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CHURCH SCHOOL CLASSES FOR 2006-2007 will begin Sunday, September 24

Registration will take place following the services on September 10 and 17

Pre-school “Discoverers”                             ages 3-4

Trinity Explorers (rotation workshops)      grade pre-K-5

Rite-13                                                    grade 6-7

J2A                                                        grade 8-9

YAC (Young Adults in the Church)            grade 10-12

Weekly Class Schedule

All children in grades pre-K to 5 will meet in the Education Wing after the 10:00 a.m. service for a snack and a short time when the children and teachers sing and pray; students and teachers will then adjourn to their programs.  Journey to Adulthood members will go directly to their meetings.  Classes will be held in various rooms depending upon the activity.  A board will be posted in the education wing indicating where each class is being held each week.  Discoverers will remain in Room 7 of the education wing.  Classes finish at 12:15.

Rotation Model Workshops for Grades pre-K - 5

The Workshop Rotation model uses a cyclical method of learning that helps children with different learning styles to retain more while having fun.  Children study one theme, or Biblical story, in each five-week cycle.  During that time the children rotate to different workshops, all covering the same topic in different ways, including storytelling, art, cooking, drama, movies, and music.  The point is to make Church School something the children want to participate in as they experience first-hand the wonders of the Bible.

Journey to Adulthood for Grades 6-12

Journey to Adulthood is a three-part experience for young adults from grades 6-12.  Its goal is development of the whole person as an individual, focusing on self, society, spirituality and sexuality.  The program was developed at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Durham, North Carolina, and has at its starting point two basic precepts: “Manhood and Womanhood are free gifts from God” and “Adulthood must be earned.” 

The entire Journey to Adulthood experience has three components:

Rite-13 is for students in 6^th and 7^th grade.  The program is named for a liturgical celebration, held early in the academic year, which celebrates the gifts and responsibilities of gender and growing maturity, and provides the foundation for the remainder of the program.  One of the goals of Rite-13 is to develop a sense of trust and mutuality within the group of young participants as they remain together over a two-year period, forming relationships that will be mutually supportive in the future.

Our Rite-13 students wrote the Prayers of the People used for the 10:00 a.m. service on Sunday, March 6, 2005.  To read these prayers, click here.

J2A builds on the experience of Rite-13 and trains young people in six necessary skills of adulthood within the context of their faith: listening, assertion, negotiation, research and information management, partnership, and leadership.  This year’s J2A group will include students in grades 8-9, with smaller sub-groups based upon the size and composition of the group.

Young Adults in the Church (YAC), for those in 10^th, 11^th and 12^th grades, builds over the long term upon the relationships established during Rite-13 and J2A.  The YAC experience provides additional opportunities for young people to practice their newly-acquired skills in the context of the congregation and the wider community.  A trained adult mentor is assigned to each young participant.

Critical aspects of all three components of the Journey to Adulthood program are opportunities for inter-generational activities with parents and a spiritual pilgrimage tour taken either at the end of J2A or at the beginning of YAC.

Journey to Adulthood  programs meet following the 10 a.m. service each Sunday. 

Childcare

Childcare is available during the 10:00 a.m. service for children up to age 8.  “Activity time” (childcare for children age 4-8 years) is located in Classroom 9, where children remain until they join their families for the Peace.  Children ages 0-3 years will be cared for in the Nursery from 9:45 through 12:30.

For further information on any Church School program:

Call Kim Hicks, Church School Superintendent, at (860) 527-8133, Extension 207.

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