Saint Pius X Religious Education Policies
Parent Role
Parents are the primary religious educators of their children, and they are also witnesses and supporters of each
child’s journey of faith. As such, attendance at Mass each Saturday evening or Sunday and on other Holy Days of
Obligation by both parents and students is absolutely vital to the success of any religious education program.
Truly, without parental witness and regular sacramental participation, the seeds of catechesis fall on very
infertile ground. Parental witness, involvement, and prayers have a profound influence on a child’s faith
development. We will do all we can in Religious Education to aid parents in their vocation.
Catechists and Assistants
Our catechists are volunteers who utilize their time, resources, and efforts to plan lessons and to share their
faith with our parish children. It is important that they are respected and their recommendations considered.
Should a concern arise about a catechist, parents must first contact the Director with primary responsibility for
their child’s program (Robby Kiley for CCD and CSAM, Theresa DePung for CGS).
Student Role
Students have an essential role in helping foster an environment where all can learn and enjoy their time in
Religious Education classes. Thus, we have some expectations stated below that are designed to help students
develop a sense of self-discipline and responsibility for themselves and toward others.
1. All students are expected to be on their best behavior at all times, both inside and outside the
classroom. As young Catholic-Christians, they must show respect to catechists, catechist aides, parish
staff personnel, and other students.
2. We have been blessed with beautiful facilities. Therefore, students must participate in maintaining our
Parish Education Center, including no food or drink (besides water) in the classrooms. Respect for parish
as well as personal property is very important, and any damage caused by students to another’s
property will be fixed at the expense of those involved.
3. Each student is also responsible for following specific rules of his or her classroom given by catechists or
others in charge.
4. Use of cellular phones, handheld gaming systems, or other electronic equipment is not permitted during
class time. Students must turn these devices off and keep them in a pocket or purse during class. If a
catechist or adult in authority finds a student using such a device, he or she will take the device away
until the end of class.
If students fail to meet the above expectations and their behavior disrupts the education process for themselves
or others, increasing levels of intervention will take place beginning with a verbal warning and proceeding to a
visit to the Director’s office and, if necessary, a conference with the student and parents.
Attendance and Absences
1. Children are expected to attend each class, to be on time, and to remain until end of class. We
understand unexpected circumstances arise; however, these should be rare occurrences. Attendance
will be taken weekly, and tardiness disrupts the classroom environment for everyone. Students may
come into the classroom ten minutes before class or once a catechist arrives.
2. For all classes, a parent or guardian should e-mail Manuela Tugman at mtugman@stpius.net or call the
RE office at 277-5760 ex. 148 to report the absence of a child. Similar to any school or educational
program, any unexcused absence will necessitate an e-mail or phone call from the RE office.
3. If absences become significant enough to impact a child’s learning (usually three absences of any kind in
a semester), the RE office will call to determine, with parents, a course of action aimed at the best
interests of the student. With the little time that we have for catechesis, each class is very important.
Assessments
Unlike previous years, there will not be end-of-semester assessments for CCD students. Instead, students will be
assessed in an ongoing fashion at the conclusion of each lesson unit. Moving to this model of assessment allows
our catechists to track students’ progress more frequently without causing undue stress for students. If parents
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would like to see the unit goals against which student progress will be measured, these will be available on our
website. Because of the nature and educational model of CGS, student assessment will take place in an ongoing
fashion, still with the goal of tracking student progress and incorporation of the material.
Drop-off and Pick-up
Parents may either walk students to the classroom or drop them off outside near an entrance. If students arrive
more than ten minutes before class or if their catechist is not yet in the classroom, they should wait in the
hallway where there will be supervision.
Parents are welcome to join us for prayer. We invite all parents to come into the classroom for the last five
minutes of class to participate in the closing prayer. They are free to rotate classrooms if they have more than
one child in the same session.
We will continue to utilize our pick-up policies to ensure student safety. At dismissal time all children preschool
to grade five must be signed-out before leaving the classroom. The child’s parent or other authorized driver
may sign-out the student. If parents authorize their child to be signed out by another driver or to walk
unattended to another location within the building (such as choir practice or a younger sibling’s class), we ask
that they specify that on the Special Circumstances Pick-up Form included with this mailing. For those parents
of children in CGS, Levels I and II, pick-up is in the Atrium on the parish (east) side of the complex. Older siblings
from another CCD or CGS class may not sign-out a younger sibling. For grades 6, 7 and 8, no sign-out is required,
but we encourage parents to join us for closing prayer. Once the children leave the building, we cannot as easily
ensure their safety.
Parents are responsible for the prompt pick up of their children. Students not picked up within ten minutes of
dismissal will be supervised in the RE office. CGS students in Levels I and Level II will be supervised in the Atrium
on the parish side. In the event of an emergency, we ask that someone contact the RE office at 277-5760 ext.
148 if parents are unable to pick up their children.
School Closing Information
In the event of inclement weather, we will contact WSBT and WNDU to announce cancellations of RE classes.
We will also attempt to send an e-mail by noon on weekdays where afternoon and evening classes are
cancelled. As always, we trust parental discretion if the conditions make attending class too hazardous.
Website Waiver Form
The Saint Pius X Church bulletin is internet accessible via the parish website. Parents may complete a Website
Waiver Form and return it to the RE office if they do not want their child’s picture to appear in our parish
bulletin. A new form must be submitted each year. This form is located at on the Religious Education home
page (www.stpius.net/re) under “2015-2016 Policies and Important Documents.” Parents who registered online
may omit this step, as a photo waiver form was included with online registration.
Diocesan Safe Environment Program
Our diocese requires that all children in the RE program participate in age-specific safe environment training.
Grades preschool through 5 will receive a 15 minute presentation. Grades 6, 7, and 8 will have safe
environment presentations during class time. All sessions will happen in late October. Parents may view all the
Safe Environment material that we use at http://www.diocesefwsb.org/Safe-Environment-Education. If parents
do not want this training offered to their child, they may download the “Safe Environment Opt Out” form, found
on the Religious Education homepage (www.stpius.net/re) under the ““2015-2016 Policies and Important
Documents” banner, and return the form to the RE office.
Returning Forms
The Acceptance of Saint Pius X Policies for CGS and CCD and Special Circumstance Pick-Up Form (if applicable)
should be returned to a child’s catechist or the RE office on or before Friday, September 25th.
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