Love of God and love of self and others, along with the virtues of respect, responsibility, kindness, and sharing are the focal points of the religious education program at Oak Hill School. The purposes of the program are to foster an appreciative awareness of the presence and goodness of God and to learn about our responsibilities to God, others, and ourselves. The program strives to provide students with an understanding and a commitment that will lead them to respond to God’s goodness by loving others and showing this love through the practice of Christian virtues.
As the students progress from grade to grade, an ever increasing emphasis is placed on prayer, reflection, the gospel message, and each person’s role in the community. Students are given the opportunity to study and receive the sacraments, participate in weekly liturgical celebrations, and become involved in Christian service in the community.
Oak Hill for students in kindergarten through sixth grade use a religion series called Faith First™, a publication of Resources for Christian Living. Faith First™ offers a developmental (or spiraled) approach to faith formation rather than the thematic approach used previously. Each year, from grades one through six, five units are covered: Creed, Liturgy and Sacraments, Christian Morality, Christian Prayer, and the Liturgical Year. Each year builds on the previous year’s themes, developing them in ever greater detail.
Although the curriculum uses a spiral approach to learning about our faith, several activities are included in a specific grade level. For instance, in second grade the children prepare to experience Jesus’ forgiving love in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to receive Him in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. In fourth grade a special All Saints Day Mass is celebrated with the children dressing as a chosen saint. In fourth, fifth and sixth grades, a unit of study is included on the gift of human sexuality in light of Christian values. A special “Mother/Daughter Night” and a “Father/Son Night” are the highlights of this program.
“All of life changes when we see things and people through eyes of faith.” A unique feature of Faith First™ is the inclusion in each chapter of reflection questions: “What difference does this (concept or theme) make in our Church?” and “What difference does it make in my life?” The heart of the Faith First™ program, the “What Difference Does This Make” pages invite the children to explore concrete ways in which they can put their faith into practice. Another feature of Faith First™ that makes it so beneficial is the web site, www.FaithFirst.com, where students and parents can go for additional resources for each grade level.
Oak Hill children have many opportunities to put their faith into practice through apostolic activities. For example, first and second grades work with the MAT Center, helping to stock their food pantry and fifth and sixth grades reach out to the community visiting and establishing relationships with the elderly at the Mary Ryder Home. In addition to the apostolic activities of each grade level, Oak Hill offers two special means of putting our faith into action: the Thanksgiving basket program to help Webster/Rock Hill Ministries and the Lenten almsgiving project to help the mission work of the Religious of the Sacred Heart.
