Program Announcements
EVERY child in our program is required to :
1 - Attend weekly Sunday Mass AND submit a minimum of 10 Mass cards.
2 - Attend family meetings & submit any follow up activities.
3 - Attend weekly classes.
If you would like more details on our program please click "New To Our Program" on the sidebar or at the bottom of this page.
Our program includes the essential components of weekly classes, family meetings, and, of course, attending weekly Mass. These requirements are outlined on your family’s registration form. Each student receives a sheet of 10 Mass reflection /Good deed cards in a folder on their first day of class. Feel free to email the Faith Formation team to arrange a convenient pick-up of a new sheet of mass cards. Then just drop a completed card in the basket during the offertory. If you forget a mass card you can stop by the reception desk in the lobby of the church and pick one up before Mass. All cards are to be filled out and submitted by the STUDENT. Remember, you can only submit one card per week.
If your child has not yet completed submitting the 10 minimum required Mass cards for this past year 2025-2026, you can continue to submit them over the summer or they will be added to the total mass cards for this coming year, 2026-2027.
Opening Dates for our 2026-2027 Faith Formation Program
Our Faith Formation program will kick off with our 1st Family Meeting for this year.
Your whole family will attend together at one of the following session options :
Monday September 28th at 6:00 OR 7:00 PM
OR
Wednesday September 30th at 6:00 OR 7:00 PM
WEEKLY Classes will begin on :
SATURDAY CLASSES
Level 1 and 2 Communion 9:00 and 10:15 AM sessions
Saturday October 3
MONDAY CLASSES
Level 3-4-5 - 5:00 to 6:00 PM
Level 6 , Confirmation Level 1, and Confirmation Level 2 - 7:00 to 8:00 PM
Monday October 5th
WEDNESDAY CLASSES
Level 3-4-5 and Older Communion Levels 1 and 2 - 5:00 to 6:00 PM
Level 6 , Confirmation Level 1, and Confirmation Level 2 - 7:00 to 8:00 PM
Wednesday October 7th
All registered students will receive an email with their classroom assignment after September 20th. A calendar with the all classes and events for the 1st half of the year will be distributed, with each student's Mass cards for this year, on the first day of class. Calendars will also be posted after classes start, on the Faith Formation page of this website under the calendars tab.
Registration for our 2026-2027 Program
To help us better prepare for the upcoming year, we have moved our registration window to the spring. Spring Registration for the 2026-2027 program CLOSED ON MAY 10, 2026.
Our FALL registration begins August 24th. See below for registration links.
There will be an additional Fall Registration fee of $10 per family.
Placement options in our program are subject to current availability.
REGISTRATION LINKS
Families with students that participated in our program this year (2025-2026):
- Fall Registration: Begins on Monday August 24,2026 and will close on Thursday October 1st.
- Requirement: If you are adding a new Level 1 Communion student, a copy of their Baptismal certificate is required at the time of registration. Please have this ready when you begin the registration process.
Registration link for families that participated in our program this past year 2025-2026
Families that will be NEW or reentering our program:
- Fall Registration: Begins on Monday August 24,2026 and will close on Thursday October 1st.
- Requirements: A Baptismal certificate is required for all new students. Please have this ready when you begin the registration process. If your child is not yet baptized, please contact the Faith Formation office before registering.
- Transfers: If your child is requesting to enter Level 2 Communion through Level 2 Confirmation and has attended a program elsewhere, a Letter of Transfer is required for placement.
- More information: For more information on our program such as class days/times and fees, please click on the New to Our Program sidebar from this page.
Registration link for families that are NEW to our program for 2026-2027
Important Notes for NEW or RETURNING Families
- Special Placement: If your student is in Grade 3 or higher and is new to Faith Formation or has missed levels, please email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. BEFORE registering to discuss placement.
- Deadline: Fall registration begins on Monday August 24,2026 and will close on Thursday October 1st.
PARISH REGISTRATION INFORMATION LINK
All families participating in our Faith Formation program are required to be registered in St. Bernard's parish. This is a separate registration from Faith Formation. For information on how to join our parish, please click on the link below:
Parish Registration Information
What's in a name?
We're getting to know Jesus. Not just knowing ABOUT Jesus. This is best done when all of us who know Jesus -- even a little bit -- spend time with each other and share our faith. So when we decided to move from calling our program "Religious Education" to naming it "Family Faith Formation", it is a recognition that we're doing more than just educating. And we're doing more than just educating our children.
During two years of Covid we found a physically safe way to continue to share faith at our monthly Family Meetings. People wrote in to say this is what they liked about these sessions...
"It broke things down to a more understandable level for the kids which allowed for further discussion at home."
"I enjoyed being able to experience the religious education as a family. I also enjoyed how it was kid friendly."
"The sense of community and team learning in a less formal atmosphere."
"It was nice taking a few moments simply to reflect on posed questions and having open, honest conversations with my child."
"Getting to discuss topics related to church, Jesus and religion with my kids as they were learning it made me happy. It’s one of the reasons we continue to stay with St. Bernard’s."
"The most helpful/meaningful aspects were relating the lesson to the children’s real life, home, school, sports as well as what you can do at home as a family. Anything that is relatable for the kids is the most important."
So we continue to host a Family Meeting .
Reminder: Families are to sit together as a family during this presentation so they can speak with each other.
And there are more things to learn and more opportunities to come to know Jesus -- but on an age-level basis. For the rest of the month, we'll have Weekly Classes for the children.
And while these are important parts of our program, one of the important aspects of belonging to the church family and coming to know Jesus better is to come to Mass each week. "Attending religion classes without coming to Mass is like going to basketball practice but never showing up for the actual game."
As families plan which meetings and classes they want to attend, they ought to also plan on which Mass they'll be attending. Don't forget to bring your Good Deed or Mass Reflections coupons to hand in during the offertory !
Contact Information
Office Phone: (516) 731-8511 Office Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. FAX: (516) 731-7860
