Welcome and Introduction

Greetings everyone!

Welcome to the new year of Religious Education at Ascension-St. Edmund Parish.


I'm Paul Rubio, the Tuesday evening catechist for grade 8.

I started teaching 10 years ago with a passion for sharing the abundant faith I had coming out of college, and I'm glad to be starting my 11th year of teaching.

I grew up in Oak Park and attended local schools: I am Irving Class of 2002, Julian Class of 2005, and OPRFHS Class of 2009.  I attended the Ascension Religious Education program for grades 7 and 8, after my family had been part of the St. Giles Family Mass Community for several years.

I have my MLIS degree from Dominican University, and I currently work behind the scenes at the Addison Public Library.

We'll have the opportunity to learn more about our faith this year, and that includes me, because I'm working with a brand-new curriculum.

As we begin, I want to establish a few guidelines for class:

This website will contain information about what we do in class, including any activities that require a submission to be done during the week.  Not all weeks will have a required submission. This website will also contain links to resources used in class.

Parents, please notify me of absences or any need to be late as far in advance as possible.  In the event of an absence, your student should visit this website to know what we did in class, and I will pass along required make-up work.

E-mail is the best way to reach me, and I have provided it to all the parents.

I look forward to the ways we will encounter God together this year.

God's blessings,
Paul Rubio


A fun fact about me: I enjoy traveling.  It's my goal to see all 50 state capitols in the USA.  This past summer, I reached the midpoint of my goal, very aptly, in St. Paul, MN.  One of the other impressive domed buildings in St. Paul, MN, is the Cathedral of St. Paul, which appears behind me in the above photo--I thank a fellow Mass attendee for getting this photo of me.  While I'm at it, I'm also striving to see as many Roman Catholic Cathedrals in the USA as I can.  So far in 2023 alone, I have visited 6: Omaha, Sioux City, Harrisburg, Gary, Denver, and St. Paul.

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