Church School

CHILDREN’S CHAPEL: CELEBRATING ORDINARY TIME

Children's Chapel meets in the Baptistery from 10:10 to 10:25 on Sunday, just
before Sunday School and the 10:30 Eucharist.  These weeks of the "great,
green, growing time" mark the final weeks of the season following Pentecost. Together we celebrate and remember our story as God's people. From now until Advent we'll explore the great library of history, poetry, story, and inspiration known as the Bible, and we will meditate upon the ways in which the people of God worship together.  After Children's Chapel, we will leave the Sanctuary together and be met by our Sunday School teachers.

Note that there will be no Children's Chapel on October 4, the day we
commemorate the Feast of St. Francis with the Blessing of the Animals.

LOWER SCHOOL

Classes for children in preschool through grades 5 will meet immediately after Children's Chapel; teachers will meet the children in the vestry - or just on the parish hall side of the vestry since the choir will be gathering in the vestry. The classes are on the basement level, in the two classrooms used last year. Classes begin September 20, and will meet almost all Sundays. On September 20th, teachers will have registration forms, as well as calendars and a letter from me, so that families will know the Sundays when there will not be church school. There are two classes: Preschool, Kindergarten and Grade One, with Susan Robinson, Lynne Campbell and Carol Hilliard as teachers, and Grades 2, 3, 4, and 5, with Kate Sackton and Beth Abbate as teachers. We will be focusing on the theme of Exile and Restoration for the fall season, beginning with the fall of Jerusalem and exile to Babylon. We will use Bible stories, acting the stories, and representing ideas and responses to the stories in various ways. Helping the children feel wecomed and part of the church school community, as well as ways of bringing lessons into our daily lives are top priorities for all of us. We are looking forward to getting to know the children, and though it is often said, it is still true that we look forward to learning along with the children.

UPPER SCHOOL

 Upper School at St. James’s consists of a middle school class and a high school class. Laine Walters Young directs the Upper School, although if you have a middle school-specific question, you can contact Anne Read.

Middle School is taught by Anne Read, with Steve Clark and Nancy McCardle assisting on rotation. The curriclum for the year is “Living the Good News,” a lectionary-based Episcopal curriculum, which has been used by St. James’s before. Anne will supplement from other lectionary-based resources as well.

High School is taught by Laine Walters Young and Mark Agard as team one, with Jennifer Schley Johnson and Elizabeth Hixson as team two, on a two-week rotation.

The curriculum for the year is “Confirm not Conform,” a confirmation curriculum which will lead our youth through an exploration of their beliefs and the beliefs of those around them, with the intent that, by the end of the year, they will be able to claim their unique faith and give voice to how it applies to their life in the world. We believe such a process is applicable at all stages of life, confirmed or unconfirmed, interfaith heritage or otherwise, but particularly useful for our teens now.

Both classes will have “Go to Service Sundays,” where students and teachers will be encouraged to take on Service Assistant positions, such as chalicing, acolyting and serving, reading, ushering, greeting (with help), etc. Laine is coordinating this program.

J.T. Kitteredge, Hannah Reeves, Jojo Read, and Michael Salib have offered to be subs for this year, as needed.

Jojo Read will lead a middle school youth group program with monthly meetings at St. James's. Additionally, Anne Read is offering an optional opportunity for involvement of children grades 5 through 8 with River Rangers, an outdoor Christian program led by Will Messenger. Becky Bjork will lead a new high school youth group.