CCD Guidelines
General Policies and Guidelines for Parents and CCD Students
St. Jude Syro Malabar church abides by the rules and guidelines provided by the St.Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago, office for the Protection of Children and Youth towards maintaining the onsite and the Social Media policies to honor the privacy of others, taking responsibility, keeping boundaries, protecting privacy of children, and hence achieve the goal of effective Faith Formation.
The Church recognizes that parents have the primary responsibility for educating their children in the faith. Parents should assist their children in their learning, teach them how to pray, and review any take-home materials for the next Faith Formation / CCD class.
In addition, parents are asked to:
- Submit a signed registration form/parental consent forms requested when registering children for the CCD program.
- Bring their children to CCD class on time at 9 am. Tardiness is disruptive to the class.
- Communicate any compliments, complaints, or concerns to the CCD Contacts listed. Your prompt action can make a big difference for our children, our CCD program, and the catechetical ministry.
- Attend Holy Mass and Eucharist after CCD. If parents need to pick up their children early for an urgent reason, they should inform the class teacher each time. If this happens frequently, the teachers and the CCD team may contact you.
- Encourage their children to follow the safe environment guidelines at all times while on the premises of St. Jude Syro Malabar Church.
- Pay attention to and share with and encourage children to practice the wisdom shared by our faith formation program /CCD teachers periodically through emails.
- Encourage children to attend Mass, family prayers (morning/evening prayers, rosary, liturgy of hours, daily mass readings, etc.).
- Support and facilitate a safe fellowship time for the teachers and students using our church facilities outside of CCD program hours.
Thank you for your cooperation and support.
The following are the attendance and examination policies for the CCD program:
- Students are expected to attend all classes regularly. There are 25 Sundays in the program from September to June. Please reference the calendar linked on this website.
- Students are encouraged to attend the Holy Mass on Sundays after CCD. If they are unable to attend the Mass for any reason, please inform the teachers ahead of time.
- Each catechism class should last for a minimum of one hour and thirty minutes. The Pastor and CCD admin team have the right to arrange extra classes.
- Students are always expected to dress in their best attire for class and Mass. “Sunday best” is the recommended attire.
- Students should read and understand the attendance policy. We will strictly adhere to the guidelines provided by the diocese.
- Children are requested to comply with the safe environment policy and appropriate behavior in class. If any issue arises, such as bullying, inappropriate behavior, or improper use of media with regards to church or CCD, it must be reported and addressed promptly.
- At the first incident, the student will be reminded of their misbehavior by the classroom catechist.
- After the second incident, the student will be sent to the CCD Team and Vicar.
- If the student’s behavior continues and cannot be helped by the catechists or CCD admin, parents will be contacted.
There will be two exams in an academic year: a semi-annual exam in January and an annual exam in June.
Volunteering
We have dedicated and enthusiastic adult volunteers who provide catechetical, logistical, promotional, and other types of support. The more volunteer participation we have, the stronger our program will be for parish families. Our goal is to offer a systematic, high level of catechesis, and this can only be accomplished with your help.
Adult volunteers will need to apply and complete a background check and attend a Safe Environment/ Virtus Training. Youth volunteers are invited to assist the program. If you are interested in volunteering, please send an email to stjudenvasundayschool@gmail.com. Thank you for serving the parish.