Nativity
of Our Lord
Parish
Religious Education Program
Mrs.
215-672-5316
Classes
Kindergarten through Level 6
(Confirmation)
Wednesdays - 6:00 P.M. – 7:30 P.M.
Levels 7 – 12
Tuesdays – 6:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M.
Normal Office Hours
Monday and Thursday
9:00 A.M. – 4:30 P.M.
Tuesday and Wednesday
12:00 noon – 7:00 P.M.
Registration
– New Families please call the PREP Office for an appointment. Please bring each child’s Baptismal
Certificate.
Re-registration for students currently enrolled in PREP begins in March. Information
will be sent home prior to re-registration.
.
Nativity
of Our Lord Parish TGIF
Tentative
Calendar 2007-2008
October 09 Opening
Night
16 Attend 40 Hours 6:30 P.M.
23 Class
30 Haunted Hayride
November 06 Class
13 Class
20 No Class Thanksgiving Holiday
27 Class
December 04 Parish
11 Class
18 Class
25 No Class – Blessed Christmas
January 01 No
Class – Happy New Year
08 Class
15 Class
22 Class
29 Class
February 05 Class
12 Class
19 Class
26 Class
March 04 Class
11 Class
18 Class
21 Living Stations – Good Friday
25 No Class
April 01 Meet with Confirmation Class
NATIVITY
OF OUR LORD – PREP
TENTATIVE
CALENDAR – 2007-2008
SEPTEMBER 16 Catechetical Sunday 9:00 AM faculty meeting - PCC
11:00 AM Mass – Commissioning
1:30 – 5:30 – Parish Picnic
24* Monday Sacrament Sunday Team Meeting 6:00 PM – Room 104
26 First Class Back to PREP night – Parents & Students
29* Saturday Archdiocese “Race for Grace”
OCTOBER 03 Class
10 Class Prayer Service 7:00 PM – Rosary
17 Class Confessions 6:15 PM
21* Sacrament Sunday 12:30 PM Mass to 3:30 PM
24 Class
31 No Class Happy Halloween
NOVEMBER 07 Class (Church not available)
14 Class 7:00 PM Thanksgiving Prayer Service
21 No Class Thanksgiving Holiday
28 Class
DECEMBER 05 No
Class Parish
12 Class
19 Class Christmas Prayer Service
26 No Class Christmas Holiday
JANUARY 02 No Class Faculty Christmas Party
09 Class
16 Class Mid-terms
23 Class Safe Environment Lessons taught to all
29* First Penance Day School
30 Class Report Cards Distributed
31* First Penance PREP
FEBRUARY 06 No Class Ash Wednesday
13 Class Love Service Project
20 Class
27 Class
MARCH 03* Confirmation
05 Class
12 Class
19 No Class Holy Week
26 Class
APRIL 02 Class
09 Class
16 Class
23 Class End of Year Tests
30 Class Prayer Service 7:00 PM (moving up)
MAY 01* Ascension Thursday First Communion Retreat (PREP)
03* First Communion 9:30 AM / Day School -- Noon / Prep
07 Class Last Class – Pentecost Celebration
Report Cards Distributed
* - Not a Wednesday
Nativity of
Our Lord Parish
Sacrament
Schedule
2007-2008
First
Penance
Day School – Tuesday, January 29, 2008 – 7:00 p.m.
PREP
- Thursday, January 31,
2008 – 7:00 p.m.
Confirmation
Ceremony - Monday, March 3, 2008, 4:00 p.m.
Bishop Daniel
E. Thomas
Followed by dinner with Bishop – all sacrament
teachers and catechists are invited
Retreat – Thursday, February 14,
2008
Practices – Monday, February 25, 2008, 3:45 – 5:00 p.m. -
Candidates
Sunday,
March 2, 2008, 2:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Candidates and Sponsors
Interviews – Day School – Monday, February 11
PREP
– Tuesday, February 12,
4:00 – 5:30 p. m.
First Holy
Communion
Ceremony – Saturday, May 3, 2008
Day School – 9:30 a.m. Mass
PREP – 12:00 p.m. Mass
Retreats
Day School – Tuesday, April 29, 2008
PREP – Thursday, May 1, 2008 – 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
(practice)
Nativity
of Our Lord
Parish
Religious Education Program
(215)
672-5316
Family Handbook
Purpose:
This handbook is designed to
familiarize families with the policies and procedures of Nativity of Our Lord PREP.
What is PREP?
PREP (Parish Religious
Education Program) is a program, in place at Nativity of Our Lord Parish, to
assist parents in a more formal way, meet the religious education needs of
their children in grades K – 12 who do not attend a Catholic elementary or high
school.
Structure of PREP
The pastor appoints a
Director of Religious Education who is responsible for the overall operation of
PREP. Trained and screened volunteers
act as catechists, assistants and monitors in the program.
Curriculum
PREP follows a curriculum for
each level established by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and stated in the
Religion Guidelines of the Archdiocese.
Text books are selected from a list of Archdiocese approved texts that
are found to be in conformance with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Classes generally cover one
chapter a week. Both written and study homework is usually assigned for each
level. This gives the parents an
opportunity to reinforce and expand upon concepts and doctrine being taught in
class. Prayers are assigned for
memorization at each level.
Classes
v
Classes are held
on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 – 7:30 P.M.
v
Classes are held
in Nativity of Our Lord School.
v
Children are
usually assigned to a level corresponding to their public school grade, BUT if
they have started late or have missed a year or more of religious instruction,
they may be assigned to a more appropriate religious education level.
Assessment
Assessment is a necessary
component of instruction. Assessment may
be formal or informal. Along with
informal assessment, the following formal assessments are part of the Nativity
of Our Lord PREP:
v
Mid-year tests
are given to students in grades 1-6 in January.
These tests are designed by the catechists.
v
End of year tests
are written in conformance with the Religion Guidelines of the Archdiocese of
Philadelphia. They are administered to
students in Grades 1 – 6 in April.
v
Progress Reports
are sent home in January and May.
Promotion and Retention
Promotion is based on the
following criteria,
v
Consistent
attendance and displaying knowledge of the Catholic faith appropriate for
level.
v
A student may not
be promoted if s/he has missed 4 or more classes and does not display
sufficient knowledge of the faith on the end of year test.
v
A student may
re-take an end of year test during the summer, and if s/he passes this test,
the DRE may consider promotion.
Parental Responsibilities
v
Send children to
all classes on time.
v
Check the child’s
school bag for assignments, notices and calendar updates.
v
Help the child
learn the assigned prayers for his or her grade level. (The National Directory
for Catechesis states that “parents are the most effective catechists of
prayer…”
v
Supervise
completion of homework.
v
Help the child
make up any work missed on account of absence.
v
Attend “Back to
PREP Night”.
v
Attend all
required sacrament preparation meetings.
Communication between PREP and Parents
Effective communication
promotes a mutually supported program.
PREP communicates with
parents through:
Mail
Notices sent home (please check school bags each week)
Parish bulletin
Media outlets in emergencies
Parents are asked to contact
the Religious Education Office or their child’s catechist with any questions or
concerns they may have. It is better to
call the office or write a note to the catechist. Class time is short and catechists and the
administration may not have time to address your concerns on class nights.
Arrival
v
Classes begin at
6:00 P.M. on Wednesday evenings. Please
plan on arriving 10 to 15 minutes prior to class.
v
Children and
their parents may enter the school through the entrances marked A, B, or
C. Please do not enter the building
through any other door.
v
Please exercise
extreme caution while driving or walking in the parking lot.
v
To facilitate
traffic flow, please enter the front parking area using the opening across from
Burger King and exit using the opening near the church.
v
Please do not
park in the area marked as a fire zone.
Dismissal
v
For safety
reasons, the doors of the school are locked during class time. They will be unlocked at 7:28 P.M. for
dismissal.
v
Children in
grades K – 4 must be picked up in their classrooms by their parent or other
designated person.
v
Grades 5- 6 may
meet their rides outside.
v
Please be aware
of traffic and pedestrians and use caution in the parking lot.
v
Students may not
wait outside for their rides. If a
parent is late picking up a child, we will wait with them in the PREP room
until a parent or designated person arrives to take them home. The PREP room is #104 and located near
entrance “B”.
Early Dismissal
Early dismissals are
disruptive to learning. If for some urgent
reason a child needs to be dismissed early from class, please observe the following
rules:
v
A written note
must be turned in to the catechist by the child at the beginning of class.
v
We ask that you do not pick up a child before 7:00 P.M.
v
Parents are to
report to “A” door and check in with the door monitor. We will send a hall monitor
to bring the child from class.
v
Sports practices
or games are not considered an urgent reason for early dismissal.
Emergency Closing
v
If
v
Centennial’s
closing number is 753.
v
Closings will
also be broadcast on KYW 1060 radio.
v
Closings will
also be posted on our PREP link which you can access from the Nativity of Our
Lord School’s web site. The web address
is: www.nativityofourlord.org.
Attendance
v
Thirty hours of
instruction are required by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
v
The Archdiocese
requires that absence be no more than 15% of this time. For Nativity of Our Lord PREP, that translates
to 3 classes.
v
Any child who
misses 4 or more sessions, and does not pass the End of the Year Test, will be
required to make up work as deemed necessary by the D.R.E. and retake the test
in August in order to be promoted.
v
If a long term
absence occurs due to illness or family situation, parents should contact the
D.R.E. to arrange for make up work.
Discipline Policy
Most discipline concerns are
handled by the catechist as they occur.
If a child repeatedly
exhibits disruptive or inappropriate behavior during PREP time the following
steps will be followed:
v
The D.R.E. will
speak with the student and develop a behavior plan.
v
The D.R.E. will
notify the parents of the problem.
v
The D.R.E. will
meet with the parents and student.
v
The D.R.E. may
recommend Home Study.
A serious behavioral problem
may be dealt with immediately and the D.R.E. may take appropriate actions
including notifying the pastor and/or calling the police.
Safe Environment
The Archdiocese of
Philadelphia has a safe environment policy in place. A summary is added to this
end of this handbook. One lesson per
year is taught in PREP. You may view this lessons online prior to it being taught at
www.virtus.org.
Registration
New registrations are accepted at any time.
v
PREP families
must be registered as parishioners of Nativity of Our Lord Parish.
v
Baptismal
certificates must be presented at registration.
v
Tuition should
accompany registration.
Re-registration begins in April.
v
Notices will be
sent home with students enrolled in PREP.
v
Tuition should
accompany the re-registration form.
v
Re-registration
will take place in the school building on designated PREP nights in April or
parents may mail forms and tuition to the Religious Education Office.
v
Late fees will be
levied if a family re-registers after the stated deadline. If a family has a financial or family concern,
please call the D.R.E. prior to this deadline to avoid a late fee.
Tuition
v
Tuition covers
the cost of each student’s textbook as well as audiovisual materials, resource
materials, catechist and assistant training and other items purchased for use
in the program.
v
Tuition is set
after consultation with the business manager and approval by the pastor.
v
SCRIP credits may
be used to pay tuition or Sacrament Preparation fees.
v
A replacement fee
of $12 is charged for lost textbooks.
v
If a family has a
financial concern or difficulty, please contact the D.R.E. at the PREP Office
v
A returning
catechist will have tuition waived for the family. A returning assistant will have
half tuition waived for the family.
v
New catechists
and assistants will have tuition reimbursed at the rates stated above. This reimbursement will be issued in the late
fall through the parish business office.
v
A Sacrament
Preparation fee is charged for all children receiving the Sacraments of
Reconciliation, First Holy Communion and Confirmation. This fee covers materials used especially for
sacrament preparation including Sacrament Sunday, retreats, practices,
Confirmation robes, speakers, crafts, refreshments and videos for Confirmation
and First Holy Communion
Sacrament Preparation
v
Sacrament
preparation is a joint effort of the parish, parents and religious education
program.
v
Enrollment in
PREP or Day School does not imply enrollment for a sacrament. Parents must
complete and return
v
The Archdiocese
of Philadelphia recommends a two year formal preparation period for reception
of a sacrament.
v
Parent attendance
at Sacrament Preparation Meetings and Sacrament Sunday is an essential and required part of this program.
v
Families must be
registered in Nativity of Our Lord Parish or have permission from their pastor
to receive a sacrament at Nativity of Our Lord.
v
A baptismal
certificate must be presented and a copy must be on file in the Religious
Education Office.
v
A sacrament
preparation fee is charged to cover the costs associated with preparing a child
to receive a sacrament. Each sacrament
fee and what it covers is published in the information parents receive on
Sacrament Sunday.
v
First Eucharist
and Confirmation, along with Baptism, are Sacraments
of Initiation into the full sacramental life of the Church. Active
participation in the Sunday Liturgy, the Mass, is an essential way to prepare
for a sacrament.
v
The Religious
Education Office will keep parents informed of meetings, practices, projects,
dress codes, retreats and requirements for receiving a sacrament.
v
Paperwork and sacrament preparation fees have due
dates. These due dates allow us sufficient time to
verify information and print sacrament booklets and certificates. PLEASE OBSERVE OUR DUE DATES.
