Dear Parents/Guardians and Children,

We have come to the end of our catechetical year. Summer is knocking at the door and we are looking forward to sun, less hectic days and more time for enjoying family and friends.

There are a few reminders before we come to the last week of class:

Our last week will be May 6th and 7th. We will begin our last class in church with a closing prayer. Following prayer in church parents and children will be invited to go to their class rooms in the school for all end-of-year papers and Progress Reports. We ask parents to remain with their children for the entire session from prayer in church until children have collected all papers in their classes in the school. Please do not drop off your children with the expectation of a full class time. This will be an abbreviated class time.

Parents who have not registered or re-registered children for classes for 2008-2009 may do so at the PREP office. The PREP office will be closed on Thursday, May 1 and Friday, May 2. No registrations will be accepted on May 6th and 7th before, during or after our Closing Prayer. You are welcome to call the PREP office at 610-489-4677 X36 prior to coming in for registration.

Children will be notified by mail in late August as to their classroom assignment. Class lists will also be posted in the school after Labor Day.

We congratulate over 260 children in our parish who received First Communion at Masses during the month of April. We pray that they will continue to be fed and nourished at the Table of the Lord as they continue to grow in faith.

We cannot end our year without thanking our catechists for their generosity of time. We rely heavily on the gift of time and faith of more than 125 adults who serve over 1100 children in our parish program. St. Eleanor Parish in blessed with the largest parish religious education program in the Phila. diocese. We are equally blessed by the presence of so many adults who enter the St. Eleanor Religious Education building each week and share their faith with our children. We pray that God continues to bless them in their ministry, and we pray that other adults hear and answer God’s call to this ministry.

We welcomed Mrs. Anna Olsen to our PREP staff this year and we are grateful for her hard work and dedication to our catechists and children. She has been a tremendous asset to our staff. Thank you, too, to Mrs. Kathy Gallagher for her invaluable support in all aspects of an organized and efficient office.

We ask that you check the parish web site and the religious education web site during the summer for updated information about PREP. We will continue to update both sites and encourage you to use these sites. We will use the web site as our primary source for information during our year. We will not send “paper” Newsletters to each family. Families may request hard copies be sent home with their children, if necessary, but we will hope that families will use the web sites provided for their convenience.

Congratulations to more than 150 children who are recognized for Perfect Attendance this year.
We will celebrate Catechetical Sunday on September 7th. We will bless and commission our parish catechists and send them out to “teach as Jesus did.”

Classes for 2008-2009 will begin on September 9th and 10th. We will begin in church, as families, with prayer and then have time to meet with catechists and visit classes.

During this month of May, when we honor Mary as the Queen of Heaven, let us pray that Mary will watch over us…her children. We call on Mary to listen to us and intercede for us with God when we are in need. She is our Mother, our Mother in heaven. Mary, pray for us!

May 11th is the feast of Pentecost. Seven weeks had gone by since Jesus’ resurrection. Rather than giving up and going home, his friends stayed together and prayed. Suddenly the Spirit “came down to rest on each one of them” and they went out and preached to another group of people who had come together to pray.
{When God’s people pray together, God’s power is released in the world.}

May you have a safe and happy summer. May the Holy Spirit be with you and guide you in faith.
Enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. Please continue to pray for all of our families, our catechists, and all those whose names have been placed in our Prayer Intention Book throughout the year.

Thank you for your continued support and cooperation.
We look forward to your return in September.

Mrs. Anne Hayes