Welcome!  I’m very glad that you are with us!  I wanted welcome you and to let you know a bit about the upcoming year.  I'm very excited to be your catechist-- for many of you, for the second year in a row!  This is my fourth year teaching at Xavier, and I have always been so impressed with the devotion of our families to faith formation.  I look forward to working with you in teaching your children about our rich Catholic faith.

This is a very special year for us.  The children will be preparing for and receiving First Reconciliation and First Communion.  These important sacraments bring the children closer into the life of the Catholic Church.  I and the parish staff look forward to working with your family to prepare your child for these wonderful occasions!

It is my hope that the children come away from this year not only with greater knowledge about our Catholic faith, but also with a deeper awareness of God’s great love for them and a stronger sense of belonging in our Church.  Each of us is equally loved by God and equally welcome in our Church!

Most of our lessons will come from our textbook, Finding God.  It is a beautifully written and illustrated book that I think the kids will enjoy.  Sometimes, we will participate in group activities with other grades.  On the days of group activities, after our prayer/snack time in the chapel, we’ll first go to the West Room, then to our classroom.  On other days, we’ll go straight to our classroom after we leave the chapel.  See the calendar for a schedule of group activities!  Our class ends at 11:30am.  Unless you discuss other arrangements with me, I’ll keep the kids in the classroom until a parent, guardian, or responsible older sibling comes to pick them up.

Since catechists and parents are very much a team in faith formation, I want to keep in communication with you as much as possible about our lessons and any other special events.  Therefore, our class has a website! http://sites.google.com/site/xaviergrade2/.  Check out a class calendar, cool links, and updates.  Each week after class, I’ll post a summary of the class.  I hope this will help keep you informed about what we’re learning, particularly on weeks when your child may be absent.  

Thank you for allowing us the great honor of working with your children.
We’re going to have a wonderful year!  Please feel free to contact me anytime with any questions, ideas, suggestions, etc.!
                           

                                Kathleen Friel
                                kf2105@columbia.edu

                                (212) 866-1120