Not only is it an important year in the life of your child, it is also an important year for their class, their teachers, and also for you the parents/guardians. It is also a special time too for the parish community. Your child’s faith journey began the day you brought your child to the Church to be baptised. And what a special day that was for you and the family. Now, that child has grown, they are about to take another step in their faith journey, as they prepare for First Holy Communion. And we all have a part to play.

While the Home is the primary learning place, each parent/guardian will be asked to take on a special role over the next few months, to journey with your child as they prepare to receive the sacraments, as there is only so much that can be taught in school. Our teachers do a wonderful job in preparing the children for their special day, but ‘home is where the heart is’. And the home is the domestic Church, where our children are influenced by what they see and learn.

As part of our preparation for First Penance and First Holy Communion, we run in tandem a parish based programme, ‘Grow in Love’. This programme is a continuous programme, connecting the classroom with the home and the parish. As part of the programme, there is an Information Night, (where we meet the parents), an Enrolment Ceremony for you and your child, and there are 8 Sundays set aside where you and your child will have some participation in the Sunday Mass. It is also hoped that you and your child will frequent mass regularly as your child prepares for this special day.

**First Holy Communion 2023**

Greetings to all our pupils, families, and schools as you settle down for a new school year. Please God it will be a safe one, where everyone will grow in education, and look out for each other. On the one hand, you are returning to the normality of school, and on the other hand, to a new norm in terms of how you interact inside and outside of class. Do continue the basics, washing the hands, keeping the social spacing, wear the mask, and minding each other. We are in this TOGETHER!

To all the families who will celebrate First Holy Communion in 2023. We are very much looking forward to the year ahead. It will be different, but we in the parish will continue to connect and journey with you. As of now there are no dates for First Holy Communion in 2023, but will have dates once we see how things unfold in the coming months.

In the meantime one of the ways we are going to connect with you is through our Shannon Parish App. So the first thing we would like you to do is download the app, if you haven’t already done so, and keep the app open for notifications. The app is our free gift to you. It will be a great source of communication, posting resources online, which will complement the school programme and keep you notified of what is happening.

Finally, we wish you a wonderful school year ahead, and may God bless you and your family.

Fr Arnie P.P. V.F.