Welcome to the Parish School of Religion. The PSR program strives to offer classes and activities which are in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, are engaging and educational, and which introduce to the children a loving and merciful God as reveled through our savior, Jesus Christ.
When the times for the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy changed, the classes for Faith Formation had to be changed as well.
The new schedule for Faith Formation Classes is as follows:
- Pre–Kindergarten (age 4/5) and Kindergarten meet from 9:30am - 10:30 am.
- First through sixth grade meet from 10:40 am – 11:55 am . (give or take five minutes on each end; variable being the length of Mass.
- Grades seven through twelve start classes on the 24th and meet from 6:30 pm – 8 pm.
- Fees are listed on the registration forms; if there are special circumstances regarding book fees, please don't hesitate to call the PSR office. No one is turned away from the program.
The curriculum for the preschool is from the publishing company, Our Sunday Visitor , and is titled I AM SPECIAL . The Kindergarten through grade eight classes uses the curriculum from Ignatius Press , IMAGE OF GOD . Both programs offer solid catechetical instruction with age appropriate activities and work sheets. There are seven basic topics which provide the focus of the lessons:
* God * Creation * Christ * Church * Grace * Sacraments * Commandments*
Each grade level places a particular emphasis on two topics, along with a steady review of the other subjects and topics.
Every year St. Columbkille celebrates the sacraments of First Penance and First Holy Communion with the second grade students. From this year forward, we will be celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation with students in the eighth graders and those high school age who have missed out on the preparation for this sacrament. If your child (or children) is going to be involved in one of these classes, we need record of their baptism. If your child was baptized in any other parish besides St.Columbkille, we must have a copy of their Baptismal Certificate on file in the church office. This should be done before the end of October. To participate in any of these sacraments, the family must be registered in the parish and registered in the PSR program before the 8 th of October.
New to PSR for the Pre-Kindergarten through Fourth grade students is KIDS FOR JESUS (K4J), a virtue education program for character development. Catechists introduce and review a virtue of the month during Faith Formation. On the last Sunday of the month, the children come together for a lesson, craft, game and snack, modeled after the popular K4J summer program. This program is offered at no extra charge to the students.
We are happy to be a part of your child's Spiritual journey and look forward to a year filled with good fellowship and solid Faith Formation. May God's grace be with your family and may the Holy Spirit open your hearts to the deep love and tender mercy that God, our Father, has for each one of us.
In Christ,
Margo Lewis, CRE