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.
PREP Tentative Calendar
2009-2010
School, Hall, Church
September
20 Catechetical Sunday 9:00 Faculty Meeting, 11:00 Mass
23 Back to PREP Night
30 Class
October
7 Class – Rosary for Priests 7:00 p.m. in church
14 Class
21 Class – Confessions Grades 3-6
28 Class
November
4 Faculty Meeting/No Class
11 Class
18 Class - Mass
25 No Class (Thanksgiving Break)
December
2 Class
9 Class
16 Class
23 Christmas Break/ No Class
30 Christmas Break/ No Class
January
6 No Class/ Faculty Christmas Party
13 Class
20 Class - End of First Semester
27 Class - Report Cards Distributed
February
3 Class
4 First Penance
10 Class
17 No Class – Ash Wednesday
24 Class
March
3 Class
10 Class
17 No Class/ Faculty Retreat
24 Class
31 Holy Week / No Class
April
7 Class -Mass
14 Class
21 Class – End of Year Tests
28 No Class – St. Gianna’s Feast Day Mass at 7:00
May
1 First Holy Communion
5 Last Class
12 End of Year Faculty Party
TGIF Tentative Calendar
2009-2010
Rooms 115 & 117
October
6 First Night of Class
13 Class
20 Class
27 Hay Ride
November
3 Class
10 Class
17 Class
24 No Class/ Thanksgiving
December
1 Class
8 Class
15 Class
22 No Class
29 No Class
January
5 No Class
12 Class
19 Class
26 Class
February
2 Class
9 Class
16 Class –
23 Living Stations Practice – Hall
March
2 Living Stations Practice – Hall
9 Living Stations Practice – Hall
16 Living Stations Practice – Hall
22 (Monday) Living Stations Practice – Church
31 Living Stations – Dress Rehearsal – Church
April
2 Living Stations 7:00 P.M. - Church
6 No Class
13 Class
20 Last Class - Hall
Nativity
of Our Lord Parish
Sacrament
Schedule
2009-2010
First
Penance
February 2, 2010 – Nativity Day School
– 7:00 PM
February 4, 2010 – PREP – 7:00 PM
Confirmation
March 15, 2010 – 4:00 PM
Practice –
March 8, 2010 – 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Sponsor Practice – March 14, 2010 – 2:15 PM -
4:30 PM
First
Holy Communion
Ceremony – Saturday, May 1, 2010
Day School – 9:30 a.m. Mass
PREP – 12:00 p.m. Mass
Retreats
Day School – April 27, 2010
PREP – April 29, 2010 – 9AM – 2:30 PM
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
Classes are held
on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 – 7:30 P.M.
Classes are held
in Nativity of Our Lord School.
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:
Mid-year tests
are given to students in grades 1-6 in January.
These tests are designed by the catechists.
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.
Progress Reports
are sent home in January and May.
Promotion and Retention
Promotion is based on the
following criteria,
Consistent
attendance and displaying knowledge of the Catholic faith appropriate for
level.
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.
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
Send children to
all classes on time.
Check the child’s
school bag for assignments, notices and calendar updates.
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…”
Supervise
completion of homework.
Help the child
make up any work missed on account of absence.
Attend “Back to
PREP Night”.
Attend all
required sacrament preparation meetings.
Communication between PREP and Parents
Effective communication
promotes a mutually supported program.
PREP communicates with
parents through:
E-mail
Notices sent home (please check school bags each week)
Mail
Parish bulletin
Media outlets in emergencies
PREP
Link on School web-site www.nativity-school.org
Parents are asked to keep the
PREP Office informed of a current e-mail address. We will use e-mail as our
primary form of communication with parents beginning in the 2008-2009 school
year. This reduces our use of paper, ink and postage. If you do not have an
e-mail account, please notify the PREP Office and we’ll send home notices with
your youngest child.
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
Classes begin at
6:00 P.M. on Wednesday evenings. Please
plan on arriving 10 to 15 minutes prior to class.
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.
Please exercise
extreme caution while driving or walking in the parking lot.
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.
Please do not
park in the area marked as a fire zone.
Dismissal
For safety
reasons, the doors of the school are locked during class time. They will be unlocked at 7:28 P.M. for
dismissal.
Children in
grades K – 4 must be picked up in
their classrooms by their parent or other designated adult.
Students in
grades 5- 6 may meet their rides in the back parking lot if they have no younger siblings.
Please be aware
of traffic and pedestrians and use caution in the parking lot.
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:
A written note
must be turned in to the catechist by the child at the beginning of class.
We ask that you do not pick up a child before 7:00 P.M.
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.
Sports practices
or games are not considered an urgent reason for early dismissal.
Emergency Closing
If
Centennial’s
closing number is 753.
Closings will
also be broadcast on KYW 1060 radio.
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
Thirty hours of
instruction are required by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
The Archdiocese
requires that absence be no more than 15% of this time. For Nativity of Our Lord PREP, that
translates to 3 classes.
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.
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:
The D.R.E. will
speak with the student and develop a behavior plan.
The D.R.E. will
notify the parents of the problem.
The D.R.E. will
meet with the parents and student.
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.
Parents may opt out of these
lessons for their child by contacting the PREP Office.
Registration
New registrations are accepted at any time.
PREP families
must be registered as parishioners of Nativity of Our Lord Parish.
Baptismal
certificates must be presented at registration.
Tuition should accompany
registration.
Re-registration begins in April.
Notices will be
sent home with students enrolled in PREP.
Tuition should
accompany the re-registration form.
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.
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
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.
Tuition is set
after consultation with the business manager and approval by the pastor.
SCRIP credits may
be used to pay tuition or fees.
A replacement fee
of $12 is charged for lost textbooks.
If a family has a
financial concern or difficulty, please contact the D.R.E. at the PREP Office
(215) 672-5316.
A returning
catechist will have tuition waived for the family. A returning assistant will
have half tuition waived for the family.
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.
A fee is charged
for all children preparing to receive 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
Sacrament
preparation is a joint effort of the parish, parents and religious education
program.
Enrollment in
PREP or Day School does not imply enrollment for a sacrament. Parents must
complete and return
The Archdiocese
of Philadelphia recommends a two year formal preparation period for reception
of a sacrament.
Parent attendance
at Sacrament Preparation Meetings and Sacrament Sunday is an essential and required part of this program.
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.
A baptismal
certificate must be presented and a copy must be on file in the Religious
Education Office.
A fee is charged
to cover the costs associated with preparing a child to receive a
sacrament. Each fee and what it covers
is published in the information parents receive on Sacrament Sunday.
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 part of
preparation for a sacrament.
The Religious
Education Office will keep parents informed of meetings, practices, projects,
dress codes, retreats and requirements for receiving a sacrament.
Paperwork and 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.
