CCD closing ceremony

Our Kindy & Primary 1 performing for their parents.



Primary 2 getting ready.



Primary 5's teacher, Mdm Anne joining in the fun.


"Receive the Power" by Form 1 CCD class.

Theodora, Suzanne and Joyce (left to right), our three young Catechists.

On 15th November 2009, our St Mary's CCD class held our closing ceremony at St Mary's Parish Hall. On the whole, it could be said to be quite successful, though attendance and participation by the parents could have been better. Parents should make an effort to attend this closing ceremony for a few reasons:
1) to get an idea of what their children have been taught throughout the whole year and how they had been interacting with their peers;
2) to rejoice with their children in completing another year of catechism classes;
3) to impart the knowledge to the children that you, as parents, place great importance in their achieving knowledge of our faith from these classes;
4) to encourage the children to continue going to sunday school classes; and
5) finally, to practise what we teach. We lead and our children would hopefully follow - that CCD classes and activities attendance is of great importance and should NOT be secondary to our formal school life and activities.

Photos uploaded here were taken by Miss Theodora Leong and Ms Jessica Teo. Thanks, ladies,

Irene Chang

Newsletter

Dear Parents,

The church teaches that it is the primary responsibity of the parents to educate their children in the Faith, and so we ask you to kindly help them in wherever needed and to ensure that they will continue practising the faith through your support.

We are now following the Malaysian Catechitical Series Syllabus. In 2010, we are going to make the following changes:

1. We will have Form 3 and Form 4 classes and confirmation will be given in Form 4.
2. Preparation for 1st Communion sacrament will start in Primary 3. In other words, children who wish to receive 1st Communion will have to register themselves for Primary 3 and they will receive the Sacrament in Primary 4.
3. For those who are not baptised aged 10 and above, special Baptism class for around 18 months (Jan 2010 till mid 2011) will be organised.
4. There will be an Adult Baptism and Confimation (For Age 16 and above).

We need Parents' support and participation to develop a meaningful programme for our children for the Faith development and creating a fellowship especially for the families of St Mary's Church.

The Sunday School for the year 2010 will start on 10th January 2010.
Time : 9.15am - 10.30am.

Contacts : Sir Charles Harry 084-312525
Joseph Loh 016-8898099, 084-348099

Co-Moderator
Joseph Loh

Hello everybody - Why Sunday School?

"What is urgent is the evangelization of a world that not only does not know the basic aspects of Christian dogma, but in great part has lost even the memory of the cultural elements of Christianity."

Pope John Paul II

Your child is ready to move on to secondary school --- and does not know Who God is, what the Catholic Church is, and why either should have any impact or influence on their lives. Except for their Baptism in Christ and their First (and probably last) Holy Communion --- the significance of which they know nothing --- they are effectively not Catholics. This sounds harsh. It is meant to be. We need to be shaken out of our indifference and awoken from our illusions. Our children --- your children --- do not fully know their Catholic Faith. In fact, most of them do not even know God. And this is not limited to the children. I can always remember a response given by a parent in one of my own children's baptism, when he was asked by the priest as to why the baptism. The parent answered sheepishly, "So my child can worship the saints." Needless to say, the priest was most disappointed and said, "no wonder the Methodists think we worship the saints."

I reproduce this here with no spite (indeed I can't even remember who the parent was) but with the sole intention of asking the parents to reflect on that for a moment. This is the sad and dismal state of Catholic Religious Education today, especially when religious instruction has been taken out from our formal education syllabus. And that is why, as Catholic parents, it is our primary responsibilty to pass on our faith to our own children. And the CCD classes are there to help you - to teach our children the basic teachings of our Catholic faith. These classes are taught to school age children to learn the basic roots of our faith.

With this in mind, the St Mary's Catechetical Committee has decided to set up this blog - specifically for the following purposes:

1. to outline the programme/syllabus to be taught in Sunday Schools for the coming year;

2. to enable parents to interact more with their children's CCD classes teachers in order to check on the progress of their children. The names and email addresses of the respective class teachers and helpers for year 2010 would be posted in this blog;

3. to inform parents of upcoming events/activities involving Sunday school. Photos of any events held would also be posted; and

4. most importantly of all, to enable parents to provide ideas and inspirations on how to make our CCD classes more meaningful and inspiring to our children.

Perhaps, this blog can also provide an avenue for our teenager friends to pose any questions or doubts which they may have in respect of our faith. So parents, as we, the CCD teachers do our part, we hope that you would do your part by enrolling your children in Sunday School next year and to ensure that they attend regularly throughout the whole year.

Thank you.

Co-Moderator,

Irene Chang