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/christmas-task... for more.

21/12/2024

Day 22: Throw a Christmas chocolate into a Christmas stocking. As an extra wrinkle, make it so contestants can’t use hands to hold the stocking open or to throw the chocolate. The longest successful throw gets points. (Chocolates and stockings needed.) See https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/christmas-task... for more.

20/12/2024

Day 21: Make a piece of fruit look Christmassy. Most creative Christmassy piece of fruit gets points. (Pieces of fruit needed, and maybe some paper, utensils, stickers or pens for decorating them.) See https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/christmas-task... for more.

19/12/2024

Day 20: Draw a nativity scene using the textas in front of you. You get 10 seconds to look at the paper and textas, then you need to put on a blindfold. You can’t remove the blindfold until your picture is finished. The best picture gets points. (Blindfold, paper and textas needed.) See https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/christmas-task... for more.

18/12/2024

Day 19: Come up with the best Christmas dance. You have five minutes. The best dance wins. (You’ll need a music player and access to some Christmas music choices for this one.) See https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/christmas-task... for more.

17/12/2024

Day 18: Make the best Christmas noise using items found in the room/classroom. Points for the best Christmas noise. See https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/christmas-task... for more.

16/12/2024

Day 17: Wrap up a present. You can’t wrap your present in anything else to disguise its shape. If the Taskmaster guesses your present, you lose. If the Taskmaster can’t guess your present, you win points. Points also for the most Christmassy present. (You might need some present options, or make this a take-home task.) See https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/christmas-task... for more.

15/12/2024

Day 16: Create a Christmas card using only your feet to manipulate your drawing materials. You have two minutes to collect the materials and two minutes to draw your picture. Best picture gets points. (Textas and paper will be needed.) See https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/christmas-task-masters for more information

14/12/2024

Day 15: RSVP to a Christmas party celebration. Best and most creative RSVP gets points. (Give them an invitation to a fake Christmas party to respond to – for extra fun make it a bit creative, such as a party with Santa at the North Pole.) See https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/christmas-task-masters for more

13/12/2024

Guess the flavour in Christmas sauces. Closest guesses get points. (You’ll need to bring in some Christmas sauces, or even mix some ingredients together to make it extra yucky and difficult.) See https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/christmas-task-masters for

13/12/2024

Day 12: Without looking at a timer, sing Jingle Bells for 20 seconds then stop. The closest to 20 seconds gets points. https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/christmas-task-masters

12/12/2024

The task for day 13 of our Christmas task masters activity is to make a design for a Christmas card out of grains of rice. Best card design gets points. (You’ll need rice, glue and some coloured background paper for this.) For more information, see https://www.australiancatholics.com.au/christmas-task-masters