Religious Education Newsletter
FIRST CLASS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 at 6:30pm!
EMAILING THE NEWSLETTER EARLY WITH SOME INFO FOR THE FIRST DAY!
September 14, 2026
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Jubilee Year of St. Francis!
We are witnesses of peace!
Dear RE Families,
Welcome back to the 2026-2027 Religious Education year! We are so excited to kick off this new year on Monday, September 14! We hope you all had a good summer and that the school year is off to a great start. This summer, I had the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi in May/June. You were all in my prayers this summer, especially as I got the opportunity to pray by the tomb of St. Francis. Pope Leo XIV has declared this year a Jubilee Year of St. Francis in honor of the 800th anniversary of his death, and as Baptized Catholics, we have the opportunity to receive an indulgence. For more information, check out this website of the Franciscan Friars.
Over the summer, Cindy Stults decided to retire as the Assistant Director of Religious Education after 5 years of helping both Amy Johns and me as DRE during that span. We thank her for many years of service to our parish and RE program. I am happy to welcome Barb Richter as my new Assistant DRE. Barb was our 6th grade catechist last year and has many years of teaching experience in Catholic schools. I am glad to have her on board to help our Rel Ed program this year!
Our catechists are all set to bring great lessons that draw our students closer to God. From the chapter work to extension activities, we hope your child(ren) come into a deeper relationship with God. Our catechists wrote an introductory note that each child will bring home on the first class night. We are blessed with a great group of catechists and a few new faces!
Grade 1: Mrs. Cathy Richardson, assisted by Mrs. Darlene Simpson
Grade 2: Mr. Jared Hoy, assisted by Grace Finley
Grade 3: Mrs. Jan Hoy, assisted by Mrs. Judy Diagostino and Anthony Rainey
Grade 4: Mrs. Danielle Talarico, assisted by Amelia Bauer
Grade 5: Mrs. Pam McGraw
Grade 6: Mr. Bryan McKinley
Grade 7: Mr. Brandon Douge
Grade 8: Mr. Tim Cooper
We will send out a newsletter on the first Monday of the month via email with the upcoming information for the month. Please be on the lookout for it to stay in the know about all things RE and what is coming up. Also, please look at our page on the parish website. You will always find our current calendar, sacrament information, and other forms related to RE. A paper calendar is also attached to each teacher's introductory note.
Should you ever need anything, please email us. We check our email regularly, and that is the best way to get a quick response. Please save this email address for future use. We are still having some slight email issues, so we will use both religiouseducation@scbfw.org and religiouseducation@stcharlesschoolfw.org. Please add both email addresses to your contacts so they don't go to spam. We look forward to a great year!
Blessings,
Keith Heimann, Director of Religious Education
and
Barb Richter, Assistant DRE
September 2026 Calendar
September 14: 1st Class Night
September 21: Regular Class Night
September 28: Regular Class Night
October 5: Regular Class Night
October 12: Regular Class Night
Monday Night Arrival/Dismissal
As a reminder, arrival and pick up are at Door #13. Door #13 is located at the Reed/Trier lot. Cones will be set up along the sidewalk for safety. You can drop children off at the door, and they will come into the building and turn left into the Parish Hall. We begin right at 6:30pm with opening prayer as one whole group, then dismiss from there to the classrooms for class. Dismissal is at this same door/lot. We do ask parents of young students to park and come up to the sidewalk to gather your child(ren) from the teacher. Class ends at 7:45pm.
Sacrament Timelines
For students in Grade 2 and Grade 8, in addition to their catechist's introductory note, they will also bring home a timeline of dates and information regarding the upcoming sacraments. Please keep this note in a safe spot and refer to it for future planning.
Items to Bring to Class
Each child will receive a textbook and folder on the first day; please remember to bring them to class each night. The books and folders will have a label with their name on it. In addition to these items, grade 6 will get a Bible. Students in grade 7/8 should bring the Bible they received in 6th grade. If they are new to RE, a Bible will be handed out. Please be sure they have these each night.
2026-2027 Fees
If you haven't paid your fees for the year, feel free to send payment with your child. We will send bills out in October, but if you would like to get this off your to-do list, we will take it. The fee for one child is $70, for two children is $130, and for three or more is $190. You can pay by cash or check made out to St. Charles Religious Education.
