The Ontario Bishops ask that Family Life teachers send out a letter to parents about teaching the Family Life program.
Program Letter to Families
(This is a copy of the letter that teachers are asked to send home at the beginning of the Fully Alive program.)
The glory of God is man and woman fully alive, but life for them consists in seeing God revealed in his Word. St. Irenaeus
I would like to introduce our Family Life Education program, called Fully Alive. This program, which is for Grades 1 – 8, is sponsored by the Catholic bishops of Ontario. It is the result of many years of discussion, consultation, and work by bishops, Catholic educators, Catholic school trustees, and parents.
In Catholic schools, Family Life Education is closely connected to Religious Education, and also addresses some of the expectations of the Health and Physical Education Curriculum Guidelines. Fully Alive’s approach to human life, relationships, and sexuality is guided by our Catholic faith and by the wisdom accumulated through many years of Christian human experience.
Fully Alive is organized into five themes:
- Theme One — Created and Loved by God: The first theme provides the foundation of the program. We are created in the image of God, and God loves and sustains each one of us. This theme explores some of the ways in which each person is unique and irreplaceable, yet shares a common human nature with all others.
- Theme Two — Living in Relationship: Human beings are created to live in relationships with others. The bonds of family and friendship, which are explored in this theme, are central in our lives, and shape our identity and our development.
- Theme Three — Created Sexual: Male and Female: Sexuality is a fundamental dimension of our identity as children of God. In this theme, sexuality is presented as a gift from God that is intended for life and love.
- Theme Four — Growing in Commitment: God’s call to faithfulness is explored in this theme. Learning to be committed and trustworthy is a lifelong challenge that begins in childhood.
- Theme Five — Living in the World: Our relationships with others go beyond the circle of family and friends. In Theme Five, we examine what it means to participate in society, and to fulfill our responsibilities to care for and build God’s world.
Before we begin each theme, I will send you a letter about the theme and the topics we will be discussing. Since parents are the primary teachers of their children in the area of sexuality, the family letter for Theme Three (Created Sexual: Male and Female) will provide you with details about the content in this year’s program, as well as next year’s.
Full information about Fully Alive is available on the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario (ACBO) website: (www.acbo.on.ca). For each grade level, you will find:
a summary of the main ideas in each of the topics within the themes copies of stories that the teacher and students read information and suggestions for you and your child related to the topics. If you do not have access to the Internet, please let me know, and we will arrange to print a copy of the website material for you.
I look forward to working with you and your child during this school year, and hope you will enjoy participating in Fully Alive. If you have any questions about the program, please get in touch with