School of Religion (SOR)

Mission Statement
The Religious Education Department of Prince of Peace Catholic Church accepts the mission of being Christ to others. We seek to foster the faith lives of our children and youth by involving them in the three-fold mission of the Church:

• Worship: to celebrate liturgies of praise and thanksgiving.
• Education: to proclaim the teachings of the Catholic Church to all people through Scripture and tradition under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
• Service: to see Christ in all people and to serve the community in His name.

PROGRAM OF STUDY

The program of study follows the guidelines of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops and uses tests approved by the Archdiocesan Office of Christian Formation.

The following are the themes and general topics to be covered:

Preschool

• 3 yr. olds – Sharing God’s Story
• 4 yr. olds – Sharing God’s Story

Kindergarten through Confirmation Preparation

Resources for Christian Living (RCL) Faith First uses a spiral approach to learning our Catholic faith. The four pillars of the Catechism of the Catholic Church - Creed, Sacraments, Morality, and Prayer – are taught and developed every year on every grade level. This ensures that the beliefs of our faith are introduced to, and reinforced for, the young people as they grow, develop and mature in their faith.

This educationally-sound method means that each student will build upon and reinforce what they have previously learned. The result is age-appropriate learning on all topics of the faith.

The Junior High program uses the series Faith First from RCL Publishing. The first year confirmation candidates will use the text Jesus and the New Testament and will focus on the Gospels and New Testament and how it connects to their lives today. Second year confirmation candidates will use Faith First’s Morality: Life is Christ text as well as other resources to prepare them for the Sacrament of Confirmations.

Be sure to visit FaithFirst.com for additional resources for faith formation.

School of Religion (SOR) 2008/2009 Registration

It’s time for Prince of Peace School of Religion to begin enrolling for the 2008/2009 school year. Please keep the following information in mind, as it will be helpful in enrolling your students.

It is Church policy that all families be formally registered as members of Prince of Peace Parish in order to be enrolled in SOR. Registration with the parish is accomplished by appointment through the Parish Office at 782-8864. Since SOR cannot process your child’s enrollment until this is done, please register with the Church as soon as possible so there will be no delay in the placement of your child.

We enroll students on a first come/first serve basis. The earlier we receive your registration form, the more likely we will be able to place your child in your first choice of night and time.

It is our policy not to accept requests for placement of students together in the same classroom. Our goal is to enable students to make new friendships within our parish community.

Please remember to fill out all information requested on the registration form. Don’t forget to include a first and second choice for night and time. Also if your child has a learning disability, a food allergy or some other physical concern, please indicate it on the back of the enrollment form. Please supply an e-mail address that is regularly checked. The SOR Office communicates updates, last minute weather related cancellation of classes, upcoming events and reminders and via e-mail.

If you have not supplied a baptismal certificate for your child, please attach it to this form.

If you have a student that has missed receiving any of the following sacraments: Baptism, Reconciliation, Eucharist or Confirmation, please call the SOR Office so we can determine the appropriate placement for your child.

Confirmation Classes—Please note, that the Jr. High students preparing for Confirmation will meet on Sunday night from 6:30 - 8:00 PM.
We will no longer offer the Wednesday night session. Confirmation Prep is a two year mandatory commitment usually started in the 7th grade. An 8th grader may begin the process and be confirmed in the 9th grade, however, for 9th -12th graders we offer a one year accelerated program called Rite of Christian Initiation for Teens.

A $25.00 deposit per family is required to process your registration. This fee will be applied toward the total cost of registration.

Remember that all fees are waived for parents volunteering to teach. Joining our team is a great opportunity to learn more about your faith and to share it with our young church members. If you are interested in teaching or co-teaching, call us at the office or just fill out the volunteer form in this packet.

Welcome to our program and may God bless you and your family. If we can be of help to you, please give us a call at 829-1147.