Nashville Tennessee Cathedral of the Incarnation Catholic Church

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Dear Parent,

The Cathedral Religious Education program is designed to help your child grow spiritually at their individual level of experience and comprehension. Integral to each class session is an understanding of the gospel message of Jesus Christ; it’s application to their lives as Catholic Christians, and the teachings and traditions of our church.

Please realize that the program is meant only to supplement your vocation as a parent. This vocation covers everything from caring for your child’s daily needs, chauffeuring him or her to and from school or other activities, playing ball with him or her, to saying nighttime prayers. What you do and say during daily life teaches more to your child then we can ever hope to accomplish in one hour of instruction per week.

As you minister to your children, I ask you to be especially mindful of the following expectations, which are in keeping with the basic tenets of the Catholic Christian tradition.

Please plan to:

Attend Mass weekly.
Share your gifts of time, talent, and treasure.
Keep connected as a ‘church community’.
Make prayer and our faith an important part of your daily life.

By modeling these behaviors, you are setting the best possible example for your child.

With the help of the parish staff, catechists, volunteers, and you, the parent, I pledge to do my best to ensure a fruitful year of Religious Education for your child. If you have any questions or concerns about the program, please call me at 327-2330.

Suzanne Southworth
Director of Religious Education

Education & Formation Committee
This committee is part of the Parish Council. It is composed of a dedicated group of volunteers representing various aspects of parish life. This committee meets regularly with Religious Education staff to address the needs of and keep
abreast of all aspects of the Program.
-- Committee Chairperson: Katie Maloy

Sacrament Preparation
-- Reconciliation (Confession) and First Eucharist (Communion) are celebrated here in 2nd grade. Parents instruct their child at home using materials provided by the Religious Education office, and with ongoing support from our staff. Dates for parent and/or student meetings will be made available at the first meeting.

-- Confirmation is currently celebrated in the 8th grade. Most preparation and instruction takes place in the 8th grade classroom every other Sunday.

CLICK HERE to download Confirmation Schedule for 2008-2009 in PDF Format
Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed to view this file.

Special Needs
Some children have medical conditions, learning or behavioral concerns. Please indicate this information on the registration forms so we can provide appropriate care. In the event that you overlooked the back portion of the registration form pertaining to special needs, please feel free to call the Religious Education office to provide such information.

Confidential Information
300 All information relative to a student’s classroom performance or of a personal nature is confidential and will be treated as such by the catechists, office aides, and Religious Education staff.

Progress Reports
Progress reports for each student will be completed by the catechist at mid-year and mailed to the parent. These are very general in nature. Parent-teacher conferences are available if requested by the parents.

Classroom visitors
Children not registered in the program may not accompany your child to class for a number reasons, one being liability issues.

Cancellations
In the event of severe weather, classes will be canceled if city officials are advising people to remain home. All Nashville television stations will be asked to announce Cathedral Religious Education cancellations.

Cathedral Religious Education Philosophy
Parents are the primary educators of their children. With this in mind, our staff regards the religious formation of a person as springing from three sources:
1) The lived family life and religious consciousness that can occur only in the home.
2) Classroom instruction imparting basic knowledge regarding the church community and the life and teaching of Jesus Christ.
3) Support from the Religious Education office that enables parents to prepare their child for the reception of the Sacraments.

Religious Education Classes
The Cathedral offers the following, which closely follows the academic year: (September-April) Please refer to the yearly schedule sent to your home. All classes meet on Sundays in St Albert Hall.
-- Preschool (ages 3 & 4) and Kindergarten meet during 11:00 AM Mass. Dismissal at 12:00 or whenever Mass has ended.
-- Grades Kindergarten through 8 meet from 9:30 until 10:45 AM.
-- Grade 8 (Confirmation prep. class) meets twice a month from 12:15-2:00 Sunday afternoons in St. Albert Hall.

Textbooks
-- The preschool classes use This Is Our Faith, a religious education series published by Silver Burdett & Ginn.
-- Grades Kindergarten through 8 will use Faith First by RCL
The texts will remain in the classroom, but your child should bring home a completed chapter, (torn from the text), each week.

Religious Education Guidelines

The Catechists are requested to arrive 15 minutes before class begins to prepare their classroom and to guarantee supervision of the children who arrive early. Students are not to be left in the classroom until the catechist has arrived unless a parent stays with them. You are encouraged to accompany your child to class. This is most important for young children.
Be sure your child arrives on time and strive for weekly attendance.
If a child misses two consecutive classes, parents will be contacted.
Make an effort early in the year to introduce yourself to your child’s catechist and aide.
Please contact the Religious Education office if your child is unable to attend a class, if you move, change phone numbers, or if your child drops from the program for any reason.

Classroom Behavior
A reminder concerning classroom behavior, as stated in the letter you received.

Follow directions and classroom rules.
Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
No teasing or inappropriate language

In order to facilitate spiritual growth, all the children deserve the most positive classroom climate possible. If a student chooses to disregard one of the above mentioned expectations, he or she will first receive a warning from the catechist. If the misbehavior continues, he or she will be sent to the Directors office to talk about and personally reflect on their misbehavior.

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