education

Education

Thanks

Many thanks to those who have led or helped lead a Summer Serendipity program so far this summer: Dana Burnham, Mary Ellen Dunn, Shannon & Lance Haines, Samm Robie Klindt, Kate Leduc, Karen Mackinnon, Christine Nally, and Christy & Phil Rhind; and also to the adults and youth who have worked at Vacation Bible School: Becca Bainbridge, Allison Bell, Carole Burke, Chrissy DeAngelis, Christine Dixon, Christine Nally, Jane Palmer, Sarah Small; to all those who brought in supplies for crafts and games; and to Denise Farnsworth for creating an awesome pretend science machine as a prop for the stage during VBS.

Attendance Awards

Three more children have reached the 30 Sunday milestone since September 2007: Ryan Ackerley (PreK class); Angela Russo (K class), and Jaclyn Fraser (Grade 4 class). Congratulations!

We do predict that some children will reach the forty Sunday milestone before Rally Day.

No Longer Calling All Shoeboxes!

We have all we need, thanks to all of you! Watch for the Moses craft in October.

Summer Family Choir

Have you ever wanted to try out singing in the choir? Now is the time!

In the summer, a “pickup” choir sings, without a weeknight rehearsal. Anyone interested should come to the church at 9:00 for a half-hour rehearsal prior to 9:30 worship. You can come one Sunday or all of the Sundays, since each week is separate.

We are especially inviting all of the children who sang in the Salt and Light Choir this year, as well as any others who are interested, to bring along a parent who likes to sing and join the rehearsal at 9:00. This is a great way to keep singing all summer and to involve some other folks in leading our singing during worship.

Summer Serendipity: Tell Me the Stories of Jesus

Calling all kids! This year’s summer Sunday School program shares the parables that Jesus used to teach his disciples life lessons. After the children’s sermon during the 9:30 service, children from preschool through grade 5 meet their teachers in room 2-4. Crafts, stories, and games are provided for this multi-age group, focusing on a different parable each week. Attend as you are able. Parents will follow our regular procedures for sign-in and dismissal. The remaining dates are August 3, 10, 17, and 24.

On August 3, the class will be short, as the children will return to the sanctuary for communion.

Summer Mission Project

Have you brought in your old cell phones yet? Through the end of August, our children are collecting used ones as their Summer Serendipity Mission project. They will be reprogrammed into emergency 911 phones for victims or potential victims of domestic violence. Your old phone could save someone’s life!

Vacation Bible School: Power Lab

VBS was a great success, with about twenty of our WUMC children attending. Among the highlights for the nearly 150 child and 40 youth participants was the fizzy concoctions of Mentos mints and Coke… Ask one of the kids about it! We’ll be showing the slideshow of the week (as the children’s sermon) sometime soon.

Summer Musical Day Camp

We will once again offer a musical day camp in August for grades 2-8. (That’s “entering grade 2” to “completing grade 8.”) During the week of August 18-22, 9:00 a.m. to noon, Joanie Walsh will lead participants in preparing the musical “Takin’ It Through the Day,” which will be performed as the sermon at both the 9:00 a.m. and the 11:00 a.m. services on Rally Day, September 7. There will be a dress rehearsal on Saturday, September 6, at a time to be decided by the group.

“Takin’ It Through the Day” helps kids take a humorous and practical look at not only reading the Bible every day, but allowing what they’ve read to shape their response to the situations life throws at them each day. The music varies from rap to rock and several other contemporary styles. Rather than tell one Bible story, as “Through the Roof” did last summer, this one includes musical settings of several favorite Bible passages. The setting is a youth group challenged by memorizing a Bible verse.

Registration forms are available on Leslie’s door. The cost is just $15 for the week. We hope to see many from our Salt & Light Choir, as well as many of our younger youth in this great musical.

Contact Leslie for additional registration forms for your friends.

2008-2009 Sunday School Registration

Watch for your packet in the mail soon. This year we are asking that you return the registration forms by August 24 or earlier, so that we can be all ready for your young person on September 7. You may either mail them back or drop them off at the church.

You will find something new in your packet this year—our very first Christian education booklet. It will contain all kinds of important information about our educational programs for children, youth, and adults.

Additional booklets will be on hand at the church. If you have a friend, relative, acquaintance, or neighbor family without a church, we hope that you’ll take an extra to pass on to them. Fall in general, and Rally Day in particular, are very good times to invite others to our church.

Rally Day

We have planned an exciting day for you on September 7. The sermon will be “Takin’ It Through the Day,” presented by the children and youth in our summer Christian musical day camp. There will be shortened get-acquainted classes, also.

Help Wanted

The following positions are open in our Sunday School staff this fall: two or three PreK helpers, two kindergarten teachers, and additional shepherds for grades 4 and 5.

The 2-3 PreK helpers will serve as assistants to Valerie Hall, the regular teacher. In the kindergarten class, we would prefer three teachers who will sometimes lead, sometimes help, and sometimes be in worship, since only two need to be there at any one time; one has already been recruited.

The shepherds in our elementary classes do not teach, but serve as the pastors of the class—knowing whose grandparent is ill and who is in a sports competition, assuring that behavior is awesome, supervising attendance records, and assisting the teachers. We like to recruit enough shepherds so that they can each trade off and stay in worship some of the time.

Please speak with Leslie Hastings if you would like more information.

Fire Drill Alert!

Watch for information soon, preparing all of us for an all-church fire drill later in September or in early October.