2021-22 Grade 8 Ascension Religious Education

Greetings! In our class this week, we started by praying Psalm 148, which describes the wonder of God's Creation.  To set the scene, we gathered at the St. Francis Shrine on the north side of Church, since St. Francis of Assisi is known for how he incorporated nature into his spirituality. Then, we had our field trip, touring the Church.  We looked at some of the stained glass windows, the baptismal font, the cabinet with the sacred oils, the high altar, the St. Joseph altar, the Virgin Mary's altar, the sacristy, and the organ loft.  It was a great time, and I'm so pleased by the many wonderful questions you students asked about what you noticed inside the Church.  (This video  on the Ascension YouTube channel looks at some of the architectural and artistic features of our Church and their significance.) Toward the end of class, I also did a show-and-tell with the incense.  Psalm 141:2 says, "Let my prayer be incense before you."  This Psalm is part o...

Greetings! I hope everyone all had a wonderful time at our first class of the year this past Tuesday, as I had a great time meeting all the 8th graders and getting to know them. We had the opportunity to share a little bit about ourselves in our time of introductions.  I enjoyed reading the responses to the questions I posed at the start of class and the exit slips.  If you of students asked a question on your exit slip, I will share my responses at our next class. During class, I led everyone in doing hand motions to represent the different parts of salvation history.  Perhaps you remember some of them.  If you want to see them again, please look below for a link to a video I recorded. Since God has saved us, He has sent us the Holy Spirit so we can proclaim this Good News--as symbolized by the bubble wrap everyone all got to pop in class. Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit in the Gospel of St. John chapter 7:37-39, where the scene is at the final day of the Jewish F...

Greetings 8th graders and parents, Here is some important logistical information about RE class this year. I will use this website to share about what’s happening in class and what activity should be done at home during the week in between classes.   Your daughter/son is expected to visit this website whenever there’s a new update, usually once a week, especially so they can know what s/he should do at home.  The activity will be something faith-related, to give the students a chance to try out different spiritual practices, and generally will take a short amount of time to do.   Whenever there’s a new post I will notify all the parents via e-mail with a short message containing highlights for that week. For the parents, if you would like me to send you text message notifications, please contact me to provide your mobile phone number. Regarding attendance , if your daughter/son will be absent or tardy to class, please notify me as far in advance as possible.  If you...

Greetings 8th Graders and Families! I am Paul Rubio, the catechist-teacher for 8th grade Religious Education (RE) class for the 2021-22 RE year on Tuesday evenings. I am excited to welcome you to this new year.   I am a long-time Ascension parishioner, since about 2000, after attending St. Giles Family Mass Community for several years.  I attended Ascension’s RE program as a student during grades 7 and 8.  I am now starting my 9th year as a middle school RE teacher.  I grew up in Oak Park and attended local public schools:  I am  Irving   Class   of   2002 , Julian   Class   of   2005, and OPRFHS  Class   of   2009.   I graduated in May 2016 with a Master's degree in Library and Information Science from Dominican University.  After working at the Oak Park Public Library for nearly 2 ½ years, I started my current job as a cataloger in the Technical Services department at th...