August 13, 2020
Dear Parents,
I hope this letter finds you and your families well and in good spirits as we continue to struggle and fight the chaos this pandemic has caused each one of us. But remember, God has not forgotten us or abandoned us or left us on our own. He is there; all we have to do is speak to him.
I am writing to tell you of our plans for the 2020 / 2021 Parish School of Religion.
Our priority has always been, and will always be, the safety of our children, our catechists and staff. We have met numerous times and have given much thought to what the upcoming year might look like for our program.
After thoughtful consideration, we have decided that the safest way to share our faith with our students would be to start with a home learning program. We have, in the past, over a hundred students in our program, and they come to us from many different schools and school districts. We have a limited time frame in which we can hold classes in the school building, and we have a limited amount of classroom space available as we would be burdened with the required social distancing. Maintaining these rooms and ensuring CDC safety precautions are just not feasible and cost justifiable at this time. Therefore, we do not feet that it would be prudent to offer on-site classes at this time.
When it is safe to host in person, on-site classes following all the guidelines and protocols, we will adjust our program accordingly.
We are still working out the details, but basically the program will be conducted as home schooling by you, the parents. We will provide books for each student (the cost is $35 payable with your registration or the night of our parent orientation meeting). Our catechists will continue to be an integral part of the learning process working with you on weekly lesson plans and advising of additional learning materials that may be available to assist you in helping your family grow in our faith.
In order to help you understand the program in more detail, we will be holding a parent orientation meeting on September 16 at 6 pm in the Parish Life Center. At this time you will be able to meet your child(s) teacher and hear what they can do to help you in the process. It is extremely important that at least one parent from each family attend this orientation. Failure to do so will put you and your child at a disadvantage with regard to expectations.
Also, attached is a registration form for 2020/2021. Please e-mail this registration form to me so we know the number of books (by class) that we need to order. All registration forms need to be submitted to me by September 1 so that books can be available for the orientation meeting on September 16.
Thanks you for your time. Stay safe and healthy and for those who choose this option I will see you on in September.
Sincerely,
Deacon Fred