There are many students who attend Catholic Schools even though they are not practicing

Catholics themselves. A scenario that occurs on numerous occasions that I have been told by
from a fellow teacher is that many primary students who are not Catholic who cannot receive
their first communion, often try to sneak one during school masses. There have been times
where they do take one and eat it, and have also been times where they take one but do not
put it into their mouth and try to slip it into their pocket. In cases like this, as the classroom
teachers, it is our responsibility to have a conversation with the class reminding them how
sacred and important receiving communion is. We need to explain to them that it is something
a practicing Roman Catholic receives when they are in grade 2, and it is part of their faith
journey. Unfortunately, they cannot receive this sacrament unless they are Catholic, and for
primary grade students sometimes that is hard for them to understand. We need to explain to
them it is a decision made by their parents at a young age if you are to be baptized or not. We
also have to explain how sacred communion is and what it represents and that students who do
receive it, immediately place it into their mouth and are to never walk around with it or put it in
their pocket. By educating the students about what it means to be Catholic and the important
sacraments they receive on their faith journey, we can hopefully prevent the non- Catholic
students from having any misunderstandings about why they cannot receive them, but are still
welcome to partake in mass in other ways.