NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY 2016-2017 Religious Education Program FIRST COMMUNION PARENT HANDBOOK (Please keep this handbook in a convenient location, as it will provide useful information throughout the school year.)
This Parent handbook contains the policies instituted to help coordinate and facilitate the religious education program at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church. They were drafted by the Director of Religious Education, Deacon Michael A. Illerbrun and approved by the Pastor, Fr. Juan Mendez. These policies are very important to our program, as the success of our Catechists, both teacher and aide are dependent on how well these policies are understood and followed, especially by the parents. Please take time to review them. If you have any questions or need clarification please contact us at 898-5253 x 1 or 2. Deacon Michael A. Illerbrun Director, Religious Education PLEASE NOTE THAT REGISTERING YOUR CHILD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION DOES NOT REGISTER YOUR FAMILY WITH THE PARISH. CONVERSELY, REGISTERING YOUR FAMILY WITH THE PARISH DOES NOT REGISTER YOUR CHILDREN IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. FIRST COMMUNION PARENT PARTICIPATION: If your child is entering their 1 st communion year in the fall, we ask for at least one parent/grandparent/godparent to accompany their child to class every week. After spending the year in class with their kids, our feedback from parents has been totally positive. Many of them comment on how much they were reminded of their own faith by helping their children throughout the year. We noted that the behavior of the kids is also much better with their parents present. We look forward to your presence in the class again this year. Thank you for your understanding and compliance with this policy. Here are the planned dates for our ceremonies this year. Each ceremony will also require a mandatory practice session prior to the event. First Reconciliation First Communion Practice 4 January or 11 January Ceremony - 5 January or 12 January Practice 26 April or 3 May Ceremony 29 April or 6 May Our Religious Education catechists volunteer to teach our children about the Catholic faith. Please support them in their efforts to teach the children. The Director of Religious Education is responsible for providing them training and guidance as necessary. He will ensure that all parish policies are complied with and will provide additional direction as needed. If you need to change to another class for any reason, please contact Deacon Michael or Monica to accomplish the change. Program Details: Our 1 st Communion program is a TWO YEAR program. The normal progression for 1 st Communion students is to complete their first year in 2 nd Grade and their second year in 3 rd Grade. If for some reason, your children did not complete their 1 st Communion in 3 rd Grade, we will initially enroll them in a First Year-First Communion class. This will be followed by enrollment in a Special First Communion Class for their second year. If your child needs 1 st Communion and is not in third grade, contact the religious education office for more details.
Curriculum: The curriculum the teachers use is approved by the Director of Religious Education and the pastor. In selecting appropriate curriculum, we must follow the guidelines from our Archbishop. Standards for curriculum are set by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops with recommendations for approved texts that we must follow. We want to reassure all parents who have children in our Religious Education program that we are very concerned they are taught the essentials of our Catholic faith and our treasured Traditions as well as the sacramental and spiritual aspects of our faith. The primary books we expect to use this year are: Encounter with Christ; Reconciliation and Encounter with Christ: Eucharist. Classroom Behavior: Good behavior is a critical requirement for our program. This is a religious education program. As such, children are expected to be respectful to their teacher, their fellow students and the facility. All of our teachers are volunteers and are offering their time and talent to our children. They should not have to deal with behavior problems. Improper behavior will not be tolerated. Since you will be attending with your child, we do not expect any issues in this area. We expect that any behavior problems are dealt with by the parent in the classroom. However, if the problem persists, the following consequences will occur. 1) If the disruptive behavior continues, you will be asked to take your child home. 2) If the disruption occurs a third time, the child will be removed from the program. Attendance: Attendance is especially important for the First Communion sacramental year. If your child misses three classes that are not made up in one way or another, we will contact you to postpone your child s first communion until the following year. Attendance will be taken for all classes. If your child is unable to attend please call 898-5253 x 1 to inform Monica of the absence. If your child s absence is not called in, Monica will be calling to find out why the child was not present. All missed classes are expected to be made up. If your child cannot make it to class, they can attend another session that same week. If they cannot make it to the other session, you should cover the material for that week with your child. If you do not have the appropriate materials, please call the office so we can ensure you have the materials you need. Weather Conditions: In the event of inclement weather that would preclude the safe transport of our children or catechists, classes will be canceled. Because of the limited means of communication between our staff and the parents, the following methods of notification will be utilized. The director will send a mass e-mail to all parents who have provided an e-mail address. Additionally, we will push a cancelation message to everyone who has downloaded our parish App to their smartphone. We will also post the cancellation on the parish webpage at www.n-bvm.org. Finally, we will institute a phone message to as many parents as time
allows, notifying as many as possible of the cancellation. At all times the safety of your children is paramount. If you feel it is too dangerous to transport your children to class, by all means, keep them home. We can always make up the classwork. Special Activities: If a Holy Day of Obligation falls on a day when religious education classes are scheduled, attendance at Mass during class time will count for the class time for that day. Many of the teachers will choose to take their entire class to Mass. Please take this opportunity to attend Mass with your children. There may be times when special activities or parties are planned for our students. You will be notified of these activities well in advance. Many of our Wednesday catechists will take their classes to the Ash Wednesday service on 1 March 2017. Dress Code Requirements: We would hope that this is not a problem, since you will be accompanying your child to class, but please ensure your children are modestly dressed and avoid fad styles when attending religious education classes. Please ensure your children do not wear halter tops, strapless tops or inappropriate tank tops. This includes, but is not limited to, inappropriate messages or designs on clothing. T-shirts will be provided as necessary for any inappropriately dressed student to use during class. If dress, shorts or skirt lengths for our females is inappropriate or inappropriate crotch or shorts/inseam lengths for males is an issue, parents will be called to bring appropriate attire for the student to change into prior to attending class. Cell Phone Policy: Even in 3 rd grade, many children have their own cell phone. The use of cell phones during class is not allowed. This kind of distraction is not conducive to learning. Cell phones will be turned off during class. Any cell phones used during class (including talking, text, games, social media, MP3s or web surfing) will be confiscated and returned after class. We don t expect this to be a problem with parents accompanying their children to class. We also ask the parents/grandparents/godparents to silence their phones during class. If you receive a call that you have to take, please step out of the class to avoid disturbing the flow of the class. Student Boundaries Policy: Students are not allowed outside of the school building without supervision during class time without parental permission. This is a liability issue with our insurance coverage and must be complied with. In the event of an emergency that requires your child to leave the building during class, parents please call the office at 898-5253 extension 1 or 2. Students are to report to the office prior to leaving the school building. Again, we don t expect this to be an issue with adults accompanying the children to class.
Supply Requirements: Books and supplies are required for each class. The catechist will provide the book, or appropriate section of the book. Supplies include pen or pencil, paper or notebook and any other supplies requested by your catechist for the particular class. If the student forgets any of his/her supplies, have them notify the Catechist. We will attempt to provide appropriate replacements as necessary. Please remember to bring any required materials each week. Newsletters: We provide a weekly newsletter each week to give you the latest information about the religious education program. Critical information for the first communion program is often included in the Newsletter. The primary way for us to provide you the newsletter is via e- mail. We also post it on the parish website and provide paper copies to those without computers. Please provide us your e-mail address or ask your child for the paper copy each week. Church Bulletin: We also provide critical information such as events, times and dates in the Parish Bulletin each week. Please keep an eye out for this information as you attend Mass. Parish Website: We put as much information as possible regarding the religious education program on the parish website. We incorporate registration materials and any other critical information on the website. Please check the parish website at www.n-bvm.org for more information and ongoing updates. Parish Telephone App: We have a smart phone App for I-Phones and Androids. This App provides up to date information about the religious education program. Please download the APP to your smartphone so we can begin to use it to communicate with you.
Prayers: In addition to the normal administrative rules already listed I am providing the following prayers required for the First Communion year. PLEASE practice these prayers with your children. It is only through practice that they will become familiar with these traditional Catholic prayers. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Our Father: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Hail Mary: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.. Glory Be: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Angel of God: Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Morning Offering: Heavenly Father, I offer you today, all I think and do and say. I offer it with what was done on earth by Jesus Christ your son..
Act of Contrition My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend with your help to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.