Empowering God's Children
The Diocese of Metuchen requires all parish religious education programs to present the VIRTUS® Empowering God's Children program each year. At St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, we are committed to partnering with parents to help children understand personal safety, healthy boundaries, and how to respond if they ever feel unsafe. It is our cherished role as adults to fully protect our children. In addition, we must also teach our children/youth about their safety rights and boundaries, so that they have tools to protect themselves.
The Empowering God’s Children program consists of 6 age-appropriate lessons of which we give you 2 each year. This year you will be given Lesson 5 & Lesson 6 (next year will be Lesson 1 & Lesson 2). Within each Lesson there are 4 Options or Activities. Please do at least one Option or Activity from each Lesson and return or email the Parent Acknowledgement Form, signed, by December 4th, 2026, to amadonna@saintthomasob.com.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL PARENT LETTER CLICK HERE FOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT FORM
For the 2026 - 2027 PREP year, our students will be taught the following two safe environment lessons:
Lesson 5: Being a Friend. Children must know that being a friend means that we “do the right thing” when it comes to healthy friendships with their peers: meaning we recognize unsafe situations, intervene (when possible) and get the information to a safe adult.
Lesson 6: Boundaries: Feelings and Facts. Children should be taught tools to recognize what it feels like when adults or other children do not uphold healthy boundaries. Children need to understand objective and subjective signs of boundary infringement, how it physically and emotionally might feel and what to do about it.
The lesson plans include a grade-appropriate video component along with a hands-on activity. The material is designed to better equip your child to know their rights, recognize their boundaries, and to empower them to protect themselves when safe adults are not immediately available—and ultimately be safer from people who might want to harm them.
| 1st – 2nd Grade | 3rd, 4th, 5th Grade | 6th, 7th, 8th Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Lesson 5 | Lesson 5 | Lesson 5 |
| Lesson 6 | Lesson 6 | Lesson 6 |
All lessons must be completed by December 4, 2026 and form returned by December 4th, 2026.
Return the required Parent Acknowledgment Form to PREP or email to amadonna@saintthomasob.com or send into the PREP Office by December 4th.
Before teaching the lessons, please review the following important resources:
CLICK HERE FOR THE PROGRAM OVERVIEW CLICK HERE FOR THE TEACHING BOUNDARIES AND SAFETY GUIDE