Seven Holy Founders Handbook

2022-2023

Welcome to Seven Holy Founders Parish School of Religion. We are honored to partner with you on enriching and educating your children in the Catholic Faith. Our mission here at Seven Holy Founders is the following:

Rooted in the Servite traditions, Seven Holy Founders Faith Formation program exists in order to provide quality religious education to the children of our parish and community, leading them in faith, and encouraging them through instruction and example to serve God and others.

In this packet, you will also find Student Emergency Forms and Media Permission forms. Please fill these out and put them in the envelope provided. On the 1^st night of in person class, there will be a basket at drop off to put them in. These forms MUST accompany the student on the 1^st night of class. (September 11th)

Please let me know if you have any other questions. The best way to get a hold of me is by email, jbroyles@foundersaffton.org If you need me to call you, please leave name, number, and best time to call you back. 

I pray that everyone stays safe and healthy. We are looking forward to being with our students this year!

May Peace and Happiness be with you all!

Jenifer Broyles

SHF Religion Coordinator

jbroyles@foundersaffton.org

Protocol for Drop off/Pick up

We will have drop off in front of the school building. Staff will help assist your child out of the car so they can walk in the main school building doors. Students will then go to the gymnasium and get in their class line.

• Hand Sanitizing Stations will still be set up for students to use before entering classrooms.

Pick up

• Parents are asked to line up in a car line in front of the building and stand outside their car to wait for their student.
• Students will be dismissed by grade and escorted out of the building by their catechists. Please be patient as we make sure all students get safely to their cars. As soon as everyone is in their cars we will release the car line.
• Parents of students in grades 1^st through 4^th are allowed to get out of their cars and stand on the sidewalks in front of school to wait for their students to come out of the building. 

Health Check

• Please take your child’s temperature and make sure they are showing no symptoms of being sick before dropping them off to PSR. We are asking that if your child will not be attending the in person class to call the PSR Office 314-633-0123 or email Jenifer Broyles at jbroyles@foundersaffton.org to let us know why your child will be absent. We are required to document every child’s absence with a reason.
• If at any time after your child enters the building and becomes ill or with fever, they will be quarantined in a room by the office and asked to rest there till a parent comes and picks them up. A follow up with the Religion Coordinator (Jenifer Broyles) will be required before returning to the next in person class.
• If a student of Seven Holy Founders PSR contracts the Covid 19 virus, please contact the Religion Coordinator Jenifer Broyles to let them know the time and date your child tested positive. The health department will then be notified with the information and advise us on moving forward with our program. PLEASE NOTE: The name of the individual student will not be given out that tested positive, BUT all PSR parents will be notified a student tested positive, what class they attended, and day they tested positive so they can make an informed decision to quarantine their student/Family member and to notify people with whom they have come in close contact with.
• Please note the same protocol will be put in place if a SHF PSR Catechists tests positive for the Covid 19 virus.
• Students and catechists who test positive with the Covid 19 virus are not to return to in person class until they: 1- quarantined for the required 14 days. 2- No more symptoms. 3- Received a negative test result.
• PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD TO IN PERSON CLASS IF AT ANYTIME THEY OR A CLOSE FAMILY MEMBER HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO THE COVID 19 VIRUS.

Seven Holy Founders Religious Curriculum

Alive in Christ by Our Sunday Visitor

►Jesus Christ is at the Center
Alive in Christ is intentional in its focus on the life, mission and saving work of Jesus Christ. This lays the foundation for a lifelong relationship with Jesus, who "...alone can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity"(CCC 426).
►Building Knowledge of, and Reverence for, Sacred Scripture
Sacred Scripture from both the Old and New Testament is presented in ways that encourage students to learn about the people and stories of the Bible and listen to the voice of God.
►Comprehensive Presentation of Catholic Teaching
Alive in Christ provides a comprehensive and systematic presentation of the Catholic faith. Key themes of Catholic teaching are repeated each year through a grade-level lens, building on the child's knowledge of the faith at each developmental stage.
►Unique and Effective Pedagogy
Mirroring the divine pedagogy, each lesson begins with God's invitation through Sacred Scripture and leads children to reflect on his Word, study it in Sacred Tradition, and respond with a lived faith.
►Developmentally Responsive and Appropriate
Written by a team of experts in child psychology, education and theology, Alive in Christ incorporates the most trusted research on how children learn and communicate. Faith concepts are presented at important developmental "windows"—ages when research in child development tells us that learning about a particular topic would be most effective.
►Putting Faith into Practice
Activities and questions throughout each lesson prompt children to relate knowledge of our faith with their life experience so they can apply the many ways we worship, live, pray, and serve together as Catholics.
►Complete and Purposeful Approach to Prayer and Worship
At every grade level, Alive in Christ intentionally incorporates the five basic forms of prayer and provides complete lessons on Church feasts and seasons.
►Tools for Involving Families in Children's Faith Formation
The "Family + Faith" page and an extensive website give families the tools they need to know what their children are learning, talk about their Catholic faith, and recognize ways they can apply it to their daily lives.
►Support for Both Novice and Experienced Catechists
Alive in Christ Catechist Edition empowers catechists with easy-to-use and effective tools for lesson planning, teaching and reinforcing faith concepts, and growing in their own relationship with Christ and his Church.
►Organized in a Convenient, Consistent, Time-Saving Format
The key concepts, doctrinal content, and chapter objectives are fully explained and conveniently located at the beginning of each chapter.
►Easy-To-Use Wraparound Lesson Plan
Clear, concise, wraparound lesson plan leads the catechist page-by-page through the effective three-step process with integrated connections to music, Sacred Scripture, teaching tips, liturgy links, and Catholic Social Teaching.