Safe and Sacred Parent Workshop - Save the Date - Monday, May 4 at 7PM

Dear SBPS Parents and Caregivers:  

Please save the date for our annual Safe and Sacred Parent Workshop, Monday, May 4 at 7PM. Mrs. Kim McMillan (Director pf Lifelong Faith Formation), Father Ryan (pastor) and Ms. Gemo, Head of School, will be presenting this year’s workshop.

Each spring, our teachers present the "Safe and Sacred" portion of our religion curriculum to their students. The units covered in "Safe and Sacred" teach our young people about the following concepts:  

  • God Creates Us 

  • Boundaries 

  • Friendship and Bullying 

  • Safety and Awareness 

  • Digital Discipleship 

  • My Sacred Self  

The section titled "My Sacred Self" explores the following themes in grade-level appropriate language: emotions, the sanctity of human life, human growth and development, sexuality and reproduction. Your child's teacher will be sharing more specific information about the actual concepts, language used, timeline of lessons, etc. We expect these lessons to begin late early May. There are parent support materials that the teachers will also share as well.  

For your reference, these are the general concepts taught for each grade level:  

Kindergarten: All life is a gift from God; all living things reproduce; knowing and following safety rules; knowing and setting personal boundaries

First Grade: practicing ways to say no; telling an adult when they feel unsafe; learning different types of family structures; appropriate only safety behavior; building self-confidence

Second Grade: defining safe and unsafe secrets; developing healthy relationships; knowing when to ask for help and from whom; treating others with dignity and respect

Third Grade: identifying and using appropriate expressions of affection; welcoming others; identifying threatening and coercive language; recognizing inappropriate or confusing displays of affection;

Fourth grade: unsafe people & boundaries; unsafe situations; with basic concepts of changing bodies, stages of life, and growing and maturing. 

Fifth grade: Abduction prevention; sexting; students will learn more specifically about human reproduction and puberty  

Sixth grade: Male and female reproductive systems, including conception; pornography   

Seventh grade:  modesty, chastity, sexuality, hygiene   

Eighth grade: sexual predator, grooming, pregnancy, adoption, safe haven for unwanted babies 

We view parents as the primary educators of their children and value your role in teaching these concepts to your sons and daughters. In addition to parent materials that your homeroom teacher will share, we typically do a “Safe and Sacred” parent education session to explain the program and answer parent questions.

We invite parents/guardians at all grade levels to attend this parent workshop. It’s never too early for parents to prepare themselves for the many “talks” as their children grow and mature. The presentation will explain the Safe and Sacred program thoroughly as well as provides insight on how to answer tough questions that your children may ask. We are also here to help parents understand how to answer these tough questions in the context of our Catholic faith. We hope you will be able to attend.

Thank you for partnering with us as your child grows and develops as a child of God!  

God bless,  

Ms. Rachel Gemo, Head of School

The BuzzRachel Gemo