For more information please call:

Sr. Teresa Raftery

Pastoral Associate for Faith Formation

Catechesis, or Religious Education, is the process of communicating the beliefs, values, and practices which make people Catholic Christians. It is the work of handing on, from one generation to the next, the faith that has come down to us from the Apostles, and the way of life to which that faith calls us.

The Goal of Catechesis in Grades One through Eight

• to teach students what a Catholic believes and how a Catholic ought to live.

• to involve students in the life of the Parish, i.e., worship, service and community.

• to assist Parents in imparting the Catholic faith to their child/ren as a living and life-giving faith.

• to encourage Parents to continue their own religious development.

The Role of Parents

Priest or Deacon:

    You have asked to have your child baptized. In doing so you are accepting the responsibility of training him/her in the practice of the Faith. It will be your duty to bring him/her up to keep God's commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbor.

    Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?

Parents:

    We do.      (excerpt from the Rite of Baptism of an Infant)

The Catechetical program is designed to assist Parents in their sacred responsibility to educate their child/ren in the faith. It can never replace the Parents in the carrying out of their responsibility. It is essential to the child's growth and development in the Catholic faith, that the Parents live the life of faith in the home. The effectiveness of the catechetical process radically depends upon this. For example, the children learn in their religious education classes that celebrating the Eucharist on Sunday with the faith community (that is the local parish) is essential to being Catholic.

Registration

To register a child in the PREP, a family must be registered in the Parish. Each child is to be registered personally by a Parent or a legal Guardian and a certificate of Baptism must be presented. Any child who transfers from another PREP or Catholic School must provide a letter of transfer from the DRE or Principal of the previous program.

Placement

Any child older than the First Grade level who enters the PREP without previous formal religious education must complete the First and Second Grade curriculum in preparation for the First Reception of Eucharist. Once taught the curriculum of the grade(s) missed, the child will be placed at his/her appropriate Grade level. Any child who drops out of the catechetical program after receiving First Eucharist will, when re-entering the program, be placed in a class that is studying the third grade curriculum (this does not necessarily mean a Third Grade class).

Students must complete two years of sacramental preparation in the catechetical program that immediately precedes the Parish celebration of the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation.

Attendance

It is the responsibility of the Parent/Guardian to transport and/or provide for the transportation of their child/ren both to and from the Parish facility for the formal classroom instruction. The Parish will assume the responsibility for the child/ren only after the student has entered into the Parish facility and at the designated time (no more than 10 minutes before the scheduled class time). The Parish will not assume the responsibility of students who are dropped off early and/or outside the Parish facility.

Students are expected to be on time. If a student arrives late for class, he/she must report to the office before entering the classroom. Catechists will keep a record of all late arrivals. The Parents/Guardians will be contacted to alleviate the situation. Students are expected to attend every scheduled class following the calendar schedule unless illness prevents them from doing so. Parents/Guardians are expected to telephone the office to report the anticipated absence. It will be the responsibility of the student and the Parent/Guardian to make up the work missed during the absence. An "unreported" absence must be rectified by the Parent/Guardian during the week preceding the student's return to class by telephone and/or sending a written note with the student.

Absences of more than one quarter of the year's classes will result in the repeat of the year.

Course Work

A single textbook series is used in Grades One through Eight along with supplemental materials as appropriate. There are certain formal prayers which the students are expected to learn. The work of memorizing the prayers is to be done at home rather than in the classroom where valuable instruction time is already too short. If a student does not fulfill the grade level requirements, including the attendance requirement, the child will not be advanced to the next grade level. A Parent/Guardian may request a meeting with the catechist and/or Program Director to discuss the problem.

Student evaluations (progress/report cards) will be sent home in January and at the end of the year.

Conduct and Behavioral Expectations

In order to best serve the needs of your child/ren, it is expected that Parents/Guardians would provide the PREP with any and all pertinent information regarding their child/ren...i.e.

Special needs: visual, auditory, handicaps.

Learning Disabilities: ADD, dyslexia, etc.

Any medication that alters, modifies, curtails behavior and/or

the diagnosis of such in the process of or anticipating testing and/or evaluation for any of the above.

Any information of this nature should be submitted in writing to the Program Director with the assurance of strict confidentiality. Individual catechists will only be given pertinent information regarding your child/ren that is deemed necessary. Failure to provide information of this nature may prohibit the PREP from properly assisting the Parents/Guardians with the religious education and development of their child/ren. We would like to think that all of our students are delighted to come to formal religious education classes, unfortunately, that is not always the case. Occasionally, discipline problems do arise. In keeping with a clearly Catholic Christian philosophy, and in a serious attempt to insure both the safety and well-being of all students, we have adopted a policy to address problems if the need should arise.

• Every person is made in the image and likeness of God.

• Every person will be treated  with dignity, courtesy and respect.

• Every person has a right to both speak and to be listened to, therefore, each person will speak "one at a time."

These are minimum expectations of everyone, adults as well as students. Nothing less will be tolerated.

Living Our Faith

Any child registered in the PREP must attend Mass regularly, accompanied by at least one Parent. The goal of the PREP is to teach the students to assume active membership in the Church, and Mass attendance is a primary expression of this membership. It is a contradiction to prepare the child for greater participation in the sacramental life of the Church and not see to their Mass attendance. It is a very serious matter to allow a child to receive First Eucharist and then regularly deprive the child of the gift of the Eucharist by not seeing to their Mass attendance.

Preparation for Sacraments

In preparation for the first reception of the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist, and for the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation, there are scheduled Parent meetings. These meetings are not optional. If attendance at one of these meetings proves impossible, the Parent/Guardian must call the Program Director to arrange for an appointment.

For more information please call:

Sr. Teresa Raftery

Pastoral Associate for Faith Formation