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Religious Education UpdateAugust 11, 2020Dear Parents.
We pray that you and your families are, and will continue to be, healthy and safe. (We need you to read this important letter, and email us back your choice by Mon., Aug. 17.)
In order to continue providing quality faith formation for your child(ren) while at the same time ensuring the safety and welfare of all children and staff, St. Patrick’s Religious Education classes for the Fall—Tues., Oct 6 through Tues., Dec 22, 2020—will be taught remotely every Tuesday via Zoom. (We hope to be able to resume on-site classes in Jan. 2021 and will keep you posted.)
While having on-site classes for the fall would’ve undoubtedly been our first choice, we are confident in our catechists’ abilities and/or experience to teach your children the faith via Zoom. Each catechist will be paired with a co-catechist or with an assistant who will help them with the “clerical” aspects of Zoom. Catechists will have access to both hard copy and ebooks, and will teach with the ebook up on screen as well as occasional grade-appropriate song and media clips to increase student engagement. We will be providing your children with a hard copy book (see below for date that you need to pick it up.)
The first day of class, while usually the 2nd Tuesday after Labor Day, this year is October 6 to give you and your children extra time to adjust to the new school requirements. Rel. Ed. Classes will begin at 4:15 pm (not 3:45 pm) and will run about 60 minutes a week depending on grade level and the catechist’s discretion. (When we can resume on-site religious education classes, however, classes will again be 90 minutes a week.) Children/families will need to access Zoom with video camera on and not by phone; a parent or adult 18 years or older needs to be in the same room with your children. The Religious Education Office will be open while remote classes are taking place should you need to call us to troubleshoot any issues.
If you cannot meet the above requirements for Zoom or do not want your children to take Rel. Ed. classes via Zoom, you have the option of the Family Based/Homeschool approach in which you teach your children the faith and provide them Rel Ed sessions for a minimum of 60 minutes a week using their book and having them complete assignments that are emailed to you and/or posted on the website—much like what you did March – May. However, parents will need to attend monthly meetings with the Coordinator (via phone or virtual), and assignments will be due weekly rather than at end of semester.
Based on Archdiocesan guidelines, whether classes are catechist-led or parent-led, parents are expected to provide continual supervision of their child’s weekly learning; in addition, the required registration and tuition are the same. (Registration including Payment must be completed in order for you to receive your children’s books and/or link to their Zoom class.) If you have not already done so, the deadline for Re-Registration is Friday, September 4. You can find the form and fee information at https://www.stpatrickssi.org/informationampregistration-1 and either mail it to us at St. Patrick’s Religious Education 3560 Richmond Road 10306, or you can call us to schedule a time to come in Mondays or Tuesdays, August 17, 18, 25, 31 & Sept. 1 to drop it off or by appointment—please be sure to call first. A tall, glass partition has been installed around the front office desk in the Religious Education Office to ensure the safety of all.
Because this is the first time that we are running classes remotely, there will be a REQUIRED opening meeting for ALL parents (including those who are choosing parent-led homeschooling) on Tuesday September 22 at 7 pm via Zoom. Link will be sent a week before.
You must email us back by Mon. Aug 17 to let us know which of the below options you are choosing (if you have questions or concerns, please call or email us by Aug 17):- Catechist-led Zoom classes every Tuesday
- Parent-led Homeschooling every week
- If you are choosing one option for one of your children and the other option for another of your children, please indicate specifically.
- If you are not re-registering your children for Rel Ed this year, because, for e.g., you are moving, please let us know. (Please be aware that children need to be enrolled in Rel Ed in ’20-’21 in order to qualify them to attend Rel Ed in ’21-’22 and to receive their sacraments on time.)
Mon., Aug. 17 email us back to let us know which option you are choosing
Fri., Sept. 4 Deadline for ReRegistration
Mon & Tues Sept. 14 & 15, 4:15 – 5:45 pm
Book Pick Up Date (Outside Rain or Shine)—choose one of these dates to pick up your children’s new book for this year and their completed book from last year
Tues., Sept. 22, 7 pm Required Zoom Meeting for ALL Parents
Tues., Oct. 6, 4:15 pm First Day of Rel. Ed Classes
Tuesdays through Dec. 22, 4:15 pm Rel Ed Classes
If you have any questions or concerns, please call us at 718-979-1272. Although this will be a very unusual beginning to the school year, on behalf of ourselves and our catechists, we very much look forward to working with you in providing your children with this next year of their faith formation.
Sincerely,
Maria Giura PhD Msgr. Jeff Conway
Coordinator of Religious Education Pastor
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How to Access Your Free Subscription to Formed.Org (needed for 4/7/20 and for 2nd graders on 4/28 )
(Once you're signed up, then you can download the free app.)
Simply go to FORMED.org, click Sign Up, select "I Belong to a Parish or Organization", find St. Patrick’s by name, zip, or parish code, and enter your email; that’s all. Once you’ve signed up, you can also download the free app.