Seventh Grade George Lund

of class when we play a game to review the material from that day

or a previous week. More than

this, though, the consistent

enthusiasm and energy the students bring help them

respond to almost all the classes

positively and fruitfully.”

They are often surprised by the depth of the questions the

students raise in the course of

our discussions. “For example, last week we talked about prayer

and the different ways we pray,

both in the liturgy and personally.

One of the students asked how God is able to hear the prayers

of all the people on earth, and

how He can respond to all of

them. The other students built on this question and soon we were

going into God’s omnipotence

and omniscience and the divine

attributes. This curiosity and

eagerness of the students to

learn is truly exciting to see.

We’re looking forward to

continuing to learn about God

and the Sacraments He has

given us!”

This is Stephen & Marilyn’s first year in the Religious

Education Program at Christ the

King. Stephen is a seminarian in

the Old College program at the University of Notre Dame.

Marilyn is a Freshman at the

University of Notre Dame.

We asked Stephen and Marilyn what their students were

like this year. “The fifth grade

group is very energetic and positive. They are consistently

eager to learn and happy to be in

class. They have enthusiasm in

spades and their high spirits help make a great atmosphere for

learning and talking.”

The Fifth Grade curriculum

focuses on the Sacraments and their role in the Christian life.

“Over the year, we hope to move

through the seven Sacraments and gain a solid familiarity with

each one. We’ve covered

Baptism and the Eucharist

already and look forward to learning more about the other

five.”

Stephen says “the students are always delighted at the end

Fifth Grade Steven Jakubowski & Marilyn Murphy Sixth Grade Katie Hegenrother This is Katie’s first year in the religious

education program. She is a student at the

University of Notre Dame and heard about

the program through Notre Dame’s

Campus Ministry program.

Katie states “I decided to join the

program because I thought it would be a

great way to share my faith with students

and hopefully teach them that learning

about Christ can be fun. I am also inspired

by how the students are eager to learn and

ask questions about what we believe as

Catholics, which encourages me to grow in

my faith along with the students.”

The 6th grade class is a very inviting

group. Everyone is very respectful to one

another and feels comfortable sharing their

thoughts and insights on the material we

cover each week. The students also feel

comfortable enough to challenge their

peers’ thoughts to promote deeper

thinking. The students are currently

covering the unit on the Trinity.

Katie says the students seem to really

enjoy the more interactive activities that

she plan for them. “We have played

Jeopardy! style review games, made

prayer boxes, and done trust exercises that

demonstrated how we grow to build a

relationship with the Lord, all of which were

received well by the students. The 6th

grade class is always ready to try a new

activity and draw connections between the

lesson and the activity.”

In the very first week of class, the

students talked about creation, how God

created all of creation, and how each and

every thing has its own purpose in this

world. They discussed what roles different

people and creatures play in their lives and

what would be different if this creature did

not exist. Katie was amazed to hear how

the students could see the beauty in each

of God’s creations. “They were all able to

find a purpose and a new appreciation for

many different things, which was really

inspiring for me to witness on the first week

of class.”

The next unit will focus on Jesus Christ.

Katie hopes to continue incorporating

games into the classes that complement

the material and provide a more

understandable way to grasp the

overarching concepts.

George has been teaching for

23 years in the religious education

program at Christ the King. He

began helping Bob Hammond with

a 7/8th grade class when his son,

George, entered the kindergarten

program. “Since my son was in the

program I figured I could help out.”

George enjoys his current class

and says they come to class ready

to learn and willing to participate.

A few weeks ago the 7th grade

students shopped for the non-

perishable items for the

Thanksgiving Food Baskets. On

the Feast of Christ the King the

students help prepare the baskets

for delivery.

Each week George incorporates

the use of the Visions magazine for

P A G E 4

that week. Each

magazine

focuses on the

Gospel reading

for that week as it relates to the

world and to students their age.

George states “the magazine

has generated some lively

discussions.”

The students will watch the

movie The Fourth Wiseman on

December 20th, the last class

before Christmas break. It is a

movie that stars Martin Sheen as

Artaban, the fourth Magi, who

spends his life searching for

Jesus.

George is awaiting the birth

of his first grand child!

SPEC IAL PO INTS

O F IN TERE ST :

A Great Responsibility: Being the Model of Faith

By Teresa Oross

As we begin another Advent

season, we are posed with

the question, “How can I

make this Advent a

meaningful, spiritual

preparation time for

Christmas?” Many Catholics

devote more time to prayer

during Advent. We see

many opportunities in our

parish community to help

others in need during this

time. It is a challenge to

take what little extra time

we have and make the most

of it in order to deepen our

spiritual lives and faith. It is

important that we take on

this challenge, not only for

ourselves, but for our

children. Our children need

to witness your faith life in

action. They are already

witnessing it in your

commitment to bringing

them to religious education

classes and going to Mass.

They witness it in your

generosity to others and to

contributions given to

charitable organizations.

They witness it when you

pray together or they see

you praying. Another way

in which you can witness

your call to faith is to show

your children that your own,

Bad Weather

Policy

We all know living in this

area can be a challenge in

the winter months. Hoping

to make your life just a

li�le easier, our policy for

bad weather cancella�ons

has been simplified. In

order to ensure that you

are no�fied of cancelled

classes due to extreme

winter weather or related

issues, you will receive a

phone call and an e-mail as

soon as our pastor, Fr.

Steve LaCroix, CSC makes

the decision. This will keep

you from wondering

whether or not we will be

holding classes (no pun

intended).

INS IDE TH IS

I S SUE :

Kindergarten

Cheryl & Katelyn Pope

Page

2

First Grade

Laurie Kirkman &

Laurelle Case

Page

2

Third Grade

Kerri Dhoore

Page

3

Fourth Grade

Mary Radde

Page

3

Fifth Grade

Stephen Jakubowski &

Marilyn Murphy

Page

4

Seventh Grade

George Lund

Page

4

Sixth Grade

Katie Hegenrother

Page

4

Christ the King Religious Education Program

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5 V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 1

Please pray for

our Second

Grade students

as they prepare

for the

Sacrament of

Reconcilia�on on

December 9th.

personal faith development

is important to you. We

are blessed to have a

specific ministry devoted to

adult faith formation at

Christ the King. During

Advent and throughout the

new year, there will be

special guest speakers to

help adults enrich their

understanding of the

Catholic faith. At our

children’s baptisms, we

promised to raise them, to

the best of our ability, in

the Catholic faith. We

need to have a deep

understanding of the

teachings of the faith in

order to pass it on to our

children and to witness it in

our own lives. It is a

tremendous responsibility

that we agree to carry out.

However, it doesn’t have to

feel so daunting. Consider

giving yourself an early

Christmas present (or a

late Christmas present)

and attend one of the

Sunday faith formation

series on the Year of

Mercy. Learning about our

faith is truly a gift that will

last for years to come, for

yourself, and for your

children.

Stained glass project for the

Feast of Christ the King.

P A G E 2

Kindergarten Cheryl & Katelyn

Mother/daughter catechist

team Cheryl & Katelyn Pope

are in their second year as a

part of the Religious

Education program . Katelyn

is studying Early Childhood

Education at Bethel College

and was approached by Linda

Fitzpatrick to be a part of the

catechist team. Cheryl had

assisted her mother while in

college as a catechist, so the

two of them decided to teach

together.

The current kindergarten

class is an enthusiastic group.

“They love to learn about all of

the wonderful gifts God has

given us. They are eager to

respond “Thank you, God!”

verbally or through sign

language, when asked who

has given us all of these

amazing gifts!”

In the beginning of the

year, the children learned

that God created the sun,

moon, skies, trees, the birds

of the air, the fish in the sea,

and the animals on earth.

Currently, they are learning

how God created each one

of us, as individuals, with

different eye color, or hair

color, but all are the same

inside-created in God’s

image. God gives us

emotions and senses to help

us experience the wonders

of his love.

On November 1st, All

Saints’ Day, we spoke about

what it means to be a saint,

and the lives these saintly

people lives here on earth.

We sang the Litany of the

Saints, as well as each

child’s namesake saint,

responding “Pray for Us’

after each individual name.

The children dressed in

saint costumes, Students

dressed as Saint Francis of

Assisi, St. Elizabeth of

Hungary, St. Maximillian

Kolbe, ST. Joseph, St.

Bernadette, and St. Teresa

reverently processed to the

other religious education

classes, proudly

representing their given

saint.

Katelyn and Cheryl

speak of the children’s

sparkle in their eyes and

the enthusiasm they have

started pre-school. She took a

little time off, but started again

when he was a fifth graders.

She has taught pre-school, 4th

and 5th grade.

The first graders are

learning about Jesus’ life and

how Jesus heals and teaches

us to love others.

One of the activities done

in class involved reading a

book titles “A Picture of God;

Three in One”. This book

explains the Holy Trinity by

comparing the Holy Trinity to

an apple. After teaching the

lesson and reading the book,

the students were discussing

the Trinity. “It seemed like the

children really understood this

complex lesson! In addition,

the students ask very good

questions. Their thirst for

knowledge of the faith is

inspiring.”

Laurelle and Laurie are

planning a lot of fun

activities for the students

as we enter Advent,

preparing for Christmas.

First Grade Laurie Kirkman & Laurelle

Our First Grade teachers

are Laurie Kirkman and

Laurelle Case. Laurelle is

starting her second year in

the Christ the King Religious

Education program. Laurie

has been a part of the

program for 11 years now.

Laurelle attended the Christ

the King Religious Education

program throughout her

childhood. In high school,

she helped with the

Catechesis of the Good

Shepherd program. She

loves working with children

and her hope is that she can

share God’s love with the

students like her teachers did

with her. Laurie began

teaching when her son

C H R I S T T H E K I N G R E L I G I O U S E D U C A T I O N P R O G R A M

The students ask

very good

questions, their

thirst for

knowledge of the

faith is inspiring.

when responding “God” to

our question, “Who created

all of these wonderful

things?”

Over the next few

lessons, the children will

learn about how God gives

us families, the bountiful

gifts at Thanksgiving, and

they will prayerfully wait the

birth of Jesus during

Advent.

They are eager to respond

“Thank you, God!” verbally or

through sign language.

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 1

new information and their

eagerness to learn. Currently,

the second graders are learning

about mercy, forgiveness, and of

course, preparing for the

Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Once the students celebrate

their first Reconciliations, the

students will begin preparing for

their First Eucharist. But first, a

period of time will be spend

learning about the Sacraments

and Mass.

Mrs. Liz Slatt is in her 30th year

as a catechist for the Christ the

King Religious Education program!

Liz was invited to become a part of

this ministry by Fr. Molnar and Fr.

Rick Conyers when her children

were small. The rest is history!

Liz has found that this year’s

group of second graders are very

cooperative, well behave, and

respectful and caring of each other.

They also know their basic Catholic

prayers already. She is particular

impressed with their attention to

Second Grade Liz Slatt

the chalice, paten, altar, and

vestments. Mary is having the

students memorize the Beatitudes

and helping them understand the

meaning of them. She is also

helping the students realize the

importance of applying this

knowledge to their everyday lives.

Mary provided this incite when it

comes to this age level, “Fourth

grade can sometimes be the grade

where it becomes hard for students

to enjoy classes. Their First

Communion seems like ages ago,

and Confirmation is a long way, away.

This year’s group has been doing a

good job of remaining interested and

enthusiastic about the things we have

learned.”

Stained Glass

Project for Feast

of Christ the King

Fourth Grade Mary Radde Mary Radde is starting her

second year teaching 4th grade,

but also has two years of

teaching at the Kindergarten

level. Mary has helped fill the

need for catechists and enjoys

educating the children in the

Catholic faith.

“One of the favorite activities

that the students partake in is

doing work on the whiteboards.”

Mary is planning a visit from Fr.

Chris to talk about and show the

students the Mass items such as

and the Ten commandments.

One of the students favorite

things to do is becoming familiar

with Scripture by playing “Bible

Trivia”. Kerrie was a little

surprised and the students’

knowledge of Scripture, but so

were the students! Soon, the

students will be working on Saint

reports. The annual project of

making a Nativity Scene out of

When Kerri Dhoore began helping

with the religious education program in

the 9th grade after completing her 8th

grade year in the program as a

student, she probably never thought

she would be in the ministry for over 15

years! She is impressed with the

willingness of the students to respond

to questions and participate in class.

The students are currently focusing on

learning about the Seven Sacraments

graham crackers and candy is

coming up as well, in conjunction

with focusing on the Scriptural

narrative of the Nativity.

Third Grade Kerri Dhoore

Class Project for Feast of Christ the King