Welcome. Use links below to access basic information about our diocese.
PRIMARY RE RESOURCES
Religious Education Curriculum
Catholic Schools Week 2021
CSW2021-Primary-Fifth-and-Sixth-Class
CSW2021-Primary-First-and-Second-Class
CSW2021-Primary-Junior-and-Senior-Infants
CSW2021-Primary-Third-and-Fourth-Class
In November We Remember
This material is part of the suite of resources made available for Catholic Schools Week 2021 and the theme for the week this coming year is; Catholic Schools; Communities of Faith & Resilience. There are four distinct elements to the resource
- Introduction to the resource
- November Prayer Service
- Lesson Resource for Junior Infant – 2nd Classes
- Lesson Resource for 3rd – 6th Classes
Parish Link:
The Prayer Service might be prayed in the parish church with an invitation to the children to participate via webcam or Facebook live. It could also be prayed on Zoom or Teams with the children participating using these platforms.
There is a suggestion for a Remembrance Book, Box or Tree to help the school community remember and pray for those who have died. If leading a Prayer Service is not possible perhaps, there might be an opportunity to bless these in individual classrooms or in the playground, weather permitting and take the opportunity to pray together for those who have died.
Catholic Schools Week Resources from previous years can all be accessed via https://www.catholicschools.ie/resources-for-use-in-catholic-schools/
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION POLICY TEMPLATE
All schools are asked to have their Religious Education Policy in place and ratified by the Board of Management. When the policy has been completed please send a copy to maeve.mahon@kandle.ie
CONFIRMATION
GDPR Guidelines on Photography
Combined Penitential Service and Ceremony of Light
Teacher Notes for the Sacrament of Reconcilation
Enrolment Ceremony Confirmation
CELBRATING THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION FOR THE FIRST TIME
Celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the First Time
Liturgy Preparation Sheet First Reconciliation
Celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the First Time – Teacher’s Guide
DO THIS IN MEMORY PROGRAMME
GROW IN LOVE
The following resources will be useful as teachers plan for their religious education classes. These are yearly plans that can be divided into lesson themes for your Cuntas Míosúil.
Grow-in-Love-Junior-Infants-Yearly Plan
Grow-in-Love-Senior-Infants – Yearly Plan
Grow in Love First Class Yearly Plan
Grow-in-Love Second Class Yearly Plan
OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES
Inter-Religious Literacy – World Faiths
Resources for Religious Education
ADVENT
Advent Week 1
Advent & Christmas Season in the Primary Curriculum
A Blessing for the Advent Wreath
Making a Jesse Tree is a great way for children at Level 4 to revise bible stories, explore the concept of symbol; become familiar with finding stories within the old and new testaments and create a lovely element to add to the Classroom Prayer Space.
The Jesse Tree (Level 4)
Advent Week 2
December 6 is the Feast of St Nicholas
This year as it falls on a Sunday it is not celebrated by the Church but children will still enjoy learning about St Nicholas. https://www.stnicholascenter.org/who-is-st-nicholas is a really useful website.
The following worksheets, colouring pages and activity sheets will help celebrate the Feast of St Nicholas in the school.
The Feast of St Nicholas (information for the teacher and levels 3 & 4)
St Nicholas Activity Sheet (Levels 2 and up)
St Nicholas Crossword Puzzle (Levels 3 & 4)
St Nicholas to colour I (Levels 1 and up)
St Nicholas to colour II (Levels 1 and up)
December 8 The Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Every year, on December 8, we celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. On this day, we remember that Mary was conceived without sin, and so chosen from the very first moment of her life to be the mother of Jesus. The Church tells us that Mary never sinned throughout her life. God kept her free from sin. Tradition tells us that Mary’s parents were called Joachim and Anne although this is not mentioned in the bible. May and October are the months during which the Church honours Mary in a special way. Mary has many titles. She is called Mother of God, Queen of Heaven, Star of the Sea, Queen of Peace, Holy Mother, Blessed Virgin Mary, among many others. This Feast Day also gives us the opportunity to remember and celebrate Mary especially at Level 1 & 2.
8 December is a Holy Day of Obligation. Consider joining the celebration of Mass on the parish webcam. Talk to your priest about acknowledging the presence of the children on the day.
The following resources will be useful
Mary Colouring Page (All Levels)
Feasts of Our Lady in Advent (Level 3 & 4 includes information on our Lady of Guadalupe)
What do you know about Mary (Level 4)
Mary WordSearchOur (Level 3 & 4)
12 December is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Watch the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKgsZwRwbkE
Advent Week 3
The Third Sunday of Advent falls on the 13th of December which is also the Feast of St Lucy. Although her feast day is not celebrated this year you can still explore her story with the children:
St Lucy Activity Sheet Levels 3 & 4
We hear about John the Baptist in the gospel at Mass this week. Find out some more about John here:
Let’s learn about the Crib this week
The Church or Liturgical Year begins in Advent. You can use the following resources to explore it with Levels 3 & 4
The Liturgical Year Level 3 & 4
Liturgical Year Quiz Levels 3 & 4
Advent Week 4
You will only be in a school for a short time this week but, you might like to use some of the following resources as Christmas draws nearer:
Make some Decorations Levels 2 & 3
Christmas Tree Prayer & Colouring Page Levels 3 & 4
The Shepherds Colouring Page Levels 1 & 2
The Shepherds Colouring Page 2
Getting Ready for Jesus Level 3
Christmas Day Prayer Card Levels 3 & 4
Christmas Around the World Level 4
Feast of the Epiphany January 6
Feast of the Epiphany Levels 3 & 4
January : Beginning A New Tradition
As you know we return to school on the Feast of the Epiphany, a Holy Day of Obligation and we know that schools will want to mark the sacredness and solemnity of this day. Some will join the parish celebration of Mass either virtually or in person, depending on the level of restriction that we find ourselves in. We are also offering the opportunity to begin a new tradition in our schools this year, one that many of our parishes will also be offering to their parishioners.
This resource contains a short explanation of the tradition of Chalking the Door to celebrate the visit of the Three Kings or Magi to the baby Jesus and a prayer service to accompany this lovely idea
This is a template banner for those schools that would find chalking the door a challenge.
We hope that you find this idea one that will help mark this important day in our church year and an appropriate way of welcoming God into our classrooms and schools again and asking for his blessing and protection as we begin the new year. We would love to see pictures of the chalked doorways when you have completed them. Please send them to maeve.mahon@kandle.ie