My name is Karen Tarmey.  Fr. Shawn has asked me to take on the role of Coordinator of Religious Education. For those of you who do not know me very well, my husband, Michael, our two daughters, Cara and Sofia, and I have been members of St. Mary’s Parish for twenty-five years. Our girls attended and graduated from St. Mary’s School. Michael is on the St. Mary’s Parish Council. I have been a Catechist for several years during our time in Melrose. I retired in June 2018 after a thirty-one year career in Special Education, as a teacher and an administrator. I am excited for this opportunity and am looking forward to working with each of you.
          Fr. Shawn and I have reviewed the safety guidelines and rules for face to face (F2F) teaching from the Commonwealth and the Archdiocese. We have determined that we do not have the physical space to hold in person Religious Education classes. Therefore, we will be moving to an online program this year. This will make some things easier and others more challenging.
          We will begin this year on Sunday, November 1^st with on-line assignments from your child’s Catechist.  The assignment will need to be completed by the next Sunday.  Classes will continue every other week through early April, having approximately eleven lessons. Catechists will be assigning work and checking in with the students every two weeks.  You will have access to both standard paper materials and online materials.  We will be scheduling dates and times for you to come and safely pick up your child’s materials for the year.