Catholic Morality & Chastity Education Program
In January of 1997, Fr. Jim Chelich led a discussion on the Pontifical Council's document The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality. This discussion was attended by many of our faculty, interested parents and parishioners. Following that meeting a committee was formed to study model curriculums and to compile an appropriate curriculum for grades K-8. Teachers were consulted and drafts were completed for both an in-school, daytime program and an evening parent/child component. This committee, led by parents with the input of the principal and teachers, created a comprehensive Catholic Morality and Chastity Education Curriculum which was approved by the Education Commission and fully integrated into the total religious education program of the school.The program began officially during the 1998-99 school year and has been strengthened and fine-tuned each year since. The daytime program is done in the regular classroom, with appropriate material being delivered during the day within religion class by the teachers. The evening program consists of two parts. The first is an evening program in the fall which offers parents a chance to learn more about the teachings of the Catholic Church on morality and chastity and to give them some practical help on how to carry these teachings into the daily lives of our children. The second component consists of individual class spring sessions which are designed for parents and children in same-sex groups for each of the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades and deals with topics as outlined in the curriculum. Also in the spring is a daytime program for fifth graders. This talk deals with bodily changes and is done separately for both and girls by a same-sex speaker. The Morality and Chastity program at Saint Thomas is designed to offer our parents the support they need in their critical role as the primary educators of their children.
Choose from the following Grade Level Curriculum for more specifics or download the entire Morality and Chastity Education Program.