Religious Formation

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.
BELIEVE THAT GOD SURROUNDS YOU WITH LOVE.
BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE A SPECIAL GIFT
OF FAITH TO SHARE.
BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE GOD'S INSTRUMENT.

CATECHIST GATHERINGS

Participate In Catechist In-services and Sharing/Reflection Sessions. If you are unable to make it to these sessions, please let the Director know. They are scheduled into the calendar for the year. It is important for us as catechists to form faith community between ourselves. Each of us has a piece of the wisdom and affirmation to share with each other that will help our Catechetical ministry blossom in fruitfulness in each child and the future of our parish.

You need to come fifteen minutes early to our sessions so that any upcoming event or any last minute changes can be noted by you reading through the Director’s note. Catechists are encouraged to attend adult enrichment opportunities in the parish, and in the Twin Cities area. The director will inform you of any Archdiocesan events.

Anytime you are struggling with a session or with behavior from someone in your sessions, or you wish to have a quick theological update on a particular topic, or you just want to talk, please take the initiative to contact the Director. We're here for you, as you need us. Please make your needs known.

Texts are kept in the buckets for Grades 5-8. Texts for Grades 1-4 go in the children’s folders so they are able to take them home. When you arrive to catechize, before going to our dining hall, or to your room, and please get your attendance chart and note from the catechist box in the Faith Formation workroom on the lower floor of the formation building near the Faith Formation office. Extra paper is found in your bucket that is kept in the room where you catechize. Pencils, crayons, markers, glue and scissors can be found in the shared bucket and caddy, also kept in the room. If you need additional items, try to order them the week before on the Materials Request Form, or call the Faith Formation Office (651-484-0048) by noon of the day you will be catechizing, and we will have the materials for you in the workroom.

Please try to arrive at least 15 minutes before the sessions begin, so you have time to read your note from the Director. Check in the lower hall by the Faith Formation Office before going to your room or to large group in the dining room. If your group is scheduled to meet right away in your room, take attendance there. If your group is scheduled to begin in the dining room, please remain until the Director dismisses the children and youth groups. If we haven't started our group prayer or input, begin taking attendance in the dining hall. Finish attendance once you are in your group's room. Start your session even if some children are missing. The way to begin, after taking attendance, is to outline the objectives and goals (tell the children/youth what they are to learn and do for that day). Approximately 10 minutes after the session begins, mark those that are tardy with a 'T' and see that your attendance chart is placed in the plastic holder outside the door, or place it on the floor next to your door. If someone comes after 4:45 or 6:45 p.m., send that child to the workroom, even if your chart is still on the door so that office helpers may mark them tardy and bring the children, unless your small group is excused or they are Confirmation Candidates. At times, the Candidates may be asked to participate in our large group process. At every session, all youth and children are expected to be part of our large group process at the beginning or end of our session.

CATECHIST BOX

Some items will be in the catechist box marked for your session time in the Faith Formation Workroom every week. They are your attendance chart, your catechist note, and your Faith Connection. Please read the catechist note in advance of the session because there may be important information/reflection for prior to and/or during your session. Any handouts and copies will be in the box as well. Materials Request Forms are located on the counter in the back of the workroom. Place your request for material, help, or whatever in the file marked for the Faith Formation office.

REGISTRATIONS

Refer anyone not on your list to the Workroom before your session begins. If someone invites a "guest" to their group, they should tell you the week before. Please inform the Director either before or after your session that you have a guest. Children should just visit once, unless that person is going to register.

DURING SESSIONS

Do not leave small group sessions or rooms, unless previously arranged. If your group needs a "break," please keep the children or youth within the room. Note the break time to them, e.g., "two minutes and this is what you might do in this time." Do not dismiss your group early. If everyone is dismissed at the same time, this will eliminate children and youth disrupting other groups that are still in session. Grades 1- 4 may receive permission to use the restroom one at a time. Grade 5-8 should use the restroom before or after the session. In an emergency, the hall monitor and/or Director will escort individuals. If you need anything during your session, do not leave your room. call the workroom at 3246 on the room phone. If there is no answer, call 3258. At no time are you to leave the children or youth by themselves.

ATTENDANCE & DISMISSAL

Please check attendance each week and record on the attendance sheet. Please inform the Director is someone is absent three times in a row or has inconsistent attendance. We will try to have helpers call home for anyone who is absent, if the parents have not called St. John's Faith Formation Office before the session. The number to call in case of an absence is (651) 484-0048. In case of an emergency, please call (651) 288-3258 or (651) 288-3259 and leave a voice message.

Please do not dismiss a child/youth from your group before the end of the session unless s/he has a written excuse from parent/guardian and approval from the Director. Please call the Director if someone brings a note that particular evening. The youth should be sent to the Faith Formation Workroom where the parent/guardian will pick up the child/youth. The children and youth may not go out to their car without the parent coming into the workroom and picking her or him up no matter what age the child/youth is.

Do not add anyone to your list by hand. Write his/her name on a separate sheet and place it in the Faith Formation Office.

SESSION EVALUATIONS

Every month catechists spend 3-5 minutes filling out a session evaluation. The evaluation forms will be put in your file in the catechist box. Please return them to the

file marked Faith Formation Office. Please indicate how things are going. If you are experiencing any problems or challenges, you may also schedule a confidential appointment with the Director. We encourage you to share any positive experiences that have happened in your session. This is affirmation to our program, and it helps the Director keep in touch with what is happening in small groups.

CORRESPONDENCE TO PARENTS

If you would like correspondence sent home to parents, please let the Director know. We can make sure things are sent out. Always give a copy of the intended correspondence to the Director, in case of parental inquiry.

MACHINES AND AUDIO VISUAL MATERIAL

Please use audio visual materials and machines. There are a number of audio visual materials available in the Faith Formation Workroom. We also have the Archdiocesan Audio Visual Catalog from which materials can be ordered. If you need assistance, check with the Director. Using a variety of methods in your group is good. Return remotes and audio visual materials to their proper places, if possible. If audiovisual material is already set up in your room and you're not sure where it should be returned and bring it to the Workroom. The Director or other helpers will put it away. Put the video or cassette in your folder in the catechist box. If you want to use your own audio visual materials, please check with the Director. In addition we have a CD with audio visual offerings from the Superior Diocese. Sometimes the St. Paul/Mpls Archdiocese has the same materials. In addition there is an online sight to find materials; service is provided to pick up videos on Thursdays. The Archdiocesan resource website is www.archspm.org. Click on Jeffrey Johnson Instructional Material Center link.

GROUP LISTS AND ROOM ASSIGNMENTS

Look over your group list, and note the different schools the children attend. Familiarize yourself with their names and have the children familiarize themselves with one another. Ask if a child has a nickname he or she prefers to be called. Names, phone numbers, birth dates, parent’s names, school, etc. are listed on your group list.

If you rearrange the desks or any other materials, please put them back the way you found them. This helps the schoolteacher the following day or the catechist following you. Please remind children/youth to respect the property in the rooms and to reverence people. No entering the desks of other parish children. When eating, pasting, painting, cutting, or doing any messy activity, please arrange to be in the dining room or muscle room. Have children and youth help. Should damage occur in a room, the person (or people) will be help responsible for the property through repayment. If the person (or people) responsible for the damage are not known, the whole group will be held responsible for repayment or the cost will be picked up by Religious Formation if no one is found who is responsible for the damage. All concerns are brought to the Director and the Principle of the School. You will receive room environment evaluation forms for the how the room looks when you enter it. If something is out of place or in a space you need to use, please note that. Also, note if you are unable to use the board if you need it. Place these in the Faith Formation Office file.

TREATS/SNACKS

Each group up to Grade 2 receive treat buckets. The treat assignment bucket will be passed from child to child each week. When the child gets the treat bucket, she/he is asked to bring treats the following week for the number in your group. Older youth may bring a treat as assigned by the catechist. Children should not be eating their own food or have their own drinks. All treats must be shared. Throw away all wrappers in the dining hall waste baskets. Beverages will be allowed for special occasions. However, if pop is used, you must collect the pop cans and recycle them either at St. John's or on your own. Gum is not allowed ever. All treats must be eaten in the dining hall or muscle room.

The Formation Office will provide any typed and/or copy materials for you. Please give the office advance notice. For typing, we ask that you give the materials two or three days in advance of the session for which you need them. If copying is needed, one day advance notice would be appreciated or by noon on the day the item is needed. You may place your request in the Faith Formation file, or place your request in an envelope marked for the Director and place it in the collection, or bring it to the Faith Formation Office Monday - Thursday morning, afternoon and evenings.

For copies, please fill out the entire request form. Indicate your name, your group number, the date you need them, and the number of copies you need. If you need copies the same evening, please allow at least a half hour for copies to be returned to your group. Any copies requested for your session will be in your file in the catechist box.

CATECHIST ABSENCE

Substitute Catechist Requests will be in a file marked Substitute sheet. We ask that you please find your own sub first. If you need a substitute for an upcoming session, please write your name, grade, and group number on the form. Also include the person who will be substituting for you if possible. Leave out the substitute’s name if you are not able to find one. The sooner you know the date you will be absent, the easier it will be to obtain a substitute. As the date nears, please add information and rituals you would like shared with the children or youth, so that this information may be shared with the substitute. If you are able, try to get your own substitute such as one of the children’s parents or a friend. If you are not able to get a substitute, the Director will assist you in making arrangements. Please call the Director by 7:00 p.m. the day before you are schedule to catechize. If you are ill, call 651-288-3258 ASAP.

BOOKS

If you have a particular topic coming up and would like a story or book to go with it, check with the Director for resources. Books are numerous, but not everything is kept in the Faith Formation Office. There is a list of books in the Faith Formation work room. We have additional resources since last year, check out these new resources.

MOST IMPORTANT

Feel free to come into the Faith Formation Office, located on the lower level of St. John’s School and Faith Formation building. Call or visit anytime concerning problems or joys that may be a part of your experience. We are happy to talk over procedures, session plans, methods, discipline, rituals, games, skits, etc. on a one-on-one basis. We will walk this journey together!

”We walk by faith not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7)