Religious Education 2022-2023 – Contact Aida Willis

K-6 FAITH FORMATION CALENDAR 2022-2023

St Mary of Sorrows will offer In-Person Classes for Religious Education in grades K-6th for the next academic year. We will use Health and Cleaning protocols in the classrooms recommended by local and Diocesan guidelines for schools.

Families who home school for all subjects, full-time, may home school for Religious Education during sacramental year, Grade 2.

Grades K-6 Schedule of Class offerings 2022-2023:

(A) Sunday 9:00am – 10:15am
(B) Sunday 10:45am – 12 noon
(C) Sunday 3:00pm – 4:15pm 2nd grade only
(D) Monday 5:15pm – 6:30pm 

Class sizes will be based on safety distance guidelines and filled on a first come, first served basis.

2022-2023 Registration Fees

(Due at the time of registration – No Refunds)

• $170 One child
• $190 Two or more children

If your child has not been baptized or is in 3rd – 6th grade and has not received the Sacrament of First Holy Communion, please contact Aida Willis (703-978-4141 x129).

Registration Forms

New to St Mary of Sorrows and need to register your family? Please use this Parish Registration Form.

2022-2023 Religious Education Registration Form

If you are registering your child in 2nd grade or RCIC – First Holy Communion, complete the First Holy Communion Registry Form, submit this form along with a copy of your child’s Baptismal Certificate:

First Communion Registry Form

We rely on our wonderful volunteer Catechists to teach the children. Please consider volunteering so that every class will have a Catechist and an Aide. The Religious Education fee is waived for parents or grandparents who volunteer to be a Catechist or Aide.

For more information, please email aidaw@stmaryofsorrows.org.

Grade Level Goals and Overviews 

Kindergarten

The goal of our kindergarten classes is to develop the Roman Catholic identity of each child, within the Catholic family and the parish family.  The child learns basic prayers and religious vocabulary. Genuflection, Sign of the Cross, Our Father, Hail Mary, Guardian Angel Prayer, Grace Before and After Meals.

Grade 1

The goal is to provide a general introduction to the Catholic Faith.  Each child will be led to a deeper knowledge of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  As the child begins the two-year preparation for the reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist, parents should attend Sunday Mass with their child every week.  As the child prepares to join the community at the Eucharistic table, he/she must begin to understand and appreciate the Sunday assembly.  Children learn by doing and imitating; participation in the liturgy is therefore essential. Sign of the Cross, Our Father, Hail Mary, Guardian Angel Prayer, Grace Before and After Meals, Glory Be.

Grade 2

The goal is to help the child understand more deeply the sacramental life of the Church specifically through the study of and preparation for the sacrament of Penance and by means of a greater appreciation of the Holy Eucharist.  Students usually make their First Confession and receive their First Holy Communion in the spring of the second grade year.  During the second year of sacramental preparation parents will be given Reconciliation and Eucharist materials to be completed at home by the child with parental assistance.  Parents are invited to share this important time of preparation with their child.  Previous grade prayers and the Act of Contrition, Acts of Faith, Hope and Love, Morning Offering, understanding of appropriate reverence for the Eucharist, introduction to the Rosary, Sign of the Cross, Our Father, Hail Mary, Guardian Angel Prayer, Grace Before and After Meals and Glory Be.

Grade 3

The goal is to further the student’s understanding of the Church as a community of faith, continuing the work of Jesus on earth.  The Sacraments of Initiation are reviewed.  Previous grade prayers, the Apostles’ Creed, the Stations of the Cross, and the Fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary.

Grade 4

The goal is to introduce the maturing student to the basis of Catholic moral teaching and the role of conscience in guiding moral decisions.  The Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes are the focus of the fourth grade.  Previous grade prayers, memorization of the Ten Commandments and the Eight Beatitudes, Two Commandments of Love, parts of the Mass, examination of conscience, Spiritual and Corporal works of mercy. 

Grade 5

The goal is to provide the student as he/she matures with a more thorough understanding of the Sacraments as sources of God’s grace and of the central place of the Celebration of the Eucharist as the heart and summit of the Church’s life.  Previous grade prayers, Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love, Prayer of Consecration for the Eucharist, Benediction, Divine Praises, Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction, Hail Holy Queen, Memorare.

Grade 6

The goal is to introduce the student to Sacred Scripture.  Students study the Old Testament, becoming familiar with the creation stories of Genesis, our Hebrew ancestors in faith, and God’s covenant with His Chosen People.  They will learn that God’s saving actions and His love are manifested in salvation history and fulfilled in Jesus.  Each student receives a copy of the St. Joseph Bible in addition to the grade level text. Previous grade prayers, the Memorare, the Angelus, Planning a Prayer Service, Stations of the Cross, and the Idea of Christian Service as act of Charity.

TEXTS
K – 6
We Believe (Sadlier, a Division of William H. Sadlier, Inc.)
Lectio Divina