Program Announcements 

EVERY child in our program is required to :

1 -  Attend weekly Sunday Mass AND submit 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 were outlined in your family’s registration form. Each student received 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.  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.

Registration for our 2026-2027 Program 

To help us better prepare for the upcoming year, we have moved our registration window to the spring.

Registration for the 2026-2027 program CLOSED ON MAY 10, 2026. 

There will be a late registration at the end of  August with a late fee. Placement options in our program at that time, be subject to current availability.

Families that participated in our program this year (2025-2026):

• Registration: Has currently closed. There will be a late registration at the end of August. Please check back. 
• 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 in August.

  Families that will be NEW or reentering our program:

• Registration: Has currently closed. There will be a late registration at the end of August. Please check back. 
• Requirements: A Baptismal certificate is required for all new students. If your child is not yet baptized, please contact the Faith Formation office before registering. Please have this ready when you begin the registration process in August.
• Transfers: If your child is entering 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. 

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: Has currently closed. There will be a late registration at the end of August. Please check back. 

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 for NEW families 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