Below are a few tips that all our parents should keep in mind, not just for the first day of class, but for the rest of the catechetical year.
Driving in on Saturday afternoon
Plan on arriving at Church by 3:30 pm at the latest. You would have received an email advising you of the Hall/Room number; the teacher and if the books are ready for collection. If books are to be collected, please do so from Hall 8 and then proceed to the respective Hall number.
How and where do I collect my child?
Catechism begins at 4:15 for an hour. Children arriving at or beyond 4:30 pm will be allowed into class but not given attendance for the day.
We take the children up for mass at 5:25 pm for mass which is complete by 6:30 pm. Please collect your children from the church pews assigned to them. We do not allow children to leave until the Recessional hymn is complete. Please cooperate so the children see that you are united with us catechists in a devoted, not a disjointed faith.
For parents of our 5-year olds, please collect your child at 5:15 pm from the classroom and then move upstairs to the church, to your specially assigned seating.
We take the children up for mass at 5:25 pm for mass which is complete by 6:30 pm. Please collect your children from the church pews assigned to them. We do not allow children to leave until the Recessional hymn is complete. Please cooperate so the children see that you are united with us catechists in a devoted, not a disjointed faith.
For parents of our 5-year olds, please collect your child at 5:15 pm from the classroom and then move upstairs to the church, to your specially assigned seating.
New Families please note
New families, welcome to our parish and to the Saturday catechism. Please make yourself known to your child's catechist so they can advise you on what needs to be done. Our Catechism Office is abuzz with activity on the first 3 weeks of class. Our administrators and volunteers will be working to help our catechists settle down in class and to direct new families to their child's classroom.
Please wait patiently outside the Catechism Office, located in Hall 8. Our admin team will start to attend to parents at 4:20 pm - one family at a time.
Please wait patiently outside the Catechism Office, located in Hall 8. Our admin team will start to attend to parents at 4:20 pm - one family at a time.
Returning Families Please Take Note
Returning families, reporting to class on or after the 13th of September 2014 should come to Hall 8 to register their children and to check that we have them on our class lists.
Classroom Swapping
In the event that you would like to swap your child's classroom, do not pull your child out of their assigned class. Instead, come to see our administrators in the Catechism Office and they will give you a "permission to swap class" sheet, which you can present to your child's Catechist, after which he/she will allow you to move your child to another class. Please give your child's new catechist this "permission to swap class" sheet for their record.
What if I cannot attend mass?
Mass and class is one comprehensive unit. However, we do appreciate that there maybe the odd weekend where external commitments need addressing. We permit a maximum of three log outs from mass.
Pulling a child out of a pew and disturbing the children at mass is not ideal at all, so please cooperate with the catechist and the Catechism Admin team to ensure you and other children are safe, whilst in our care.
If you are about to miss mass, please collect a permission slip from the Catechism admin in Hall 8. You then need to hand the slip to the class teacher at 5:25 pm when you collect the child from the classroom.
We will not take responsibility for children who are not accounted for through this process.
Pulling a child out of a pew and disturbing the children at mass is not ideal at all, so please cooperate with the catechist and the Catechism Admin team to ensure you and other children are safe, whilst in our care.
If you are about to miss mass, please collect a permission slip from the Catechism admin in Hall 8. You then need to hand the slip to the class teacher at 5:25 pm when you collect the child from the classroom.
We will not take responsibility for children who are not accounted for through this process.
Pick-up and Drop-off
At the end of mass at 6:30 pm, please pick up your child from their pew in church and confirm to the teacher, before you leave. Our Catechists also have to pick up their children and it is not fair to keep them waiting for you at the end of class. Under no circumstances should you instruct your child to meet you outside of the Church premises, as this presents a security issue. Either parent should always be within the Church premises during catechism class time.
Texbooks
Your child will be given their curriculum textbook. For the younger classes, our Catechists may opt to keep the books in class as opposed to letting them take them home. Eventually, the books do go home at the end of the catechetical year. All other stationery items are provided in class for Grades K - 3S.
If your child loses their book, they can get a replacement textbook from the Catechism Office at the cost of AED 60.00
If your child loses their book, they can get a replacement textbook from the Catechism Office at the cost of AED 60.00