The church teaches that parents are the ‘primary catechists’ of their children. Children will learn most about the faith from observing how their parents live out the faith at home, through daily prayers, family traditions and conversations about God and the faith. They will learn about the Church from attending Mass and community events at the parish.

The Catechism classes at St. John XXIII seek to supplement this learning in the home and at Mass. Our aim is to support you, the parents in your role as ’primary catechists’.

Therefore, we use a programme called ‘A Family of Faith’ for our Parish Catechesis.

This programme includes formation at church and at home each month.

 At Church – Lesson 1

Most children will attend one Catechism class a month in the parish centre. After registration each family will be assigned to either Group 1 or Group 2. You will find the dates for your Catechism classes in this calendar.

Sacrament classes, Level 2 (First Reconciliation) and Level 3 (First Holy Communion) will have an additional class each month. These students should attend both their ‘Group’ class and the ‘Sacrament’ class.

*Due to space restrictions, there will be no Preschool or Prep classes this year (2021-22).*

During registration families can choose their preferred class time.

Before 10.00 Mass – starting at 9.00

Before 11.30 Mass  – starting at 10.30

(The 10:30 classes often fill up quickly. Make sure to register early if this is your preferred time.)

At  Home – Lesson 2

– Parents watch a short 10-15 min video about each month’s theme.

This will teach you what your child has learned in Lesson 1 at church that month and give you the knowledge you need to do Lesson 2 with your children at home.

– Parents choose an activity from the Parent’s Guide to do as a family each month

Most activities should not take longer than 10-15 minutes.

Examples of activities:

• Reading a story about a saint before bed.
• Having a discussion in the car or on the tram about an aspect of our faith.
• Reading a scripture passage while children complete a coloring page.
• Doing a wordsearch, fill in the blanks or game in the Child’s Activity book.