Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Classes begin Sunday, September 14 & Tuesday, September 16

Greetings Parents and Students,

Welcome to a new year of Religious Education! I hope that you have had a restful and relaxing summer. We are very excited to begin this year and are looking forward to growing in faith and knowledge together. 

As parents, you are called to be the first catechists of your child. Religious Education is the continuation of what he/she has already learned from you and your family. Our priests, staff, catechists, and volunteers are here to support you and to help further develop the faith of your child. We ask you to please let us know how we can better serve you and your family and we in turn ask that you reinforce the lessons learned in class. This can easily be done over breakfast after class or Mass on Sundays or during dinnertime after class on Tuesday. You and your child may also find it helpful to review the previous lessons together. However, the best way to help them truly learn about how to live their faith is by modeling it for them. Going to Mass as a family, living out the commandments, and sharing your time, talent, and treasure allows not only your faith to grow, but allows your children to see what it means to be a true disciple of Christ.

We pray that this year will be enriching for both your child and your entire family.
We look forward to working with you and your children this term. 

God bless you and your family!


First Day of Class
The first day of classes can be a little hectic, so to help minimize any confusion, we ask that you try to have your children at the school building by 8:40am on Sunday and 3:30pm on Tuesday. Upon arrival you will see tables set-up where you can check in and find your child’s class and room number.

Invitation to Parents
On the first day of classes, we extend a warm welcome and strongly encourage a parent to stay for the beginning of class. This will give you an opportunity to meet your child’s catechist and share any information with them about how to better serve your child. 
After your child is settled into their class, we invite you to stay for some light refreshments and to mingle with the other parents and our parish priests.  We will then gather with your children and catechists for an opening prayer service. Together, we will kick off the year in a positive way and ask for the Holy Spirit’s help and guidance during this school year.  Classes will then be dismissed at their normal times.
If you are unable to stay for the entire first class, please come back and join us for the opening prayer service and kick-off:
Sunday, September 14 at 9:40am in Walsh Hall or Tuesday, September 16 at 4:30pm in the Church.

Catechetical Sunday
We will be celebrating Catechetical Sunday on Sunday, September 21 during the 10:30am Mass in the Church. We invite all students, parents, and catechists to attend this Mass to pray for the upcoming school year and for our dedicated catechists and volunteers.

About the Calendar
Please look over the calendar for the year and note the dates on your family calendars at home. Attendance at each class is very important. We only meet 26 times during the year, so we ask that every effort be made to have your children in class.  Because of the way the school year works this year, we will be ending class on Sunday, March 29 & Tuesday, April 7, 2015. 

New Policy on Absences and Attendance
Since, we only meet 26 times during the year, we ask that every effort be made to have your children in class.  We understand that illness, family emergencies, and other situations will come up during the year and your child may need to miss class.  

repeating the grade level during the next year or having to do make-up work during the summer.

If your child needs to miss class due to illness or another situation, we ask that you please follow these steps.
1.     Email the Religious Education office: armandoa@stmarysnutley.org
2.     Visit the Religious Education Website www.stmarysnutleyccd.blogspot.com
to see the lesson that was covered on the date that your child was absent. The Lesson Plans for each grade level are listed in the column on the right side of the page.
3.     Have your child read and complete all of the activities in the Chapter.
4.     Go to the online Chapter review on the Sadlier (Grades 1-6) or BeMyDisciples (Grades 7 & 8) website, (the link to the chapter review is included on the Lesson Plan) and have your child complete the review.
Note: You can retake the review until you get all the correct answers.
5.     Print the review and hand it in to the catechist upon returning to class.