Grades K – 5

August 9, 2023

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome to Faith Formation!

We are very excited to start Faith Formation this year! There is so much to learn and therefore we will be starting the same week that school starts. August 30 will be the opening evening and our first Faith Formation session. We will begin this year of prayer with the best prayer of all – The Mass.

As we move forward with another year in the “A Family of Faith” curriculum, we will focus on Christian Prayer.  An entire year of prayer! That may seem like a bit much to some, however, what a great year it will be as we spend time in prayer, learning about different forms of prayer and praying for one another. This should be a wonderful year of prayer beginning with the ultimate prayer – The Mass. Of course, we will also look at the Liturgical year and what happens within it.

Mass is so important to our lives, and truly the first part of catechesis for us to teach as a Church, for parents to guide their children in the practice of the faith, and for students to learn and practice the rich traditions of our Catholic Faith. We are obligated as Catholic Christians to lead by example just as Jesus did. In obedience to the Jewish faith, Jesus attended temple or synagogue each week. Yes, our Lord often withdrew by himself to pray, yet He also spent time in communal prayer each week. This should be an indication to us of the importance of gathering for Mass weekly. Jesus’ life as a faithful Jew is quite an example for us to look at to know what we need to do as well. Therefore, to help families, we will continue the Liturgy of the Word for Children during our Sunday 11am Mass. If you are interested in helping with this program, please let me know.

If you have been in our Faith Formation program in the last three years, you may have noticed we have been following the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Focusing on The Creed three years ago, The Sacraments two years ago and The Church/Life in Christ last year. This program is not intended for any particular class year or grade but for the entire family. Therefore, our classes will not be in a 1st, 2nd, etc. grade level but for a family along with other families in one room. There will be activities and/or projects (with different age levels for students) to help reinforce what is being taught in that week’s lesson. Each week, lessons will begin in the home along with the family/parents, which will be reviewed in class during the next week’s session. What better way to learn the faith, than as a family at home and then as a parish family as well.

Last year we didn’t put all grade levels together, but divided them somewhat by age. Trying to keep families together as much as possible. Therefore, we have grades K-1 in one room and grades 2-5 in other rooms with the main objective in keeping families together if possible.

Again this year, the K-1 class will spend much of their time focusing on the Bible stories that are used in the weekly lesson. However, we also have another book, “His Little Way” that will be used just for those K-1 level students. The stories in the bible are so important for these young students to begin their knowledge of the faith.  Therefore, we will focus on scripture each week and some weeks also on that week’s lesson in the “His Little Way” book.  

We are also starting a session for 3–5-year-old students. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program will be used for these students. This is a Montessori based program where children can grow in their relationship with God through a deep engagement in Scripture and Liturgy. 

The other part of our catechesis will be a presentation to the parents each week on the next week’s lesson. These presentations are to help you teach the next week’s lesson to your child. They will be presented by Fr. Tyler and Fr. Aloysius, along with other guest presenters, and held at the same time as the Family Faith Formation sessions. You will want to be present so that you are ready to help your students as they learn their faith.

In addition to Faith Formation, as it is with All Saints Catholic School students, those who wish for their child to receive sacraments will also be part of the three-year sacramental preparation process. The information on these parent and family sessions will be forthcoming.

On August 30 we will begin our Faith Formation year at ST. ANNE CHURCH of All Saints Parish at 6pm in the church with Mass. (With the renovation of the St. John building being worked on, we are not able to meet there this coming year) At this first week’s session, we will begin with Mass and after Mass, the “A Family of Faith” parent’s guide will be distributed to the parents in the church. The students will go to their classroom with their catechist and their activity books will be distributed there to them before coming back to church to meet you again.

Because we are expecting parents to do some of the teaching at home, and we know that many students need to be in bed early, our weekly class time is only an hour long. Classes will begin at 6:00 pm and we will join together for a short prayer at 7:00 pm in the church.

In order to be ready for Faith Formation we will need you to fill out the registration form. You can go to the link https://alpenacatholics.org/faith-formaton/grades-k-5/faith-formation-k-5-registration-form/  or to our webpage, alpenacatholics.org and go to Evangelization/Grades K-5/Faith Formation K-5 Registration Form and register so that we are prepared for each student/family. The registration fee is $35 for one student or $50 for a family. If you are in need of a scholarship we do have those available. Please call me to request a scholarship.

When you fill out the registration, please supply an email address that is visited frequently. It is also important that you sign up for Flocknote by going to alpenacatholics.flocknote.com. I will be communicating by email but mainly through Flocknote. If you are already signed up and have received my flocknotes in the past you do not need to sign up again. However, if you have a change of email or phone number, please let me know so that can be corrected. If you do not sign up for Flocknote yourself, when I receive the registration form I will sign you up so that you will receive the messages. You can decide if you want to receive Flocknote messages by email or by text, but if I sign you up it will be both.

You have the option to pay the registration fee online, however, if you do pay online please make sure you put the first and last name of each student in the “note” section. If you choose to send a check to the parish office or drop it in the collection on the weekend, please make sure you put the names of each student on a note so that I know who has paid.

We are so looking forward to working with you and your family. Please register as soon as possible.
More details will follow in the coming weeks.

God bless you,                                                In cooperation with,
Jackie Benson, Catechetical Leader             Fr. Tyler Bischoff, Pastor                                           
jbenson@alpenacatholics.org                       Fr. Aloysius Okpala, Parochial Vicar

Click here to register