Religious Education Program: 2011-2012

Rev. Jerome A. Mercure, Pastor (244-7734)
Dianne Bilodeau (244-5275), Coordinator, St. Andrew Parish
Suzie Lowe (496-5380), Coordinator, Our Lady of the Snows/St. Patrick Parish

Classes at St. Andrew Parish for Grades 1 through 10 will begin on Sunday, September 18th at 10 AM (after the 9 AM Mass).

All classes will be held in St. Leo's Hall (behind St. Andrew Church). As a rule, classes will meet from 10 to 11:00 AM. However, please understand that if a teacher needs some extra time to finish a particular lesson plan, she/he may hold their class a few minutes beyond 11:00. We ask for your patience and cooperation with this schedule.

Please refer to our St. Andrew Religious Education Program Calendar for a schedule of all classes.

Classes at Our Lady of the Snows/St. Patrick Parish have not yet been scheduled. Please contact your coordinator, Suzie Lowe for more information on this program.

Message From Father Jerry

Most of the time the start of school might seem like “ho-hum, here we go again, the start of another school year.” Routines and cycles seem to rule our lives. Rituals provide a certain amount of comfort and safety. This year, no doubt, is quite different. With the recent storm and its aftermath, the normal and the routine might be a challenge. However, our Religious Education program will continue as planned.

St. Andrew's Church/Rectory were not damaged (thanks be to God) and St. Leo's Hall received some water damage in the classrooms, which are well on the way to being restored. Our Lady of the Snows and Founders Hall in Waitsfield were spared any damage. St. Patrick Church in Moretown was severely damaged. There was flooding from the basement all the way to and over the benches. However, it was a blessing to see some of our parishioners work so diligently to respond to this crisis. We do not yet know when the Eucharist will be celebrated at St. Patrick Church.

My thanks are extended to you, the parents, who have kept your promise made at your children's baptism to educate them in Faith. As I am so grateful to God for our fine coordinator, teachers, and aides, I look forward to this coming year as a very essential part of parish life: Religious Education of our young people.

Let us all make the Ritual of the Eucharist [which Jesus commanded us], the center of all our education and activity.

Peace and Love of Christ!

Father Jerry

St. Andrew Parish Teaching Staff

Grade/Teacher(s) and Classroom Aides

• 1 - Sile Torres, Charlotte Strasser
• 2 - Maggie Grow, Laurie Flaherty
• 3 - Brenda Caforia-Weeber, Jane Reno
• 4 - Sherri Hermanowski, Denise Russo
• 5 and 6 -Amanda Badeau, Gena Callan, Gina Bordeaux
• 7 & 8 - Jim and Diana Whitney, classroom aide needed
• 9 - Mark Young, classroom aide needed (year 1 of a two-year Confirmation program)
• 10 - Kevin Nadzam, Priscilla Grout (year 2 of a two-year Confirmation program)
• Hall Monitor: Deborah McBride
• Substitute Teachers: Fran Raymond, Diane LaRock
• Student Aides: Hannah Woodruff

Our program is open to students from both St. Andrew Parish and Our Lady of the Snows/St. Patrick Parish.

Home Schooling Option

If you cannot enroll your child in religious education classes due to scheduling conflicts, you have the option of teaching your child at home. This will involve registering your child, picking up the materials you will need to teach at home, and keeping in contact with us regarding lesson plans, assignments and handouts. We will gladly work with you and provide you with guidelines, expectations and suggestions to help you teach your child at home. Call the Rectory (244-7734) to register to home school your child. (Home Schooling is not an option for preparation for First Communion and Confirmation.)

Snacks

Parents are asked to take turns volunteering a snack. A sign-up sheet will be available in each class. Oftentimes children come to class hungry. It is very difficult to teach a hungry child. All students, young and old, look forward to their snacks! Parents: Give your child’s teacher a call before September 18th to see if she needs a volunteer to bring a snack for the first class – your teacher will be very grateful!

High School Religious Education

The high school program is very important, not only because it prepares our young people for Confirmation - for many, it will be the last of their formal religious education. Attendance at Mass is the most important part of the preparation for Confirmation. Class discussions are often based on the weekend readings and homily. Also, Confirmation is the last of the Initiation Sacraments and the young people’s first duty of full membership is the celebration of the Eucharist. In addition to weekly Mass, students are expected to attend classes, attend a retreat, and perform some type of community service. Parents: We rely on you to support and reinforce our efforts with regard to our expectations; i.e., – bring your child to weekly mass, make sure they attend classes (see schedule), facilitate their attendance at the retreat on September 25th at St. Augustine Church in Montpelier (details to be provided in class on September 18th), and encourage them to perform some form of community service as preparation for Confirmation.

Students in Grade 10 will be confirmed in the Spring of 2012. We will notify you of the date for Confirmation as soon as this information has been provided to us by the Diocese. The Confirmation ceremony will be held at St. Augustine Church in Montpelier.

Children’s Masses at St. Andrew Church

Children's Masses provide an opportunity for students to participate in the liturgy and reinforce the theme of “service” to their parish. We have found that once they give it a try, children enjoy the opportunity to be involved in the various roles of the Mass that they usually see performed by adults. Please encourage your children to actively participate at the Children’s Masses when asked, and we encourage you to attend these special services together as a family. Scheduled Children’s Masses are included in the schedule of classes.

We are pleased to announce that Sergio and Sile Torres will be leading us in song at our Children’s Masses again this year! Thank you Sergio and Sile!! Please let them know if your children would like to sing, or play an instrument at some of our Children’s Masses and they will notify you of their planned rehearsal dates.

Registration

The $25 registration fee per student (maximum of $50 per family) helps us to cover some of the cost for textbooks and other resource materials. Parents are encouraged to stop in the classrooms to meet the teachers and check out the materials your child will be working with this year.

Keeping Children Safe

The safety of your children is always uppermost in your mind. We have taken many additional steps in recent years to do our part in ensuring that your children will be in a safe place when they are participating in our program at St. Andrew Parish. Members of our staff and volunteers have received the required background checks and are receiving ongoing training. We have implemented a program to help your children recognize the steps they can take to keep themselves safe. Lesson plans have been prepared for different age groups among the students. (See section entitled “Formation in Christian Chastity Program for Grades 1 through 10 below. At the time of registration, we provide each family in our program with helpful information on this topic.

You are encouraged to spend some time reviewing this information yourself, and then sitting down with your children. Each of the "rules" noted contains some application to common sense safety tips that you may share with your children. Other parts of the "rule" apply to some of the decisions that you make as parents for the safety of your children. A question and answer segment provides some suggestions on how you can best address these concerns with your children. Our goal is to equip both you and your children with the knowledge that can help to keep them safe.

The basic point is that parents need to be involved with their children. The more you know about the daily events of your children's life, the better you are able to spot any danger signs that may surface. The more regular your communication with your children, the more free they are to come to you with their concerns.

Formation in Christian Chastity Program for Grades 1 through 10

This program, mandated by the Diocese of Burlington, as part of their Safe Environment Program, is designed to help our young people to be prepared to deal with anything or anyone that could put them in danger. Information on this program is made available to all parents who have registered their children in our program. If you have any questions regarding this program, please talk with your child's teacher or contact Dianne Bilodeau (244-5275), Religious Ed Coordinator at St. Andrew Parish, or Suzie Lowe (496-5380), Religious Ed Coordinator at Our Lady of the Snows and St. Patrick Parish.

Parent Involvement

Parents are welcome to sit in on a class at any time – an extra pair of hands in the classroom is always helpful! Also, if you have a special art or music talent that you would like to share with your child’s class, please let the teacher know.

Our teachers endeavor to create an atmosphere of mutual respect in the classroom, where all children feel safe and where we can all learn about our faith and spend some quality time together. It would be very helpful to us if you would take the time to talk with your children about why you are sending them to religion classes and how you expect them to behave when they are in class.

With regard to attendance, we realize that there are many outside factors which conflict with religion classes. If your child misses a class, for whatever reason, please contact the teacher to find out what work can be done at home to keep your child on track.

Parents: You are the primary educators in faith for your children. Our program is meant to help support you in your efforts. We look forward to working with you and your children as together we learn more about our faith. A crucial component of your children’s religious education is weekly attendance at Mass. Encourage your children to participate, to sing, and to follow along with you in the missalette. Talk with your children about Father Jerry's homily each week and how it might apply to them. You will find that as parents, bringing your children to church also provides encouragement and support for other parents who are also struggling to make weekly mass attendance a regular part of their lives. Please consider volunteering as a teacher, a classroom aide or for special projects - it's a great way to let your children know that you value your faith, while also providing much needed support. If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas on how to improve our program, please let us know. Dianne Bilodeau, Coordinator