Saint John Bosco Faith Formation 2022-2023
"God freely created us so that we might know, love, and serve him in this life and be happy with him forever."
-St. Ignatius of Loyola
Our parish Faith Formation program seeks to help children and their families know God and His church in order to better love and serve Him and others in their lives. Through regular participation in the celebration of the Mass and sacraments, classes, youth ministry events, family activities, and service projects, we hope our students not only learn about their faith but about how to live out their faith in meaningful and beautiful ways.
Family Centered
Your family is the center of our program and your child's faith formation. Our goal is to support you as the first and foremost catechist of your child. Families with children Grades K-8 attend a 2.5 hour Faith Formation session together once a month. These sessions include both Mass and the related class session. At least one parent/guardian must attend with thier child(ren). There will be opportunities for families to learn, share, discuss, and serve together with other families in our parish community. This Family Faith Formation model is an exciting direction that parishes around the diocese and country are finding meaningful and impactful.
Service
The Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy are the ways through which we are asked to serve God and love one another. We join our students and their families in seeking those in need around us and ministering to them in any way our faith teaches us to.
In the lower grades, we focus on opportunities for families to serve together; in the middle school years, the themes of Catholic Social Teachings are introduced to our students and opportunities increase for our teens to learn about the needs around them and to serve. By our Confirmation Program, students are fostering service-minded hearts by logging 2 hours of service a month throughout the year in our parish, their schools, and the community.
Opportunities for service are updated regularly at https://www.saintjohnboscobranford.org/service-opportunities and on Google Classroom.
Youth Ministry
Our parish Youth Ministry Program is an important partner to our Faith Formation Program – allowing our students the opportunities to grow in their faith, explore specific questions and interests, find support and prayer in difficult times, and enjoy a sense of community with other parish teens. See https://www.saintjohnboscobranford.org/youthministry for all youth ministry offers. Contact Kim Reinwald with any questions or just to drop by to chat (203-488-1607, ext. 120 or [email protected]).
Jenny Smith, Program Coordinator & Confirmation Coordinator
[email protected] / [email protected]
203-488-2998, ext. 202
Regina Martindale, Elementary Coordinator & Office Administrator
[email protected] / 203-488-2998, ext. 201
Steve Schambach, Middle School Coordinator
[email protected] / 203-488-2998
Family Faith Formation Grades K-8
Families with children Grades K-8 will attend a 2.5 hour Faith Formation session together once a month, including both Mass and the related class session. At least one parent/guardian must attend with their child(ren). There will be opportunities for families to learn, share, discuss, grow, and serve together with other families in our parish community. This Family Faith Formation model is an exciting direction that parishes around the diocese and country are finding meaningful and impactful. Families will register for one of the following sessions:
Session A: St. Therese, Sundays 7:30-10:00 AM (9AM Mass included)
Session B: St. Therese, Sundays 9:00-11:30 AM (9AM Mass included) - [FULL]
If you have not registered yet and Session B is your ONLY availability, please contact the Faith Formation Coordinator at [email protected] or 203-488-2998 to discuss.
Session C: St. Mary, Sundays 5:00-7:30 PM (6:30PM Mass included) - [FULL]
If you have not registered yet and Session C is your ONLY availability, please contact the Faith Formation Coordinator at [email protected] or 203-488-2998 to discuss.
Children are invited to a separate Children's Liturgy of the Word during the Family Mass on the first Sunday of every month to experience the readings and homily in an engaging age-appropriate manner with their peers. These sessions will provide continuity of content and a chance to connect with their catechists between monthly classes.
*Please note, children who are currently enrolled at East Shoreline Catholic Academy (ESCA) do NOT need to register for the parish Faith Formation program!
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First Reconciliation Sacrament Agreement |
Confirmation Preparation: Grades 9-10
All students entering the Confirmation program will complete the Pre-Confirmation Faith Assessment. Please contact the Coordinator of Faith Formation if your child has not participated in the 8th grade program.
The purpose of the Confirmation Program is to inspire our teens to be courageous and intentional Catholics in today’s world. Classes will meet one Sunday a month for a 2 hour in-person lesson. The goal is that our students apply what they learn into the everyday practice of living out their Catholic faith. Service projects and participation in parish youth ministry throughout the year, as well as a youth retreat, are key components of our Confirmation Program.
9th Grade (Year 1): St. Mary, Sundays 6:30-8:45 PM (6:30PM Mass included)
Family meeting from 8:30-8:45PM each session. At least 1 parent/guardian is asked to attend the last 15 minutes of class with their son/daughter.
10th Grade (Year 2): St. Mary, Sundays 6:30-8:45 PM
(Mass not included; students are to attend any weekend Mass of their choice)
Family meeting from 8:30-8:45PM each session. At least 1 parent/guardian is asked to attend the last 15 minutes of class with their son/daughter.
Students are confirmed in the spring of 10th grade, after two years of program participation and a meeting with the coordinator, youth minister, and priest.
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Confirmation Commitment/Requirements (Sign & Return to Class) |
FAITH FORMATION REGISTRATION
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FAITH FORMATION Registration - Past Due Registration Open July 25 - September 2 *Please note, children who are currently enrolled at East Shoreline Catholic Academy (ESCA) do NOT need to register for the parish Faith Formation program! |
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(if not already registered with St. John Bosco Parish - |
REGISTRATION FEE
The registration fee may be submitted by cash or check to the Faith Formation Office, or you may pay online at https://www.osvhub.com/saintjohnboscobranford/giving/funds/faith-formation.
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For Pre-K/K, the fee is $50 per child There is a $200 family maximum, and NO FEE for children of Catechists and Classroom Aides |
If the fee presents legitimate hardship for your family, please write a brief letter to the Coordinator to request scholarship assistance and return to the Faith Formation Office.
CATECHISTS
Additional catechists, volunteers, and Confirmation Team members will help us better support our students through these various programs, classes, and activities. If you have any interest, please see the “Catechist and Adult Volunteers” page and share your information on the registration form and/or contact Faith Formation Program Coordinator Jenny Smith at 203-488-2998, ext. 202 or [email protected]. The role only requires a passion for children and your faith, and compliance with the Safe Environment requirements (a brief online VIRUS training session and background check).
Confirmed teens and those enrolled in our Confirmation Prep programs (Grades 9-10) are highly encouraged to join us in facilitating and supporting these classes. There are many different needs - from helping lead the classes to helping adults with technology to meeting with kids, etc. Participating teens will be recognized as part of our Student Leadership Team.
GOOGLE CLASSROOM
Our in-person classes are supplemented by Google Classroom where families can access additional resources, ministry/service opportunities, lesson make-up material, and regular communication with catechists and coordinators. Parish and Faith Formation Program news will also be posted regularly.
Google Meets will be reserved for weather cancellations or impromptu meetings and/or conferences. All other class sessions will be held in-person.
Note: Even if you are currently in Google Classroom for your school, you need to go through your account at our domain (@sjbfaithformation.com) in order to access our faith formation classroom)
Newly Registered Students: you will be emailed an invite with your new username and password during the month of September.
Returning Students: Follow the directions below to access/sign into your current Gmail account and SJB Faith Formation Google Classroom:
- Go to google.com and sign in using your username and password (Your username is your full name, no punctuation @sjbfaithformation.com and your temporary password is sjbff2022)
- You will sign in, accept terms of service, and create your own password. (please write this down and don’t forget it. Share it with your parents so they can access Classroom for information).
- You can then join Google Classroom. Be sure you are in your new google account (check circle at top right for account ending in @sjbfaithformation.com) and click on “Classroom” from your list of apps (the square of dots beside the circle) or go to classroom.google.com.
- Once in Classroom, you will be invited to join from Classroom and in a welcome email in your inbox.
If you have any issues signing it, please reach out to the administrator at [email protected].
EVANGELUS TEXT/EMAIL SYSTEM
By registering for the program, you will automatically be enrolled in the Evangelus text message/email notification system through the parish (This is NOT SPAM). This is how we will get important Faith Formation & Youth Ministry updates and notifications to you! You can opt out at any time.
If you would like to manually sign up, visit eva.us/johnbosco
St. John Bosco Parish Faith Formation Office
105 Leetes Island Rd, Branford, CT 06405
203-488-2998 | [email protected]