The Religious Education team is very excited
to welcome you back! Classes begin this week.
August 19/20
RE Parent & Student Welcome: Plan to join your children this week in the church worship space at the beginning of class! Our parish priests would like to personally welcome you and offer a blessing to all the Religious Education families. Our Director of Religious Education, Sandy Kimmey, will have some important information about the upcoming year and will introduce our new Confirmation Coordinator and Middle School Youth Minister, Mike Kennedy.
After the welcome gathering, Catechists will be dismissed first so they may go to their classroom and prepare to greet students and their parents.
Parents will be dismissed next, and invited to walk their student/students to their classrooms to briefly meet the catechist and see where and what their child will be learning this year. Parents are encouraged to pop into multiple classrooms for all their children.
Students without a parent accompanying them, will sit in a designated section as directed by volunteers at the "Welcome" and will be dismissed last and volunteers will direct children to their classrooms.
FAQ's for Religious Education Classes
Class assignments were emailed to the first guardian's name on the registration on Friday. Please check your email for information on your child's Catechists and Room#. Class lists will be also be posted outside the Religious Ed Office and the Worship space on the night of class.
How do we enter the building for classes?
All Students should enter through school doors by flagpole and wait in commons till bell rings at the top of class. Once the bell has rung, children may walk to their classrooms. All classes are held in the school classrooms. No students are allowed into the classroom before class time and the catechist must be present.
How long is class?
Class time is one hour.
Do they need to bring anything?
All supplies are provided in the classroom unless specifically requested.
Will all children be dismissed at the end of class?
Pre-school through Grade 2 will not be dismissed till an adult or older sibling picks them up at their classroom. Please let the catechist know who will be picking up your child. If you are running late, please let the office know (402-896-5683) and we will have the students wait in the office. Grades 3-8 will be dismissed by their catechist at the end class.
Parking Lot Safety
Please pull into a parking space to pick up your child/children. DO NOT pull up and sit in the right of ways. This causes congestion and students darting into the parking lot. We will have adult crossing guards to help children cross at the end of class. Please follow the crossing guard instructions if they ask you to pull into a space. Safety First!!
I have a child who will be absent. What do I do?
Please use the following email to inform us if your child/children will be absent. RE.attendance@stephen.org or call us at 402-896-5683. Informing the catechist is fine, but you must also inform the office. Parents will receive a phone call during class time if a child is absent and no notice was given to Rel. Ed. Office.
I need to change my class time. Can I do that?
We will change a child's class time if there is room where you are wanting to switch to. All class assignments are done on a first come, first serve basis. Please contact Eileen at e.smith@stephen.org or 402-896-5683 to request a class change.
Are You Our Missing Piece?
Please consider volunteering for the program. There are various roles you can volunteer for to help us out and provide some stewardship to your parish and grow in your own faith.
We have a few classes of registered students with no Lead Catechist assigned yet. They are listed below. We have been working diligently this summer to update and improve the lesson plans.
Catechists Needed:
Tuesday at 4:30 pm-Grade 6
Wed. at 5:30 pm-Grades K
Wed. at 7:00 pm-Grade 3
Assistant Catechist is a role which requires no outside preparation but is vital to providing a positive and constructive environment in our classrooms. Here are the classes that need this extra hand.
Assistants Needed:
Wed. at 5:30pm: Grades 5,7
Substitute Catechist-We have a volunteer position open at every class time. We often have volunteers cancel for class at the last moment due to illness or emergency and would like to have a volunteer here on standby each week who can step in where/if needed.
To learn more about these volunteer positions, please click the volunteer link below for more descriptive information.
Parent-Led Faith Formation
Welcome back! Our first Parent Gathering will be on Wednesday September 3rd at 7:00pm. Each family will receive two textbooks: a Parent’s Guide and an Activity Book as part of the curriculum, A Family of Faith: Catechesis for the Whole Family, Volume 1, by Sophia Institute Press.
At the beginning of each month, parents will gather for a discussion of the background readings for the home activities. The “Parent Gatherings” will be led by China Weil, Father Matthew Pohlman, or Sandy Kimmey. Throughout the month, parents will then choose which activities best suit your children’s learning needs and complete them as a family. Mid-month, your children will join you and the other families in this program for a “Community Gathering,” led by Sarah Valasek, where you will discuss the activities and share your family’s experiences. The first Community Gathering will be September 21st at 7:00pm.
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
We are blessed to have the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program at St. Stephen the Martyr for our preschool students again this year. We are in search of assistants during our classroom times on Tuesday at 4:30 pm and Wednesday at 5:30 pm during Religious Education.
No experience needed!
During the one-hour class, there is a lead catechist who has gone through 90 hours of formation to lead the sessions. We are in need of additional adults to assist with walking kids to the bathroom, reading, and other easy classroom management tasks with the children during the sessions. With prep and clean up, the time commitment is approximately 1hr 15 min each week. This is open to all adults, women or men, parents, grandparents or friends! You just need to be safe environment trained or get signed up to go through that free training.
*As a note-You will need to be able to get up and down off of the floor since they complete their work on the floor.
Let us know if you or if you know of someone that would be interested. CGS is just as much for the adult as for the child. It is listening to God WITH the children! So I promise it is a beautiful and lovely time with Jesus for you too!
Thank you for considering for yourself or sharing name suggestions!
Register Now for Fall Micro Soccer
Ages 3-6 | Register by Aug. 29th
Register Now for Cross Country
Deadline: Aug. 19th | Grade 5-8
New! Run Club for Grades 2-4
Upcoming Dates:
Aug. 17: Catechist Meeting; 2 p.m.
Aug. 19/20: Religious Education Classes start. Parent Meeting
Aug. 23: Parish Tailgate; 6 p.m.
Sept. 2/3: No Rel. Ed. Classes
