*Registration for 2021-2022 Year Due August 29th*

Religious Education - PreK (4 years Old) - 6th Grade
Parishes of Ss. Peter & Paul / St. Thomas the Apostle

• Due to limited space, you must be a registered member to enroll your child in our program.

• Free Family dinners will be served from 5:30-6:00 p.m. in the St. Thomas Parish Center. All students must have at least one parent with them and all meals must be eaten in the dining hall. - free will offerings welcome! 

PreKindergarten (Must be at least 4 years old) through 1st Grade:

o Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is the program we use for our youngest students, where trained Catechists teach your child all about Mass and the Gospels, using the Montessori method. Children will learn how to set up an altar, learn about each mass part and what they mean. Gospel readings will come to life as they are able to manipulate the figures in the scripture verses to ponder what they mean. Many of the lessons are based on a Parable or the Life of Jesus. Most of the materials in our Atrium have been hand crafted by volunteers, with much love. The children truly learn and grow in God’s word as they ponder them in God’s silence while working with the materials provided for them in the Atrium.

§ Atrium is another word for, “A place to prepare for Mass.” Therefore, we call their special classroom an Atrium since they are learning all about Mass, including the readings in the Gospels.

Second Grade: Signs of Grace, by the Augustine Institute, along with a few lessons from the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

o The Signs of Grace: You are Forgiven program tells the story of God’s great love for us. God created us to be in friendship with him, but that friendship was lost through sin. This program will show how the Sacrament of Reconciliation is an important part of God’s saving plan. In this sacrament, God gives us his mercy and brings us back into friendship with him when we sin after our Baptism. This program will prepare your child to experience God’s mercy and love in his or her First Reconciliation.

o The Signs of Grace: You are Loved program for First Holy Communion, tells the story of God’s desire to give us his own life in the Eucharist. Jesus tells us that he is the living bread (see John 6:51), and in the Eucharist he gives us himself—his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity—so that we may eat and live forever. God wants us to live forever with him in Heaven, and when we partake of the Eucharistic celebration, we anticipate this eternal life with God. This program will help your child understand how God prepared for the Eucharist in the Old Testament Passover, how Jesus gave us the Eucharist at the Last Supper, and how Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross is made present in the Mass, and how best to prepare to receive Jesus in Holy Communion. This program will prepare your child to experience God’s intimate love in their First Holy Communion.

Third through 5th Grade: The New St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism, No. 1, Part Two

o The purpose of religious instruction is to teach Christ. The teacher aims at presenting to the children the words of Christ and even more the Person of Christ, Who is the Word in which is contained all truth. This Catechism is broken into three parts, last year as a

family you studied Part One: The Creed, this year, in class, your child will study The Commandments in Part Two

o Lessons will also be included from Virtues in Practice on Hope from the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation from Nashville, TN

Sixth Grade: God’s Plan in Scripture (GPS)

This year the 6^th grade class will be using the following program from Ascension Press:

God’s Plan in Scripture (GPS) is a twenty-four-lesson parish and school program designed to take children on an amazing journey through the story of salvation.

The adult Great Adventure Bible Timeline® revolutionized Bible studies by dividing the Bible into twelve color-coded time periods that make it easier to follow its narrative thread. The GPS program brings that same color-coding and chronological approach to children.

God’s Plan in Scripture (GPS) has received:

• Nihil Obstat
• Imprimatur

The Advanced Student Pack (grades 6+) contains everything a more advanced student needs to participate in the GPS program, including:

● Storybook
● Advanced Student Workbook
● Kids Bible Timeline Chart
● Bookmark

This program was written by Emily Cavins, Lisa Bromschwig, Regina Neville, and Linda Wandrei and includes fun and engaging activities, discussions, and plays, where children will experience God as a loving Father who has a great plan for them.

Registration 

PPTA Religious Education Registration

• Tuition Payment

  • Registration forms returned by Sunday, August 29th..................................................... $70 / child

  • Maximum family fee (registered by Sunday, August 29th)......................................... $200 / family

  • Registration forms returned after Sunday, August 29th – Add ..................................... $15 / child