Demo K-5 Religious Education

Program Overview:

The K-5 Religious Education Program at St. Anne Parish strives to catechize our children about the Catholic faith, to develop and strengthen their relationship with Jesus Christ, and provide a strong base for their life-long journey of discipleship. The program also includes formation and preparation for the sacraments of Baptism (when applicable), First Reconciliation, and First Communion. This is typically done in a classroom setting using a variety of teaching techniques.  Grade 1-5 lessons are based on the Discover! program and The Catholic Children’s Bible from Saint Mary’s Press. Kindergarten uses leaflets from Our Sunday Visitor’s Allelu! program.

Through a combination of weekly attendance at Mass, daily prayer, service in the community, regular attendance at RE classes, and review of the lessons at home, a student that is catechized in the RE Program throughout their elementary school years should finish 5th grade with a basic understanding and knowledge of the following areas:

• Revelation: basic teachings and Traditions of the Catholic Church; key stories of Scripture
• Trinity: beliefs about God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Creed; prayer
• Jesus Christ: miracles, teachings, and life of Jesus (Paschal Mystery); Real Presence
• The Church: hierarchy of the Church; liturgical year/seasons; Mary and the Saints; vocations
• Morality: Ten Commandments; Great Commandment; Beatitudes; forming conscience; virtues
• Sacraments: the who, what, when, where, and why of the 7 sacraments; grace; sacramentals
• Kingdom of God: living as a disciple of Jesus in the world; heaven; Second Coming

The student will be prepared to move to D.A.S.H. – Junior High Religious Education  in grades 6-8 to begin preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation 

Contact: Cathy Gillooly, Director of Religious Education KN through Grade 5
reo@stanneparish.org; 630-554-1425

Grades K-5 Class Schedule:

Students attend on-campus classes for an hour, once a week, mid-September through mid-May. Classes are offered on Mondays at 4:45 and 6:15 PM, Tuesdays at 4:45 PM, and Wednesdays at 5:30 PM. We do our best to honor your preference for day/time but may not always be able to accommodate your request if a session is full. Classes are assigned first come, first served when registration begins over the summer.

2023-2024 RE Calendar Grades K-6

Expectations:

• It is expected that students be enrolled every year (grades 1-8) to learn all that they need to know about their faith at every age.  Note: Kindergarten is also offered and encouraged.
• Parents are the first and most important catechists in a child’s faith formation. Please attend Mass as a family each week, pray together and practice reciting prayers, review the RE sessions at home each week, and share your own faith story with your child.
• Review the 2024-2025 RE Family-Handbook and 2024-2025-RE-Registration-Form-with-Instructions.pdf for further details of our program expectations. 

Absences and Make-up Work:

If your child misses class for any reason (such as illness, emergency, weather) please use the grade level lesson schedule you will receive via email at the beginning of the year to determine which lesson to do at home to stay caught up.

Note that completing make-up work is strongly encouraged for all grades but required for grades 1 and 2. Go over the lesson with your child and have them complete the activity pages inside the booklet for that lesson OR have your child complete the e-Learning lesson online.

On-Line Home Guide and Other Resources:

 To access a “Home Guide” for grades 1-5 that provides a step-by-step teaching guide to help parents lead their child through a lesson, go to the Saint Mary’s Press Discover! website:

https://www.smp.org/resourcecenter/books/

Under the “Discover! Finding Faith in Life” section, click on the link for the grade level you want and select “Home Guide.”

This same webpage also has a link to download all the Family Pages from the back of the weekly activity booklets in Spanish.

For parent information about the Kindergarten Allelu! Program, please go to:

http://www.allelu.com/

For resources to help your family prepare for the Sunday Mass and readings, go to:

http://lifelongcatechesis.osv.com/

Sacramental Preparation:

Any child over the age of seven who is not yet Baptized can prepare for the sacrament through the RE program.  Details of the preparation process will vary based on the child’s age and religious background.

Preparation for First Reconciliation and First Communion is a two-year program.  This is typically in grades 1 and 2, with Reconciliation being celebrated in November/December and Communion in April/May of 2nd grade.

The sacramental preparation plan for those children in grades 3-8 who have had no prior religious education will be determined on an individual basis. This may include attending regular RE classes with their age-mates, separate sacrament preparation classes, and/or lessons to be completed with parents at home.

For Sacramental Formation, you can click here to go to our SACRAMENTS page. 

SPICE: Special People Included in Catholic Environments

We are all special in God’s eyes. Having a disability does not mean that a person doesn’t have gifts to share. At St. Anne Church, we want all our parishioners to have the ability to learn the Catholic faith, to grow in their relationship with God, to receive the sacraments, and to love and serve the Lord.

Our Religious Education SPICE program strives to make this possible by providing extra support in our regular RE classrooms and/or working with students one-on-one or in small faith groups as needed.  If you have a child with special needs, please contact the Religious Education Office and we will work with you to make the best placement and adaptations for your child.

Teen SPICE & Beyond

Teens and adults with special needs meet one Saturday afternoon per month throughout the school year to explore and deepen their faith through discussion, prayer, activities, and service. The parents of the individuals with special needs are encouraged to stay for a parent discussion group. Please contact the Religious Education Office for more information about joining the group. Any teen or adult (age 13 +) with any special need is welcome, whether they have received their sacraments or not.

Many volunteers are needed for our SPICE program to be successful.  We need people to serve as SPICE Catechists and Aides, as well as Teen SPICE Leaders.

Contact: Cathy Gillooly, Director of Religious Education KN through Grade 5
reo@stanneparish.org; 630-554-1425 

Children’s Library

Our children’s library is located in the Joachim Center.  At the current time we have selections that deal with Scripture, Saints, prayer, story books, and other titles that are sensitive to major issues that children in the elementary grades sometimes must face.  We also have a few puzzles and VHS/DVD videos available for check-out.  Families are welcome to use the books and puzzles while in the Joachim Center and/or to check out books, puzzles, and videos to take home for a few weeks.