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CCD: AN INTRODUCTION
What is CCD?
CCD
stands for ‘Confraternity of Christian Doctrine’. It refers to the
instruction of children in the Catholic faith. The programme caters for
children from the age of 5 to 14 and it prepares them to receive the
Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the
Sacrament of Confirmation.
When and where are CCD lessons held?
Lessons
take place in the church at Radna Street no. 14, before Mass each
Sunday of the school year, from 10:30 - 11:20. Confirmation lessons
take place on Sunday evenings, 18.30 – 20.00, at The British School, ul
Limanowskiego 15.
At what age can my child begin having CCD lessons?
The class structure is outlined in the table below.
|
Class
|
Child’s Age
|
|
Pre-Communion 1
|
5 – 6
|
|
Pre-Communion 2
|
6 – 7
|
|
Communion
|
7 - 8
|
|
Post-Communion 1
|
8 - 9
|
|
Post-Communion 2
|
9 - 10
|
|
Pre-Confirmation
1
|
10 - 11
|
|
Pre-Confirmation
2
|
11 - 12
|
|
Confirmation 1
|
12 - 13
|
|
Confirmation 2
|
13 - 14
|
How is class placement decided?
Admission
to a class is decided on the basis of a child's age and any previous
instruction they may have received. Children are normally not allowed
to join the First Communion class unless they have already had one full
year of formal instruction in the Catholic faith.
At what age can my child receive the sacrament of the Eucharist/Confirmation?
Children must be 8 or a ‘strong’ 7 before they can receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
The Confirmation programme is two years in length, and children should be at least 14 years old before they are confirmed.
When/how can I sign up for lessons?
Sign-up
for lessons takes place early in September, in Radna, and classes
normally begin on the last Sunday of September. However, you can sign
up any Sunday before or after Mass – just ask someone to point out the
CCD Co-ordinator. Registration forms can be downloaded here. All parents are asked to fill out a covenant form which can be downloaded here.
Are there any other requirements I need to know about?
There
is an annual charge of 150 PLN per child. This fee is used to pay for
textbooks and to cover the cost of renting the classrooms.
All
children are asked to sign a Covenant at the beginning of the CCD year,
guaranteeing their good behaviour. A short assessment is given at the
end of the year.
When are lessons held?
Lessons
are held during the academic year, from late September to mid-June. We
try to match our calendar with those of The British and American
schools, so that CCD lessons do not fall during school holidays.
Who will teach my child?
Our
CCD teachers are all volunteers, usually parents of children in the CCD
programme. Very few of our CCD teachers are qualified teachers – but
all are Mums or Dads who are practising Catholics and who have a desire
to pass on the faith to the children in our congregation.
We are
always happy to hear from parents who would like to act as CCD teachers
- if interested please contact the CCD Coordinator, Mary Donnellan –
mdonnellan@thebritishschool.pl
Which textbooks are used?
We
use the Christ our Life series, which is produced by the Sisters of
Loyola. This is an American series which serves the needs of an
international community very well. The book your child will use can be
found in the table below:
|
Class
|
Textbook
|
|
Pre-Communion 1
|
God Loves Us
|
|
Pre-Communion 2
|
God is Good
|
|
Communion
|
God Cares for Us
|
|
Post-Communion 1
|
We Believe
|
|
Post-Communion 2
|
God Guides Us
|
|
Pre-Confirmation
1
|
We Worship
|
|
Pre-Confirmation
2
|
God Calls a
People
|
|
Confirmation 1
|
Jesus, the Way,
the Truth, the Life
|
|
Confirmation 2
|
Send out Your
Spirit
|
My child has never been in a
CCD Programme before/is not baptised/is converting to Catholicism/ has
not yet made her Communion … what should I do?
Speak to the
CCD Co-ordinator. If your child is much older than those who are making
their First Communion, we will put them into an age-appropriate class,
and at a later stage, they will join the Communion group for the final
preparations.
If your child has not been baptised, please indicate
this on the registration form, and then speak to the priest who can
organise a baptism ceremony if this is your wish.
Don’t worry
about your child’s previous Catholic education – we are an
international community and children come to us from very different
religious/home backgrounds. We will try to make your child fell welcome
– he/she can always move class later in the year if the teacher
believes that this is appropriate.
If your child is in the process
of converting to Catholicism, it would be good if you made this known
to the priest. Private lessons will probably need to be arranged, but
we are open to having your child in an age-appropriate class if you
would like this.
My child attends a Polish school, but we would like him/her to receive his religious instruction through English. Is this ok?
Unless
there is a very good reason, it is more appropriate for your child to
receive his/her religious instruction along with his/her class in
Polish school. This is better for your child, and makes life easier for
his teacher in the Polish school. However, if one or both of the
parents is not Polish, or if the child has been baptised outside
Poland, the circumstances are different, and we would be prepared to
make an exception in such a case.
However, if your child has been
baptised in a Polish church, and attends a Polish school – we will not
be able to accept them into our CCD programme.
If your child has a
Polish baptismal certificate, but attends an international school, it
may be possible, with the permission of your Polish parish priest, to
accept your child into our CCD programme. Such issues should be raised
with the CCD co-ordinator before completing the registration forms.
My
youngest child is 4/very shy/a little worried about attending CCD. Can
a parent accompany him/her, and can we try out the lessons first?
Of
course! If your little one is only 4, he or she may have to repeat a
class before entering the Communion group, but otherwise, we are always
open to children and their parents attending CCD lessons.
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