First Year

Reconciliation & First Communion One
Theme:
God is our Creator and loves us as our Father. Jesus came to tell us about God the Father and how He saved us through his life, death, and resurrection. The Holy Spirit shares the life of the risen Jesus Christ and forms the community of the Church. We know Jesus through personal prayer and by worshipping God together as a family and as a church community, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist. We can thank Jesus for the gift of Himself and the Holy Spirit by obeying the Commandments, caring for one another and caring for the world.

First Year Expectations:
By the end of the first year, students will be expected to know the:
  • Sign of the Cross
  • Our Father (Lord’s Prayer)
  • Hail Mary
  • Glory Be
  • Ten Commandments
  • Prayers before and after meals
  • Parts of the Mass

Second Year

Reconciliation & First Communion Two
Theme:
God loves each of us and we are called to act on God’s love for us by loving one another and living as Jesus wants us to live. As we prepare for the Sacraments of Penance and Eucharist, we give special attention to our examination of conscience, how to make a meaningful confession and the importance of preparation before receiving Jesus Christ in Holy Communion.

Second Year Expectations:
By the end of the second year, students will be expected to be familiar with the:
  • Ten Commandments
  • Act of Contrition
  • Basic Responses during the Mass and a prayer to say after receiving Communion
  • Parts of the Mass

Third Year

Theme:
God creates us and calls us to live well in community. We emphasize the role of Jesus calling us to a new way of life – what it means to be a faithful follower of Jesus and how close Jesus wants us to be with our Father. We learn how each of the sacraments deepens our relationship with God and how the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity are the foundation for the moral choices we make as we grow to be more like Jesus.

Third Year Expectations:
By the end of the third year, students will be expected to know the:
  • Apostles’ Creed
  • The roles in the church in terms of priest, deacon, bishop, pope and the basic structure (parish, archdiocese, Vatican) of the church
  • Parts of the Mass
  • Stations of the Cross
  • Supplement: Focus on the Sacrament of Reconciliation

Fourth Year

Theme:
God calls us to lead a moral life. He revealed the Ten Commandments to provide us with the parameters to live a life for God and others. Jesus taught us the Beatitudes and their relationship to living a Christian life. We give special attention to Sacraments of Reconciliation and Sacraments of Communion as part of the moral dimension of our faith.

Fourth Year Expectations:
By the end of the fourth year, students will be expected to list the:
  • Ten Commandments
  • Mysteries of the Rosary
  • Hail Holy Queen
  • Beatitudes
  • Precepts of the church
  • Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy
  • Parts of the Mass

Fifth Year

Theme:
Strengthened in the sacramental life of the Church, we are better able to live like Jesus in making choices for God and others. We enter a new way of life when we celebrate the sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Holy Communion and Confirmation). Through the sacraments, we live more fully in the Holy Spirit as members of the Church, united in diversity.

Fifth Year Expectations:
By the end of the fifth year, students will be expected to know:
  • Apostle’s Creed (Profession of Faith)
  • List, describe and define each Sacrament
  • Understand and list the basic parts of the mass
  • Describe the Liturgical year (Advent, Ordinary time, Lent, etc.) and the Holy Days of Obligation
  • Recite the Seven Sacraments and the Nicene Creed
  • Parts of the Mass
  • Supplement: Seven Sacraments / Prayer

Sixth, Seventh & Eighth Year

Confirmation One, Two & Three
Themes:
The sixth year explores the history of salvation – from Creation through the Old Testament; to its fulfillment in Jesus as we share stories of our ancestors in faith: Abraham, Moses, David and Solomon. Ensure recognition of the importance of the prophets as witnesses for God and their relevance to our own time. As followers of Jesus, we explore the meaning of the Psalms as the prayers of Jesus and the themes of the Wisdom literature books that teach practical ways of living for God in everyday life. We find our connection to Christian worship from its roots in the Old Testament and we learn of the special connection between the celebration of Passover and the celebration of the Eucharist.

The seventh year is the second of three required years of study leading to Confirmation. The goal of the seventh year consists of two modules: Christian morality and Jesus and discipleship. The first module will help lay the foundation for a discussion about living a moral life and will give students information about the Church’s guidance in moral decision‐making.

The second module will give a survey of the life of Jesus as it is told in the Gospels and pose the challenge of discipleship to the students.

The eighth year is the third of three required years of study leading to Confirmation. The goal of the eighth year consists of three modules: Scripture and Creed, a review of Catholic teaching and sacraments and immediate preparation for Confirmation.

Expectations:
By the end of the eigth year, students will be expected to:
  • Know the Nicene Creed
  • Identify and describe in chronological order the major events in the Old Testament
  • Know the major events in the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
  • Participate in group activities outside of the scheduled classroom sessions in order to prepare for Confirmation
  • Understand the parts of the Mass
  • Supplement: Major characters in the Paschal Mystery (Jesus in the Gospels)
  • Know the Prayer to the Holy Spirit
  • Know the Theological Virtues, Cardinal Virtues, the Spiritual Works of Mercy and the Corporal Works of Mercy
  • Know the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit
  • Understand the parts of the Mass
  • Supplement: Biblical walkthrough of the Mass
  • Supplement: Review of the Seven Sacraments and the Teaching of the Church
  • Be fully prepared to be Confirmed
  • Understand their further role in the wider Catholic Church