Religious Education
Religious education is the parish CCD program for children in kindergarten through eighth grade.
All parents are expected to register their children with the director of the religious education program. At that time, parents receive further information about registration and expectations of our religious education and spiritual formation programs.
Procedures and Guidelines
Structure of the Program | Roman Catholics are to attend Mass each Sunday, as well as holy days of obligation. Please remember that Sunday is the Lord’s Day. It is essential that the children are brought to Mass. |
Day and Time | Religious education classes will meet on Sunday mornings in Marian Hall from 9:00 – 10:15 a.m. |
Arrival Procedures | Class will begin each week with gathering prayer. Please escort your child to the gathering area. After gathering prayer, the coordinator will dismiss the children to their classrooms. The children will follow their catechists. |
Gathering Prayer | Each week, the children will gather in the gathering room before class begins. At 9:05 a.m., we will begin with gathering prayer. Parents are invited to join us for gathering prayer. If a parent is unable to stay, please drop your child off with their teacher. |
Dismissal Procedures | When the bell rings, there will be five minutes left in class. At this time, the catechist will wrap up their lesson and clean up will begin. When class is finished, the children will be dismissed by the catechist. The children are not permitted to leave the classroom without a parent. Please pick your child up where they were dropped off. The catechist will stay in the classroom with the children until all children have left with a parent. |
Curriculum | Please visit the Diocese of Greensburg website for more information about the faith formation curriculum. |
Attendance | Attendance will be recorded each week. In order for the student to keep up with their class work, weekly attendance is vital. If you child is going to miss a week of class, please contact his or her catechist for the work that he or she will miss. At the end of each semester, students having a perfect attendance record will be commended. |
Discipline | It is reasonable to expect minor discipline problems in the classroom. The catechist will address such accuracies through good and effective classroom management. However, in the rare event that a child’s behavior becomes out of hand, we ask for your cooperation with the following procedure.The catechist will give the child one warning.If the child continues to act out, he or she will be sent to the office.The child’s parents will be called and the child will be sent home.The child will not be permitted back in class until his or her parents have a meeting with the pastor and the coordinator.Again, we find that behavior problems such as these are very rare. We do not wish any child to miss class and so desire to work together with parents to promptly find a solution. |
What Should My Child Call His or Her Teacher? | To maintain an academic environment and to create an atmosphere of respect, the children need to address all teachers and the coordinator by title and last name, for example Mr. Jones.Parents, in addition to this, when you are in the presence of the children, please address the catechists and the coordinator by title and last name. This also helps to maintain an academic and respectful environment. |
Snow Cancellations | We will use the call chain system. Each household will receive a phone call from a catechist in the event of a cancellation. The pastor will also announce cancellations at all Masses. |
Parent-Coordinator Communication | Whenever you have a question, a concern, or an idea, please do not hesitate to contact our Religious Education Director Dr. Eric Kocian by phone or in person during class-time on Sunday morning. |
Youth Group
Meet RISE! RISE is a youth group ministry for 6th-12th graders. We are moving up and reaching out in our faith! This group is youth-driven with guidance from adult leadership, and is focused on parish and community outreach, service, and friendship. We plan and complete service projects, have fun, and grow in our faith together.
We meet once or twice a month on a Sunday from 3:00pm-5:00pm to explore aspects of God’s Word and learn how we can apply this in our own lives. Please see the bulletin for scheduled meeting dates. All youth are encouraged to bring a friend to join us at these meetings and also for monthly service and fellowship events.
Request to follow us on Instagram @rise.stbarts.youth for info about upcoming events and to see what we doing to leave God’s mark on the world.
If you have any interest or questions, please contact Sarah Govora, Youth Group Director, at [email protected]