Welcome to a new year of learning about our faith! Our faith is all about our relationship with God. Building that relationship is a lifelong journey. During each year of Faith Formation classes, we hope that your friendship with God grows stronger. As with any friendship, we want to know more about the other person. Our classes are meant to help you know more about God and in turn learn more about the wonderfully, unique person you are.
We are using a hybrid schedule this year. Students in Grades K-4 and 5-8 will alternate when they are in-person. The weeks when your child is not present are called Independent Study weeks. During those times, parents are to lead the lesson and work with them on completing their assignments.
In-Person Classes
When children are in-person, the catechist will lead the lesson, work on activities in the book and supplement with other resources. Students do not have to complete an online lesson review on these weeks.
Class Times
Sunday 8:30am-9:45am
Wednesday 4:00pm-5:15pm
Calendar
The calendar given out at the beginning of the year will cover September-December. This will give us the ability to make any changes for the 2nd half of the year in case of changes to Archdiocesan, State or Local guidelines.
Health & Safety
We ask that if your child has COVID-19, been exposed to COVID-19, is sick or exhibiting any of the following symptoms that they please stay home.
a fever
cough
trouble breathing
symptoms of a cold such as a sore throat, congestion, or a runny nose
chills
muscle pain
headache
a loss of taste or smell
nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea
Before your child comes to class, we ask that you please complete the online health check which will be emailed home each week and available at the top of our website.
If your child is exposed to COVID-19 or tests positive for COVID-19, please notify us so that we may notify the parents and teachers that were in contact with him here at class. If your child has been exposed to COVID-19, we ask that they remain out until the following class.
Masks
Masks must be worn by all children and adults when they are in our buildings.
Social Distancing
We are setting up our classes so that we can have 3ft of distance between students while in the classroom. We will be using the cafeteria and a few of the classrooms in the Phoenix Center school building & Walsh Hall for classes.
Arrival & Dismissal
In consultation with the Phoenix Center, we are going to try to limit the amount of people coming and going into the building. We will offer instructions on how this will work once we know where classes will meet.
At dismissal, students will be brought out of the buildings by their teacher: parents can wait outside to receive their children.
Absences
On the health check that you will complete each week, there will be a question asking if your child will be attending class that day. If they are unable to attend, students can complete the lesson for that class as if it were an independent study week.
Supplies
Students will be given a book on the first day of classes. This book should come with them to class every time they meet. Students should also bring a pencil or pen.
Usually, we have shared supply boxes for our younger students but this year, we are asking that they have their own. I will ask teachers to let you know of any supplies that will be needed (crayons/markers). If a teacher is doing a special project, we will supply glue sticks and scissors for each child in the class to use.
Independent Study Weeks
We are using a hybrid schedule this year. Students in Grades K-4 and 5-8 will alternate when they are in-person. The weeks when your child is not present are called Independent Study weeks. During those times, parents are to lead the lesson and work with them on completing their assignments.
In-Person Classes
When children are in-person, the catechist will lead the lesson, work on activities in the book and supplement with other resources. Students do not have to complete an online lesson review on these weeks.
Independent Study Lessons
When your child is not in-person, parents will take on the role of catechist.
Our suggestion would be to set a time for Faith Formation class and be consistent so that they know Sundays at 9am, Sundays at 6pm or whenever you choose are dedicated to working on their faith. A lesson and lesson review should take 25-40 minutes depending on the grade level and reading level. We ask that you complete the lesson for the week by the time of your child's next in-person class. This will help them to not fall behind and be ready to learn the next lesson in class.
Prayer
Begin with prayer. If your child is just learning their prayers, go slowly with them or allow them to read the prayers from their book. In Grade 1, they are just starting to pray the Sign of the Cross and will learn the other prayers throughout the year. In Grade 2, they have been introduced to all of the basic prayers (Sign of the Cross, Hail Mary, Our Father, Glory Be) and will be learning the Act of Contrition after the new year. Children in Grades 3-8 can pray any of those prayers and we will be introducing some new ones this year as well.
How to Complete a Lesson During an Independent Study Week
You can find the lesson for that week by going to the Faith Formation website. On the right side of the website you will find a list with all the classes listed. Find the day and grade that your child attends and follow the link to their class's syllabus. We are not using Google Classroom at this time
- Find the date of the lesson that you need to complete.
- Read the lesson together. Be sure to complete the activities in the book as well. Once you have finished reading the lesson. You can use the link on the syllabus to complete the Lesson Review on Google Forms.
- When completing the Google Form, be sure to put your first and last name and to choose your day and teacher. When you are finished, just hit submit and we will receive your responses. You are then finished with your lesson for that week.
Mass
Even though you may not be leaving your house for class, we hope to see you at Mass on Saturday evening or Sunday morning. Coming to Mass is so important because it gives us the chance to spend time with God in prayer, worship and thanksgiving. Hearing God's word and receiving the Eucharist are vital to our spiritual lives. I have 2 boys (4 & 6) so I know that Mass is not always the peaceful and spiritually uplifting time that it should be. Taking your family to Mass every week builds a good habit in their lives. As they grow, receive the sacraments and build their relationship with Jesus they will be able to receive so much more from Mass. So I encourage you to bring them to Mass and join with your parish family of St. Mary's in praise and worship of our loving and merciful God.
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