Faith Formation - Elementary, ROCK, and Total Youth Ministry
last updated: May 2010
2010/2011 Faith Formation Registration
Registration for 2010/2011 Faith Formation classes is still open. Click here to view a copy of the Faith Formation Booklet.. Click here to view and/or print a copy of the registration form. A registration form is required for every student enrolled in any K-12 class and/or sacramental preparation. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact the Faith Formation Office (301-473-4800).
Payments: If you chose to make two payments, the first payment is due September 1st 2010 and the second is due January 24th 2011. If a family is in need of financial assistance, they are encouraged to contact Cathy Todt, Finance Manager, at our parish office.
The parish is the Eucharistic community and the heart of the liturgical life of Christian families; it is a privileged place for the catechesis of children and parents. CCC #2226
On this page:
Elementary
· K-5 Family Gathers
· Neighborhood Group Program
· Home School Program
· Centralized Program
· Vacation Bible School
Catechesis on Morality & Healthy Relationships (Grades K-8)
- Parent Meeting Dates and Times
K-8 Catechists
- Catechist Meetings
- Catechist Resources (packets)
ROCK (Middle School)
- Neighborhood Group/Home School
- Service
TYM (High School)
Elementary Faith Formation
In order to accommodate the particular needs of families at Holy Family, the faith formation program offers three options for children in grades K-5. Parents may choose the option that best suits the needs of their situation.
Parents are invited to attend workshops and presentations given throughout the year and are expected to pass on their faith to their children through regular participation in the Sacraments and attendance at Mass, through their word, and living example.
Catechesis on Morality and Healthy Relationships is a recent addition to our K-8 Catechetical Programs. Please see below for more information and parent meeting dates and times.
K-5 Family Gatherings:
All K-5 families enrolled in the parish faith formation programs are to attend the following events as part of the curriculum to not only grow the faith of the children, but the faith of the entire family. Refer to the bulletin a few weeks before each event for more details. Families who do not participate in Holy Family’s Faith Formation programs (e.i. Catholic school or home school) are also welcome to attend these events.
The event, dates, and times are as noted below (dates/times subject to change):
| Monday, Oct 25 | All Souls Day Event | 6:30 pm | Legacy Room |
| Monday, Feb 21 | Family Prayer Event | 6:30 pm | Church |
| Friday, March 18 | Stations of the Cross | 7:30 pm | Church |
| Saturday, Apr 9 | Family Field Trip | 10:30 am to 12:15 pm | Basilica of the National Shrine, in Baltimore |
Neighborhood Group Program:
Children enrolled in the neighborhood groups meet regularly with other children of the same grade using the Finding God and Growing In Love texts. Parents are responsible for organizing the groups with the assistance of the faith formation office.
Catechists:
Parents share the responsibilities of teaching the lessons using the catechist text, but one parent assumes the role of “point of contact.” This person creates a syllabus for the group and submits that to the faith formation office. Please refer to the catechist binder for syllabus requirements. All parents are required to attend catechist meetings (see Catechist Section below for more details)
Class Schedules:
Classes are scheduled at the convenience of the parents, meeting for a minimum of 30 hours throughout the catechetical year (September—May). Additionally K-5 Family Gatherings are to be included on the group’s schedule as it is part of the curriculum (see the previous page for more information).
Materials
2010-2011 Sample Syllabus Click here
2010-2011 Evaluation Forms (Due: December 10’ and May11’) Click here
Home School Program:
Children enrolled in the home school program meet with their parents throughout the year for a minimum of 30 hours using the Finding God and Growing In Love texts. Parents are provided with a parent guide and are required to create a syllabus for each grade level they are teaching and submit it to the faith formation office. Please refer to the catechist binder for syllabus requirements.
Qualifications:
Families who participated in the Home School program the previous year need to have completed and submitted a syllabus and two evaluations for that previous year or,
Families who did not participate the previous year or did not meet the above requirements, need to schedule a meeting by August 24th with the Director of Faith Formation to discuss the responsibilities and how to implement the program.
Materials
2010-2011 Sample Syllabus Click here
2010-2011 Evaluation Forms (Due: December 10’ and May11’) Click here
Centralized Program:
The Centralized Program (a.k.a. Monday Night Program) is set up as a formal classroom setting using the Finding God and Growing In Love texts. Sessions are held at a local public school from 6:30 to 7:45 pm. Class sizes range from 8 to 12 children. Parents are expected to work with catechists by reviewing the lesson with their children and together completing the section at the conclusion of each lesson labeled Faith Alive at Home and in the Parish. Refer to the calendar on the next page for class sessions.
Catechists:
Since this program is a formal classroom setting, there will be a catechist and assistant assigned to each class. Anyone interested in volunteering in this program can contact the Faith Formation office.
K-5 Centralized Program Schedule of Classes:
| Date | Session | Date | Session |
| Sept 13 | Class 1 & Parent Meeting | Jan 17 | No Class |
| Sept 20 | Class 2 | Jan 24 | Class 16 |
| Sept 27 | Class 3 | Jan 31 | Class 17 |
| Oct 4 | Class 4 | Feb 7 | Class 18 |
| Oct 11 | Class 5 | Feb 14 | Class 19 |
| Oct 18 | Class 6 | Feb 21 | No Class |
| Oct 25 | Class 7—All Souls Day Family Event—Legacy Room | Feb 28 | Class 20 |
| Nov 1 | No Class | Mar 7 | Class 21 |
| Nov 8 | Class 8 | Mar 14 | Class 22 |
| Nov 15 | Class 9 | Mar 21 | Class 23 |
| Nov 22 | No Class | Mar 28 | No Class |
| Nov 29 | Class 10 | Apr 4 | Class 24 |
| Dec 6 | Class 11 | Apr 11 | Class 25 |
| Dec 13 | Class 12 | Apr 18 | No Class |
| Dec 20 | Class 13 | Apr 25 | No Class |
| Dec 27 | No Class | May 2 | Class 26 |
| Jan 3 | Class 14 | May 9 | Class 27 |
| Jan 10 | Class 15 | May 16 | Class 28 |
Vacation Bible School:
Children had a great time this past summer at the VBS program called Baobab Blast. If you would like to help make the 2011 Summer VBS program possible by volunteering, contact Ricardo Valdez in the parish office. The tentative date for next year’s program is the second week of July.
Catechesis on Morality and Healthy Relationships
Holy Family would like to help you present your children with a healthy, life-giving, and positive message about human sexuality. Our curriculum, Catechesis on Morality and Healthy Relationships, is rooted in wholesome human values, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His teachings, and is in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
While we commonly equate the term “sexuality” with issues surrounding sexual intercourse, the term actually refers to much more than that. According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, sexuality is “the integral part of each person that is energy for human relatedness. It includes qualities of sensitivity, understanding, intimacy, openness to others, compassion and mutual support.” - Human Sexuality, A Catholic Perspective for Education and Lifelong Learning, USCCB 1990.
Often the values we would like to pass on to our children are not reflected in our contemporary culture. We must work deliberately to pass on our beliefs because no one else is doing this for us. To help pass on the message of morality and healthy relationships to our children, Holy Family uses a text called Growing in Love with its K-8 Faith Formation Programs. Growing in Love comes with grade level specific student books and parent packets that are given out at the beginning of each year. The parent packet contains materials for families to review together before each lesson is covered in the classroom.
Holy Family encourages and invites parents to attend one of the parent meetings listed below to review the topics and materials of this grade-specific curriculum. Student, family, and catechist resources will be available at each meeting to preview.
Families who would rather be the sole teachers of this catechesis are welcome to do so. We ask that these families simply complete an opt-out form and return it to the parish office. These forms can be found on the parish website under the bulletins and forms tab.
The following are the dates, time, and locations of the 2010/2011 Parent Meetings (dates/times subject to change):
| K-5 Parent Meetings: |
| Monday, May 17 | 6:30 pm | Legacy 1 |
| Monday, Aug 23 | 6:30 pm | Legacy 1 |
| 6-8 Parent Meetings: |
| Thurs, May 27 | 7:00 pm | Legacy 1 |
| Wed, Sept 1 | 7:00 pm | Legacy 1 |
| (RSVP to Faith Formation Office is required one week before meeting.) |
Downloadable items:
Centralized Program Lesson Correlation and Schedule - 2010-2011 Click here
Middle School (6-8) Lesson Correlation - 2010-2011 Click here
K-8 Catechesis on Morality and Healthy Relationships Opt-out Form - 2010-2011 Click here
Catechists – K- 8
Catechists are teachers of the faith. They are to proclaim Christ’s message, participate in efforts to develop community, lead people to worship and prayer, and motivate them to serve others. Parents are the primary catechists for their children (informally and formally at times).
Meetings:
Catechist meetings are to help catechists, assistants, and the Director of Faith Formation understand how the program is moving along and to take the opportunity to see how any of our programs can be improved. Since there are only three meetings for this catechetical year, it is pertinent that catechists and co-catechists attend.
Catechist Meetings 2010-2011 (dates/times subject to change):
| Saturday, Aug 28 | All K-8 Orientation | 8:30 am | Legacy Room |
| Wednesday, Nov 3 | All K-5 | 7:00 pm | Legacy 2 |
| Tuesday, Nov 30 | All 6-8 | 7:30 pm | Legacy 2 |
| Thursday, May 12 | All 6-8 | 7:30 pm | Legacy 2 |
| Monday, May 23 | All K-5 | 7:00 pm | Legacy 2 |
These meetings apply to all catechists, co-catechists, and parents of home schoolers according to grade.
Catechist Resources:
K-5 Centralized Program Packet Click here
K-5 Neighborhood Group (NG)/Home School (HS) Packet Click here
Middle School Packet Click here
Catechesis on Morality and Healthy Relationships Click here
ROCK (Middle School)
The ROCK is the title for the middle school program which includes all students in grades 6-8. It is comprised of several integral components:
Neighborhood or home school catechetical sessions
First Friday events that are interactive and informal
Service opportunities
Students are also encouraged to become involved in the ministries available for teens: Greeters, Nursery, CLOW, Centralized Program, Landscape, Music, Altar Servers, and Welcome Committee.
Neighborhood Groups/Home School:
Middle schoolers enrolled in the neighborhood groups meet in homes or other appropriate places 7 times in the first semester (September through December) and 8 times in the second semester (January through May) with other children of the same grade using the Finding God and Growing In Love texts. The lesson time should be a minimum of 90 minutes. Parents are responsible for organizing and teaching within the groups with the assistance of the faith formation office.
Catechists:
Parents are to share the responsibilities of teaching the lessons using the catechist text, but one parent assumes the role of “point of contact.” This person creates a syllabus for the group that is submitted to the faith formation office. The syllabus includes dates, times, lesson #, (First Fridays are to be included) location of each class, and contact information of each family in the group. It also includes the names and grade of each child. All parents are required to attend catechist meetings (see above for more information).
Service:
Christian service projects are essential elements of the ROCK. Service opportunities are scheduled by neighborhood groups. Groups should collaborate with one another and also try to involve the home school students. Opportunities may include but are not limited to: visits to Vindabona Nursing Home, collecting food for the Middletown Food Bank at Safeway, assisting to fill and wrap care packages for college students and members of the military, cutting ornaments for Helping Hands, and purchasing gifts for Helping Hands participants.
First Fridays:
These events offer time for middle schoolers to socialize and grow their faith in a large group setting. Fun, faith-filled activities are offered at each First Friday. Friends, Catholic or not, are welcome to all First Friday events and other social events. All children enrolled in the ROCK are expected to attend these events as part of their faith formation.
First Friday Calendar 2010-2011—7:00 pm-9:00 pm (dates/times are subject to change)
Parent Involvement:
Holy Family asks that parents of middle schoolers volunteer for at least one First Friday event and/or volunteer to chaperone an off-site activity during the year. All volunteers must be “Stand Trained” and are encouraged to submit a Driving Record Consent form as well, in order to assist with carpools. Contact Carolyn Kilonsky for more information.
Total Youth Ministry (High School)
Holy Family high school teens meet regularly during the school year on Sunday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 pm for religious formation. Other activities are planned throughout the year to help build community among the young people and to foster spiritual growth. Consult the bulletin and the web site for -up to date info and forms.
TYM Advisors:
Caring, committed adults are invited to consider working with our youth. TYM Advisors meet once every month from 7-8:30 pm to plan TYM sessions. We use pre-planned sessions from the Center for Ministry Development program called Youth Ministry Access. These gathered youth nights fall in the categories of catechesis, social justice, advocacy, prayer/worship and more. All adult volunteers must be “Stand Trained”. This commitment runs from Sept-May.
Total Youth Ministry Calendar 2010-2011
| Date | Session | Date | Session |
| Sept 12 | TYM Session | Feb 6 | TYM Session |
| Sept 26 | TYM Session | Feb 13 | TYM Session |
| Oct 10 | TYM Session | Mar 6 | Chastity Rally |
| Oct 24 | Theology of the Body | Mar 13 | TYM Session |
| Nov 7 | TYM Session | Mar 20 | TYM Session |
| Nov 14 | TYM Session | Apr 3 | TYM Session |
| Dec 5 | Advent WCCE | Apr 10 | TYM Session |
| Dec 19 | TYM Session | Apr 16 | Archdiocesan Pilgrimage |
| Jan 9 | TYM Session | May 1 | TYM Session |
| Jan 24 | March for Life | May 15 | TYM Session |
| Jan 30 | TYM Session | | |
TYM Service Projects:
Sept. 19 Wash For Life Click here for Permission Form due by Sept. 19
