Dear Parents/Guardians,

We hope you and your family are having a good week!

Grades Kinder to 6th will have an in-person class this Sunday, October 2, 2022 at 10:00am at Saint Andrew School.  We will continue on Prayers and also complete our program-required Safety Curriculum this Sunday.

7th grade program will meet on Sunday, October 2, 2022 at 4:00pm as part of their Confirmation preparation. They will meet in the auditorium. 

8th grade program will meet on Sunday, October 2, 2022 at 5:30pm as part of their Confirmation preparation. They will meet in the auditorium.

Every year, the Archdiocese of Chicago mandates that parishes review with children approved material which contributes to the prevention of child sexual abuse and develops a culture of safety. We use the "Power to Protect" series provided by the Virtus safety education curriculum. I have included the video below that will be shown during the classes for K-5th grade and the 6-8th grade classes. 

As parents, I encourage your constant vigilance and open dialogue about keeping children safe. I also understand that parents may have their own reasons for opting out of the viewing of the "Power to Protect" with their children. In compliance with our mandate and our audits before civic authorities, any parent opting out of this curriculum must complete an "opt out" form for us to keep on record. The form is found below and can be downloaded, signed, and returned to me at your earliest convenience. 

Before choosing to opt out and also so that parents can be informed about the material presented to their children, I have provided links to the videos below that will be shown to the appropriate age grouping. Please feel free to watch these videos in advance of your child's class. I also encourage you to reach out to me if you have questions or concerns. 

After the teachers show the videos and have an appropriate discussion with their class (with approved guidelines from Virtus), the teachers will also hold a fire drill and an intruder alert drill. I want to assure that the impact of the intruder alert drill will be very minimal. We are simply sounding an air horn alarm that will ask teachers to refresh their knowledge of how to lock doors in the building and keep children out of sight. There will not be police escorts, sound effects, or any trauma-inducing measures in the drill. We hope to prepare teachers and students and empower them for safety, not frighten them. 

Thank you for taking the time to read through the steps we will take as part of our Safety Curriculum at Religious Education. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Many blessings,

David Heimann

Our first, 2022-2023 Religious Ed, in-person Parent/Child Joint Formation meeting will take place October 16, 2022 at 10:00am in the Auditorium.  These sessions are part of our program to better enable you to guide the at-home portion of our program. Join us in person or use the webinar experience that will serve as a “make up” if you cannot join us in person.

We look forward to seeing you there!