Catholic School Question

[hpygrll]

My oldest boy will start Kindergarten next year and will more than likely go to the Catholic School near us - we went to visit them today and they were so wonderful!!!! We're so happy about this school.....

My question is - we are not Catholic (we're Lutheran) - what do they do with the kids who aren't Catholic when they're studying for First Communion or anything that is strictly Catholic....do the kids still get to learn and participate?

Thanks!
Jenny

 

[Sinderelli]

I'm sure it depends on the school, but I can tell you what we do at our school. I am a 1st grade teacher in a Catholic school, and we have a number of students who are not Catholic- Muslim, Baptist, Lutheran, etc. The students are expected to take and participate in Religion class like everyone else. They will take the classes preparing for First Communion that occur in school, but will not participate in anything outside of school hours, such as weekend retreats, First Communion preparation, etc.

The students at our school have always been extremely respectful. Parents of these children who are active in their own respective churches report only minor confusions between the religions- minor confusions that can easily be cleared up with open dialog.

 

[golfgal]

The non-Catholic kids will still learn about all the sacraments along with their classmates but they will not be allowed to participate in the ceremony, meaning they won't be able to receive Communion, etc. You are supposed to be Catholic to receive Communion in the Catholic church. Some schools will have the non-Catholic kids in the ceremony and will receive a blessing from the Priest but they won't actually receive Communion.

 

[mtemm]

That would be a good question for the school. Not sure what its like in elementary school, but I did go to a catholic high school. We had several non-catholic students there, and they were expected to participate in religion classes as well as any masses (although they didn't recieve communion). (At that age we weren't doing any of the sacraments)

 

[hpygrll]

I will definitley ask - I would love him to be able to participate to the point it's accepted.....

Jenny

 

[Patricia]

I, too, teach in a catholic school. I teach 8th grade which is the year for confirmation in our school. The children who are not catholic do all preparations with us and most of the time attend the ceremony, but do not partake in the sacrament. It has not been a problem for us and we have non-catholics every single year. I have to say that teaching religion with non-catholics in the room makes the classes so much better. I love having the points of view of other religions right there and when the non-catholic children share their thoughts and ideas, it makes the class excellent. We all learn about just how similiar we all are. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Sinderelli]

I, too, teach in a catholic school. I teach 8th grade which is the year for confirmation in our school. The children who are not catholic do all preparations with us and most of the time attend the ceremony, but do not partake in the sacrament. It has not been a problem for us and we have non-catholics every single year. I have to say that teaching religion with non-catholics in the room makes the classes so much better. I love having the points of view of other religions right there and when the non-catholic children share their thoughts and ideas, it makes the class excellent. We all learn about just how similiar we all are. Good luck with your decision!

Interesting...our area moved Confirmation to 11th grade.

 

[Christine]

Both of my kids are in Catholic School and we are not Catholic. They participated in everything religious that took place during school hours. So if First Communion education and "practice" took place during the school hours, my kids participated. They were not invited to participate in the actual First Communion or the Confirmation (7th grade). They went, of course, as guests and to see their friends but both of these ceremonies took place on the weekends and they did not do anything in them.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My brother went to Catholic school and wasn't.

I believe they particpate in the education, but they do not participate in the sacrament unless it is their desire to do so, parent approves, and they've been baptized. However--I think in that case, at least at our parish--they go through a children's program for non-catholics who convert...like a kiddie RCIA.

But as far as I remember..my brother participated in everything with the exception of the actual sacraments if it was part of the curriculum and during the school day.

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

there was one girl in my school who wasn't catholic when i went to the school(and lemme tell you, i hated every single moment of going to a Catholic school. teachers were snoody, kids were mean, and the homework was insane). when we went to church she would stay behind with one of the teachers and it was basically like a study hall for her. and for our communion(i didn't go that far to do anything else, i'm no longer catholic) they basically did the same thing. she would just go into another room and do some other kind of work. i actually felt bad for her, seemed like she had to do more work than any of us.

 

[Alison Wonderland]

My son goes to a Catholic school and we are not Catholic. He benefits greatly from the religion class and the whole atmosphere of the school. This is not a school that has rich or "snooty" kids. I do tell him the differences between us (Baptist) and Catholic. He is recieving a better education and
better experience than he had at the Baptist school I had him at, and I am glad that he is there. I do not know of him being excluded from anything, except actually taking Communion from the priest.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

MY DS goes to a Catholic school. He is preparing for his 1st Holy Communion now.

I have no advice for non-Catholics, because everyone in DS's class belongs to our church.

I love the education and values he is getting in the Catholic school. We have some "snoots" as I call them, but so does every school. My friends DS goes to the elementary public school and she said there are a fair share of "snoots" there too.

 

[hpygrll]

These replies are very helpful - I don't get the sense that there will be many "snoots" in this school - it's very small - we live in a lower middle class neighborhood - seems like a very homey school.

I do feel really good about it- thanks all for your help

Jenny

 

[Sinderelli]

These replies are very helpful - I don't get the sense that there will be many "snoots" in this school - it's very small - we live in a lower middle class neighborhood - seems like a very homey school.

I do feel really good about it- thanks all for your help

Jenny

Jenny- I just wanted to tell you I am a strong believer in Catholic education. I attended Catholic school for 6th-12th grades. I also graduated from a Jesuit college.

I think you will find some of the most dedicated teachers in Catholic schools. The teachers are paid significantly less than their public school counterparts. Most of the teacehrs I've encountered are there not for the money but because of a strong belief in Catholic education.

Good luck to you and your DS.

 

[Alison Wonderland]

I also live in a lower middle class neighborhood and the kids come from the neighborhood, so that's probably the reason we don't have the rich or snooty kids. I also feel like the teachers are dedicated to bringing the children a Catholic education because I know they don't get paid much.

 

[Daxx]

The non-Catholic kids will still learn about all the sacraments along with their classmates but they will not be allowed to participate in the ceremony, meaning they won't be able to receive Communion, etc. You are supposed to be Catholic to receive Communion in the Catholic church. Some schools will have the non-Catholic kids in the ceremony and will receive a blessing from the Priest but they won't actually receive Communion.

Teacher at a Catholic school. This is exactly what we do w/the non-Catholic students. They learn about the sacraments but don't participate in receiving them.

In order to receive the sacrament, you need to be baptized into the Catholic church.

 

[irishbosoxfan]

I have to ask...WHY if you're not Catholic would you send your child to Catholic school?? I went to Catholic school from 4th to 8th as did my brother and sister and it was the same school attended by my mom and her siblings.

I know there is a waiting list for some schools and I have to say that if I was a member of the church affiliated with the school and my child couldn't get a spot because a non member was occupying it I would be upset.

Why choose a Catholic school if you're not Catholic?

And if you think that the school has more to offer your child and that is why you're sending him then why not become Catholic?

 

[auntpolly]

In order to receive the sacrament, you need to be baptized into the Catholic church.

Some priests will accept a non-Catholic baptisms (mine would) but if you are going to receive sacraments you have to commit yourself to Catholicism. I started taking communion for example after having started adult religion classes.

 

[JoyG]

I have to ask...WHY if you're not Catholic would you send your child to Catholic school?? I went to Catholic school from 4th to 8th as did my brother and sister and it was the same school attended by my mom and her siblings.

I know there is a waiting list for some schools and I have to say that if I was a member of the church affiliated with the school and my child couldn't get a spot because a non member was occupying it I would be upset.

Why choose a Catholic school if you're not Catholic?

And if you think that the school has more to offer your child and that is why you're sending him then why not become Catholic?

I think people who are desperate to get their kids out of public schools will consider a catholic school even if they're not catholic. The religion component is probably "minor" to them compared to whatever they don't like about the public schools.

In my area, there are a lot of students who aren't catholic and go to catholic schools anyway. I have found that the catholic schools are cheaper than the non religious private schools or the non catholic christian schools. So cost might also be a factor.

For myself, I chose to put my kids in a non catholic christian school even though it costs more and was further away. For me, the catholic instruction would have been a big deal. However, my SIL who's the same faith as me had no problem sending her son to catholic school.

 

[MI mom of 3]

I, too, teach in a catholic school. I teach 8th grade which is the year for confirmation in our school. The children who are not catholic do all preparations with us and most of the time attend the ceremony, but do not partake in the sacrament. It has not been a problem for us and we have non-catholics every single year. I have to say that teaching religion with non-catholics in the room makes the classes so much better. I love having the points of view of other religions right there and when the non-catholic children share their thoughts and ideas, it makes the class excellent. We all learn about just how similiar we all are. Good luck with your decision!

I agree with you that having other religionous thoughts makes the classes much better. I am Catholic and went to Catholic school, in 8th grade we were preparing for confirmation. Our teacher was a Jewish woman who had converted to Catholicism plus we had quite a lot of Baptist kids, including twins whose father was a minister. The discussions we had were fabulous!!

I learned more that year than before or since!!