Archive by Author
From Beth Belcher, Director of School Religious Education
Posted on March 11, 2010, by Beth Belcher, under Religious Education.
Happy Lent! I hope that everyone has had an opportunity to dive deeply into this season. As you know, the sacrifices we make give courage and spiritual strength to those who will be coming into the Church this Easter season. What a beautiful way to say, “Welcome!”
Congratulations are in order for both the 8th graders, who celebrated the sacrament of Confirmation on Sunday, February 14, and the 2nd graders who celebrated the sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time on Saturday, March 6. These students have prepared long and hard to receive the fullness that is Jesus Christ. We are so proud of them!
Mark you calendars to join us at the school’s Friday Mass on March 26 at 8:00, as the 8th graders depict the Passion of Jesus on that day. They will also do the same at Palm Sunday 10am Mass on March 28. This traditional depiction is always a moving tribute to the goodness of God as He sent his Son to proclaim the Kingdom and save us from our sins. We hope that you will join us!
Easter is on Sunday, April 4, and as a reminder, all Easter egg hunts will take place on Tuesday, April 6. We respect and honor the Lenten Season as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of the Lord. Thank you in advance for your understanding and support of our Religious Education program.
Print No Comments
Mrs. Belcher – Middle School Religion
Posted on March 11, 2010, by Beth Belcher, under Middle School Notes.
6th Grade
We have spent a good deal of time on foundational information pertaining to the Old Testament. We have studied the Patriarchs and have moved on to Moses and the Chosen People. We have also looked at the highest holy days of our Church calendar and have talked about the Triduum. We will celebrate a Seder Meal on Tuesday, March 31. More information will follow as we get closer to this date. After Easter, we will then move forward learning about the Ten Commandments.
7th Grade
Our focus of parables has given us a greater understanding of Jesus and what God is calling us to: to look through the words (of the story) to the wisdom of God. We have discussed and dissected 14 different parables in class and the 7th grade Parable Booklet is due Friday, March 12. When we come back from Spring Break we will focus on the Miracles of Christ.
8th Grade
We have just finished an in depth look at the Marks of the Church, the Jerusalem Cross, and we are now preparing for the Passion Play. It is exciting to be working with your children on this beautiful tradition at St Elizabeth’s! After Easter we will focus exclusively on Church History for the remainder of the school year. Your students will be voting on their Charitable Giving Options this week and you will be receiving an email relating to that by Friday.
As always, should you have a question or constructive comments, please email me. I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Print No Comments
From Beth Belcher, Director of Religious Education
Posted on December 10, 2009, by Beth Belcher, under Religious Education.
As we prepare for Christmas and await the birth of Our Lord, and His Second Coming, I wish you all a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year! Last Friday, Fr. Ben blessed candy canes for the school in honor of St Nicholas Day this week. All of the students were delighted to have the holiday treats.
Please pray for the 8th graders as they are participating in their Confirmation/Team Building retreat at the Pines Wednesday, Dec 9 – Friday, Dec 11.
The fifth grade will lead the entire school in a Jesse Tree celebration on Friday, Dec. 18 at 9:00 am. The first grade will be acting out the Gospel at the 7 pm Mass on Christmas Eve at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church. There are so many other wonderful activities planned at this time of the year, and all of the students are involved in one way or another.
Please don’t forget the Giving Tree which has a deadline of this Friday, Dec. 11. Please bring in a new or gently used toy to the 8 am Mass and bring it up to the altar at the Presentation of the Gifts. These will be collected and given to needy families in the area.
Again, let me wish you a safe and holy Holiday Season.
Print No Comments
Mrs. Belcher – Middle School Religion
Posted on December 10, 2009, by Beth Belcher, under Middle School Notes.
All of Middle School has a Current Event due Wednesday, Dec. 16 and a major vocabulary test on Thursday, Dec 17. This will also include the St Gertrude the Great prayer.
6th Grade
The students have been learning about ‘sin stories’ and how sin entered the world, thanks to Adam and Eve. We will move on after Christmas to studying about Abraham, and Jacob.
7th Grade
Seventh graders have been working on the difference between the Gospel of Matthew’s account of the Nativity and the Gospel of Luke’s account. There really is a difference! We will move on to The Mission of Jesus and the learning about the Apostles after we come back from Christmas break.
8th Grade
We have been working hard on the Faith Sharing pages and the very last one is due Thursday, January 8, 2010. I am very sure that they will feel that a huge weight is lifted from their shoulders once they have completed this last page. By the time Confirmation rolls around, they will be ready! We have focused on the Models of the Church and once we are back from Christmas break we will look at Prayer and Service – St Augustine’s Prayer to the Holy Spirit and the Beatitudes.
Print No Comments
From Beth Belcher, Director of Religious Education
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Beth Belcher, under Religious Education.
Hello, St Elizabeth families! Happy November!
This is the month of All Saints, and All Souls. We ask everyone to continue to pray for those in our lives who are sick, are adversely affected by our economy, have some kind of special need, or those who have died. We especially remember Phillip Davis, dad of Trey Davis-Hale, and ask you to continue to keep him and his family in your prayers as they face this difficult time.
This month also ushers in our Saint’s Game, to be held on Friday, November 20 at 2pm in the gym. All of the classes will take part in the saint’s procession to be held on that same morning, at the 8:00 am Mass. We hope that as many of you, who are able, will join us to celebrate those who have officially been recognized as saints in the Catholic Church! It is always a wonderful procession and game! Be sure to mark your calendars for these great events.
A few other dates to remember would be the followingTuesday, November 17, the feast of St Elizabeth of Hungary – students will receive a free piece of ‘feast day’ cake at lunch
- Friday, November 20, Saint’s Mass procession (8am) and Saint’s Game (2pm)
- Tuesday, November 24, Thanksgiving Prayer Service, 9 am, 2nd grade leads the school
- Monday, November 30, The Giving Tree begins for the school community – please bring new unwrapped toys to Mass on Fridays and your child will bring these gifts up and place them under the tree in the sanctuary.
We encourage families to write their special intentions on the slips of paper outside of the front office and place them in the basket to be brought up to the altar during each Mass. We consider your intentions to be private and will be prayed for silently; however, people for whom you’d like prayers should be directed to me or your child’s Religion teacher. The ‘basket’ intentions will eventually be used as kindling for the Easter fire during the Triduum.
As we move closer to the end of the month, to Thanksgiving and to Advent, I wish you and your families a blessed and peace-filled holiday season.
Print No Comments
Mrs. Belcher – Middle School Religion
Posted on November 11, 2009, by Beth Belcher, under Middle School Notes.
8th Grade- SAINT PRESENTATIONS!!! These students did a fantastic job depicting their Confirmation saints and presenting their information to the students of the school. We got lots of great comments for their amazing presentations!! BRAVO! We will move onto The Model’s of the Church, as was instituted by Vatican II, through the late Avery Cardinal Dulles.
7th Grade just finished their colorful and accurate Holy Land maps. Ask them questions about the different cities on the map! We will move forward with the Infancy Narratives and the two different depictions of Nativity scenes in Luke and Matthew’s gospels.
6th Grade is studying Creation – both Biblical stories. They have just learned about the Ladder of Creation- ask them what they learned. Next we will focus on sin, how it came into the world, and the biblical stories that show us this and the love and mercy of God which has redeemed us.
Print No Comments
Religious Education
Posted on September 24, 2009, by Beth Belcher, under Religious Education.
Hello, all, and a hearty 2009-2010 welcome to you all!! We look forward to a wonderful year with all of your children.
I would first like to offer my aid to anyone who may be in need of clarifications or questions answered about our Religious Education here at St Elizabeth. Our goal is for your child to feel welcome and to know the love of Jesus Christ each day here at St. E’s. Please let me know if you have questions or constructive comments to share. I can be reached by email: bbelcher@saintspride.com.
Each Friday, at Mass, our classes offer prayers and petitions to be included with the gifts which are brought to the altar. We would like to open this opportunity to all families by placing an Intentions basket on the round table outside of the office. On that table you will also find a pad of paper that you may use to write your own petitions to be offered at Mass. No one will read these petitions, they are from your heart and that will be respected. God knows what you desire and how ardently you pray, so we would like to offer our prayers with yours for the good of all our St Elizabeth students, parents, faculty and staff.
Lastly, in honor of Respect Life Month, please begin sending in pictures of your families, any service men and women, grandparents, babies, etc. We are constructing a ‘tree of life’ made from the pictures of the people in our lives, along with the handprints of all of our school children and staff. Feel free to send in handprints from anyone in your family who does not already go to St E’s. We will be constructing this tree next week, for the month of October, when the Hike for Life will take place. Just send your pictures with your name, child’s grade and put it in an envelope marked: Mrs Belcher, Tree of Life. I look forward to seeing as many pictures as possible of our families so that we are all united for Life!
Below, please find the Mass schedule for the year. This is subject to change since sometimes issues arise that are out of our control. Please be sure to check with your child’s teacher to confirm Mass dates for your child.
- September 4th – 8B; 11th – 4A; 18th – 4B; 25th – 7A
- October 2nd – 8A; 9th – 5A; 16th – 6A; 30th – 6B
- November 6th – 3A; 20th – 3B
- December 4th – 8A; 8th (Tues) – 8B; 11th – 4A; 18th – 4B
- January 8th – 7A; 15th – 7B; 22nd – 2B; 29th – 6A
- February 5th – 6B; 12th – 3A; 17th (Wed) – 5A; 19th – 3B; 26th – 7B
- March 5th – 8A; 12th – 1A; 25th – 1B
- April 9th – 2B; 16th – 8B; 23rd – 7A; 30th – 7B
- May 7th – 1A; 14th – 1B; 21st – KA; 28th – Faculty
Print No Comments
Mrs. Belcher – Middle School Religion
Posted on September 24, 2009, by Beth Belcher, under Middle School Notes.
6th Grade
We have learned the Old Testament songs and can sing them at a moment’s notice!! Pretty good stuff! We have looked at Hebrew (Old Testament) Scripture and will continue to do so as we make our way through Salvation History up to the time of Joshua and entering into the Promised Land. This will take us a good portion of the year, but we will continue to learn, at this point, about Scripture and how important it is – it is the Word of God, and how Scripture is TRUE but not necessarily FACTUAL. We then understand that spiritual truths are where we can learn the most and apply them to our daily living.
7th Grade
I am proud of your students as we have gotten off to a great start this year, singing the New Testament songs. We have looked at the impact of Christ in our lives, and we will move on to how His Church is accessible to us, through Scripture and Tradition. Christian Scripture (the New Testament) takes a huge roll this year, as we come to learn about the Evangelists and their impact on our lives today. We will also cover how the Gospels came to be written, why is Acts of the Apostles so important, and how truth is contained in Scripture even though all of Scripture may not be factual.
8th Grade
We have started off on a wonderfully great foot this year. I am so proud of your children and the work that they have done thus far. We will continue with our study of the Images of the Church, and move on to Respect Life Month, in October with the Hike for Life. Your children do receive 6 hours of Service for this event! They will also help to construct the Tree of Life that will be down the hall outside of the Social Studies, Library and Religion rooms. We will make Trinity rolls, to show how leaven grows and spreads, then we will move on to our roots of Christianity, deeply steeped in the Hebrew Scriptures, and reviewing Abraham, our Father in Faith.
Please feel free to contact me with questions or constructive comments at bbelcher@saintspride.com Looking forward to hearing from you!
Print No Comments
