Welcome to the Religious Education Program of Mary Mother of Divine Grace Parish.  We have just completed one year of Religious Education (2019 - 2020) in our newly combined parishes (Divine Providence and Divine Infant); and we thank God for his abundant blessings!

As we begin a new year of faith formation 2020/2021, we are glad to let you know that our Religious Education Program will continue.  However, some aspects of it will be adjusted to better serve our children and their families.  Below is the process we are going to follow:

1. Our parish will continue to have ONE Religious Education Program under one administration.
2. Religion classes will be offered at ONE location instead of two as it was the case this past year.  The Religious Education Program will now be hosted in the school building at the Divine Infant Location.
3. Two Registration forms will be available on-line beginning on May 15, 2020 at http://marymotherofdivinegrace.org.  One form will be for NEW students and another one for RETURNING students.  Please click on the Religious Education Tab and scroll down the webpage to download the Registration Forms.  Completed forms  should be scanned and sent as an Email attachment to the Religious Education Office at cnantaba@archchicago.org (Sr. Christine Nantaba, IHMR, Religious Education Administrator).  There is a deposit of $35 due at the time of registration to be mailed to Mary Mother of Divine Grace Parish, 2550 Mayfair Avenue, Westchester, IL 60154.  Please make the checks payable to Mary Mother of Divine Grace Parish.  Thank you!
4. A Calendar of the Religion Classes and a Sacramental Calendar for First Communion and Confirmation (2020-2021) dates will be available soon.       
5. The Tuition for grades 1-8 and the Sacramental fees for children due to receive First Communion and Confirmation will continue to be the same as follows:

I invite you to partner with us as we strive to enhance the formation of our students’ faith; helping them to become what God intended them to be in life.  May the Holy Spirit enlighten us and guide us in the proper ways of accomplishing this task. 

May God continue to bless you and your family! 

Sister Christine Nantaba, IHMR
Religious Education Administrator
Mary, Mother of Divine Grace Parish
cnantaba@archchicago.org
708-865-8086

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April 28, 2020
Dear Parents,
Re:  Religious Education End-of-the-Year Information for Parents:
I greet you all in the name of the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ!  Thank you for the fantastic job you have done; in helping our students/your children with the weekly Lesson Plans sent to you through the Religious Education Office at DI & DP.  I am glad to let you know that with your help, we are getting close to fulfilling the annual number of days for RE Class sessions required by the Archdiocese of Chicago.  I am very grateful to you and to God who has enabled us to achieve this goal together!
Although we had completed most of the RE sessions before the temporary closure of our program back in March, we were left with 6 sessions to complete the RE year.  However, the 4 On-line RE Lessons I have sent home so far have covered 4 of those missed In-Class sessions already. The remaining 2 RE Sessions will be completed as follows:

1. Review/Make-Up Week – May 4 – May 10, 2020:  (RE Session #5)
   This week will be set aside for review. No new RE Lesson Plans will be sent home this week!  Students should go through Lessons #1 - #4 to familiarize themselves with the important information learned in those lessons and how they are going to practice it in their lives. This can also be used as make-up time for those students who missed any of the lessons for that matter.  RE Lessons to review include the following:
   
   a)  Lesson #1 -  RE Lesson Plans at Home – Initial Notice + Palm Sunday
   b)  Lesson #2 – RE Lesson Plans at Home - Week of April 6^th – 12^th (The Triduum + Easter Sunday).
   c)  Lesson #3 -  RE Lesson Plans at Home – Week of April 20^th – 26^th (The 3^rd Sunday of Easter).
   d)  Lesson #4 – RE Lesson Plans at Home -  Week of April 27^th -  May 3^rd (The 4^th Sunday of Easter).
    
2. Unit Test and Parent Evaluation Week – May 11 – May 17, 2020: (RE Session #6)
   a) Unit Tests:  During this Week, I will send home Unit Tests for each Grade Level, humbly asking the parents to help us to give this test to our students at home, and to proctor it for us.  Questions for this test will come from all the RE Lessons I have sent home so far via Email (See RE Lessons #1 - #4 listed above). They are attached to this message for your convenience.  The Unit Tests and specific instructions will be sent out on Monday, May 11, 2020.  Thank you!
   
   b)  Parent Evaluation Form:  Also, parents will be asked to complete an Evaluation Form for each of their children, which will be sent to them on Monday, May 11, 2020. Parents will fill out this form with their input on what their children have learned, the activities they have accomplished, their participation and the challenges and success stories they have encountered throughout this process.  Proof of completion of each of the RE Lessons sent will count as attendance for that week.       
   
   c)  The results of the Unit Tests and a summary from the Parents’ Evaluation will determine acquired knowledge about the given information, attendance, class participation and completion of the assigned work during this time. 
3. Plans for the End-of-the-year ……….And Looking Ahead to the New RE Year 2020/2021:
   a)  The Religious Education Year 2019/2020 will end with the week of May 11 – May 17, 2020.  Unit Tests and Parent Evaluations should be completed by Sunday, May 17, 2020. 
   b)  Plans for the NEW year of Religious Education 2020/2021 are underway!  Please stay tuned for more information about this in the following weeks!
   c) What Next?  I will communicate to you any information pertaining to our Religious Education Program from our Parish, the Archdiocese and from the Catholic Church at large as it becomes available to me.  Also, I will continue to send you Religious Education Resources as I find them and I would encourage you to continue helping our students to attend On-line Masses, family prayer and any other resource which will enhance their faith.

Thank you and may God continue to bless you and your families!
 
Sr. Christine Nantaba, IHMR
Religious Education Administrator
Mary, Mother of Divine Grace Parish