Religious Education Program: 2007-2008

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 16th and will be held from 10 to 11:15 AM in St. Leo's Hall (behind St. Andrew Church).

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 for Grades 1 through 4 will be held on Thursdays from 3:30 to 4:30 PM at Founders Hall in Waitsfield (behind Our Lady of the Snows Church) beginning Thursday, September 27th .

Message From Father Jerry

Dear Parents and Teachers:

As I have gotten older, winters have gotten longer and the summers shorter. But then again, summers are really over-rated. The fact is; with the CCD program, the parish community comes alive and is what it should be. The Religious Education Program, besides imparting faith to our children, enlivens the Sacramental life of the parish, animates the celebration of the Sunday Eucharist, and creates social and community building activities in our church. I am looking forward to this year.

God bless our efforts!

With my gratitude to you and my thanksgiving to God for you. Father Jerry

St. Andrew Parish Teaching Staff

Grade/Teacher(s) and Classroom Aides

• 1 - Sile Voyer, Charlotte Strasser, Elena Bilodeau (Aide)
• 2 - Maggie Grow, Patricia Harper, Carmel Kelley, Samantha Ashley (Aide)
• 3 - Anne Johnson, Brenda Caforia
• 4 - Sherri Hermanowski, Denise Russo
• 5 - Diane LaRock, Amanda Badeau, Randy Evans (Aide)
• 6 - Gena Callan, Gina Bordeaux, Sonia Evans (Aide)
• 7 - No teacher – Students being home-schooled this year
• 8 - Jim and Diana Whitney
• 9 - Mark Young, Patty Kirpan (year 1 of a two-year Confirmation program)
• 10 - Kevin Nadzam, Linda Chadwick (year 2 of a two-year Confirmation program)
• Assistant Coordinator: Deborah McBride

Fran Raymond, Michelle Miles and Wanda Persons have volunteered to serve as substitute teachers.

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

Our Lady of the Snows and St. Patrick Parish Teaching Staff

Grade/Teacher(s) and Classroom Aides

• 1 Kathi Tynan, Tony Palmerio
• 2 Ellen Riley, Rosemarie White and Tasha Humphrey
• 3 and 4 Suzie Lowe and Colleen Mays

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 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!

High School Religious Education

You will see from our schedule that there are only 13 classes for Grades 9 and 10. Because it is crucial to adequate preparation for Confirmation that students attend all classes in Grade 10; in the event a 10th grade student cannot attend a class, he/she must notify Father Jerry beforehand and schedule a convenient time to meet with him for a make-up class. Students preparing for Confirmation are also expected to attend weekly Mass, a one-day Retreat to be scheduled in early Spring, and the monthly Life Teen program. Confirmation will be held on Friday, April 11, 2008.

Lifeteen

Lifeteen is an international Catholic ministry that serves the Church and leads teens closer to Christ by providing resources and training that encourages vibrant Eucharist celebrations and opportunities for teens to grow in meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ and the Eucharist, especially within the Roman Catholic faith. LIFE TEEN helps young people take what they know in their heads, connect it to their hearts, and live it out in their everyday lives. This program for high school students from both parishes will be held once a month on Sunday evenings, from 5:30 to 8:00 PM. It will include a Mass, a light dinner, games and activities designed to help students learn more about their faith.

Children’s Masses

Children's Masses provide an opportunity for students to participate individually 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. We hope you will 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.

Registration

The $20 registration fee per student (maximum of $40 per family) helps us to cover some of the cost for textbooks and other resource materials. This year we will be introducing new textbooks for Grades 1 - 7. 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.

Formation in Christian Chastity Program for Grades 1 through 8

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 will be mailed to parents. 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.

How Parents Can Help

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 to accomplish this. We look forward to working together with you and your children as we learn more about our faith. We encourage you to attend Mass weekly as a family. You will find that your children will enjoy seeing their friends in church. Talk with your children about Father Jerry's homily each week and how it can apply to them, ask them what they learned in religion class each week, and talk to other parents you know who are actively involved in our program to see how you can help. Please consider volunteering as a classroom aide or as needed for special events - it's a great way to learn more about your faith. If you have any questions or concerns, or ideas on how to improve our program, please let us know.