St. Boniface Religious Education Program
Welcome to the Religious Education Program at St. Boniface. We are proud to offer religious education to the youth of our parish, the future of our Church. We are happy to have each and every child in each and every class.
The goal of the religious education program is to teach the Catholic faith and its traditions in a safe and faith filled environment, to teach the message of Jesus Christ to love and to serve one another, and to prepare our young Catholics to become soldiers for heaven.
Our classes are held on Tuesdays. The schedule is:
Tuesday 4:15-5:45pm Pre-K – 5th grade
Tuesday 6:45-8:15pm 6, 7, 8
We are a small program, with small class sizes. You can be sure that your children will make friends and enjoy learning about Jesus in this friendly close environment. The teachers are volunteers who love children and are eager to teach them about our Catholic faith.
We have thirty sessions of religious instruction during the year. Your child is obliged to attend twenty four sessions. In the past, when we had classes on Thursday as well as Tuesday, it was easy to make up a session. This is no longer the case. It is imperative that your child attend on a weekly basis, so this does not become an issue at the end of the year.
We use Mass attendance cards for grades two, six, seven and eight, however, a better barometer of what your child hears, and learns at Mass, is the Mass Reflection Book. This is a simple composition book that is given out at the beginning of the year. When your child brings in his/her written comments on the readings of the Mass, they receive a sticker, and when they have collected ten stickers, they receive a special prize. This is very popular with the children, and they write some thoughtful and insightful comments. I love this part of our program, as it offers a chance for the children to express themselves about what their religion means to them.
There are two Family Catechesis events during the year. Family Catechesis is a fancy term for families participating in faith filled activities together. We have one of these during the Christmas season, as the children participate in a Pageant Play. It is an exciting time for the students as they help to prepare for the birth of Jesus. The second Family Catechesis event changes from year to year, and highlights a particular part of the Church year, such as Lent or Easter. It can also be a particular theme, such as The Rosary. It begins with Mass, followed by lunch or dinner, and then we move on to the specific activity of the day. It is a social, spiritual, and religious activity all rolled into one. Please come and join us for the next Family Catechesis event.
There may be days that we are closed due to inclement weather. If the public school is closed, we are closed, even if the weather improves throughout the day. We make announcements on WHUD, and cancellations.com. If possible, I will put a message on the answering machine in the religious education office.
Please come and visit our program if you have not already. We are located on the lower level of the church, below the rectory, with a separate entrance in the lower parking lot.
If you have questions, suggestions or comments, please call me anytime.
“The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.”
Kay Olive-Kelly
Religious Education Director
354-7039
