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A Message from RE Director, Robby Kiley
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Dear Religious Education Families,
Welcome to a new year! Kim, Manuela, Theresa, and I are very excited to welcome you all to your Religious Education home! Just like last year, we will be sending out a quarterly newsletter to all RE families to help keep you up-to-date with important events, share news and pictures, and help keep you in touch with what your children are learning.
In this issue, you can: 1) Learn about upcoming parent opportunities 2) Get a tour of our updated website, your home for all things SPX Religious Education 3) Meet Deandra Lieberman, our new Religious Education intern, and 4) get an early look at our Fall mailing and important meeting dates. We hope this newsletter helps keep you informed and engaged with your child's learning! Always working toward the goal of helping each family grow in their faith, please let us know if there is anything else we can do to serve you!
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A Message from Father Bill Schooler
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Welcome to another season of Religious Education. I am grateful for the leadership of Robby Kiley, the Director of Religious Education, Theresa DePung, the Director of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, and assistants, Kim Slott and Manuela Tugman. Along with our dedicated catechists, they look forward to serving our students and helping them grow in an understanding of their faith. Having taken a well-deserved summer break, we pray that students will be enthusiastic in their continuing formation as young Catholics.
Over the course of last summer, it has been exciting to watch as our new church is emerging from its foundations. As we prepare for Bishop Rhoades to dedicate our new church on March 25, 2017, we focus on the image given by Saint Paul. Saint Paul reminds us that we are living stones, built on the foundation of the Apostles, with Jesus Christ as our capstone. We dedicate this year by giving attention to the living stones of our students in Religious Education, trusting that the Lord will assist us in forming our living stones into a beautiful structure to the glory of God.
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In his most recent exhortation, Amoris Latetia (The Joy of Love), Pope Francis reminds us all that even in our busy times, "the home must continue to be the place where we learn to appreciate the meaning and beauty of the faith, to pray, and to serve our neighbors" (287). Our Religious Education department is committed to helping parents find opportunities to grow in faith together. For example, every October we pray the Rosary with our students as we celebrate the month of Our Lady of the Rosary. Parents are encouraged to join us in the courtyard for prayer with their children, even if you might not be the most comfortable praying this devotion yourself! We provide handouts and rosaries so that anyone is able to jump right in! After all, as Pope Francis reminds us, "it is essential that children actually see that, for their parents, prayer is something truly important" (288).
New this year will be an opportunity for parents of children in grades 1-4 to attend our monthly Catechesis with Father classes with their children, and join us for a reflection and refreshments afterwards, provided by our Adult Faith Formation staff. The Adult Faith Formation team will offer thoughts and insights of how to bring home the lessons your child learned with Fr. Bill or Deacon Lou. Please watch for these opportunities and consider joining us!
Here are a few upcoming parent engagement opportunities to put on your calendar:
- Week of September 18 - Religious Education Opening Masses and Open Houses
- Week of October 2 - Living Rosary in the Courtyard (weather permitting)
- Week of November 13 - First Catechesis with Father & Adult Faith Formation session
- Week of December 11 - Advent Reconciliation Services (parents welcome!)
- Week of March 5 - Stations of the Cross in the classroom
- Week of March 26 - Lent Reconciliation Services (parents welcome!
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Meeting Dates for Parents of 2nd, 7th and 8th Grade Students
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 We are thrilled to join with our families of second and eighth graders as they prepare to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist, and Confirmation. Sacramental years are busy ones, as parent meetings, retreats, and parties can quickly fill up a family's schedule. Before the year gets too busy, I would encourage each family to stop and pray for those children preparing to receive their sacraments. Your example of prayer will be a great encouragement and model for your children!
We know that many families have questions during sacramental years. This is also true for families in the seventh grade, who will be entering into the diocesan Theology of the Body curriculum this year. To help answer these questions, we offer parent meetings at the beginning of the year. Please note the following parent meeting times below. You can also view important dates and documents at any time on our website:
SEVENTH GRADE - Theology of the Body Parent Meeting September 13, 7:00 p.m., PEC Library or September 15, 12:00 p.m., Holy Cross Room
EIGHTH GRADE - Confirmation Parent Meeting September 27, 12:00 p.m., Holy Cross Room or September 28, 7:00 p.m., PEC Library
SECOND GRADE - Reconciliation Parent Meeting November 9, 7:00 p.m., PEC Library or November 10, 12:00 p.m., Holy Cross Room |
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Do You Have Young Children Not Yet in Religious Education?
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Did you know that we offer an opportunity for children who are not yet old enough for our Religious Education programs?
Children's Liturgy
of the Word (CLW) meets on Sunday mornings during the 8:45 and 10:30 a.m. Masses (Church Mass only - no Gym Mass). Children ages 4 to 6 are dismissed from Mass before the Liturgy of the Word and are invited to hear the Gospel proclaimed from the Children's Lectionary - written so that they can understand and respond to the words of Scripture. Afterwards, a catechist helps to explain these Bible stories in a 4 - 6 year olds vocabulary. Finally, children take part in an activity designed to help integrate the lesson - perhaps a coloring sheet, a craft, or a song. The children are brought back to church to rejoin their families during the offering. This is a wonderful way to help children engage in Mass. There is no cost, but registration is required - you can find more information (and online registration forms) on our website:
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Tuesday, March 21-
Thursday, March 23
Parish Mission (evenings)
Friday, March 24
Evening Prayer with Vigil at the Relics of Saint Pius X
Evening Prayer, Main Gym, 6:30 p.m.
All-Night Vigil, Chapel, ending 11:00 a.m., March 25
Saturday, March 25
Dedication Mass for the new church
12:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 25
Parish Celebration Event! (evening)
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Meet Deandra Lieberman, RE Intern
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Greetings!
My name is Deandra Lieberman. I'm a second-year Master's student in theology at Notre Dame, focusing on the history of Christianity. I hail originally from East Texas (lots of pine trees there), and graduated from the University of Dallas with a degree in English.
Through Notre Dame's Alliance for Catholic Education, I taught for two years at a parochial high school in Northern California. Catholic education has remained dear to me, and I'm greatly delighted by the opportunity to participate in and learn from the vibrant life and earnest catechesis so evident at Saint Pius X.
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Week of September 18
Religious Education Opening Masses and Open Houses
Parents encouraged to attend
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Week of October 2
Living Rosary in the Courtyard (weather permitting)
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Week of November 13
First Catechesis with Father & Adult Faith Formation session
Parents encouraged to attend
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Week of December 11
Advent Reconciliation Services
Parents encouraged to attend
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Week of March 5
Stations of the Cross in the classroom
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Week of March 26
Lent Reconciliation Services
Parents encouraged to attend
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The 2016-2017 Religious Education school year begins on September 11. We will be sending out our Fall mailing to all families before the week of August 29. In this mailing, you will find a welcome letter with news about our upcoming year. You will also find our Religious Education policies and a policy acceptance form. Families are expected to review these policies, and each child is asked to sign the policy acceptance form. You can also find all of the content of our Fall mailing below, or on our website. Thank you for being attentive to these important policies as we prepare for the new year!
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We have been hard at work over the summer to improve our website, your one-stop destination for all things Religious Education. Here are just a few of the things you can find on our updated website:
-Sync your Google Calendar with the Religious Education schedule - immediately keep up to date with any changes to our class calendar with the touch of a button!
-Find and print any important forms or paperwork. All of our fall mailing, permission slips, sacrament details, and more can be found on our site! -Keep up-to-date with our "News" bar and find out about the latest happenings in the classroom. -Easily get information on the programs your child attends, with our colorful, easy to use interface. Your feedback is also helpful as we continue to build up our web platform. If there are features or content you would like to see, please let us know!
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