St. Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church
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ST. HARALAMBOS CHURCH
SUNDAY SCHOOL
34
Koinonia May & June 2014
CHRISTOS ANESTI! As another year comes to a close, we wish to extend the following THANK YOU’S:
To Father Nick for his continued support of our program, the Parish Council for consistently seeing to and fulfilling all our needs, our very dedicated, nurturing teachers and staff, and the parents for entrusting your children’s religious education to us. Most importantly, we thank all our beautiful children who enrich our lives each and every Sunday by the special ray of sunshine their presence brings into our lives.
To our beautiful Myrrh Bearers, who made the Good Friday evening service even more special by their participation. They are: Lia Bench, Anna Darrah, Lauren Ergazos, Aliki Kantzos, Sophia Kreareas, Alexa Nastoff, Brooke Pope, Ariana Tsene- kos, Abigail Turner, and Ariana Vallos.
To our very own Easter Bunny who distributed special treats to all our children at the Agape Service.
once again able to make Easter a little brighter for those less fortunate.
To the Endowment committee for their most generous monetary gift once again this year, which enabled us to purchase items to enhance and benefit all our students and teachers.
SUNDAY, MAY 18th - “RECOGNITION SUNDAY” We will recognize all graduating seniors who have been active participants in our program through their senior year with a graduation certificate and Holy Week book. Each 5 th grade student will receive an Orthodox Study Bible. We will honor all excellent attendance and achievement award recipients. Lastly, each student will receive a promotion certificate and gift. Awards will be presented to students at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy. Please mark this date on your calendar and plan to attend in support of your children.
TEACHER SUMMARIES Below is a teacher summary by grade level of various things the children have been working on this year. 2-3 YEAR OLDS: STEPHANIE NASTOFF & JOANNA VOLAS The 2-3 year old class has been learning about Lent with "Lady Lent". Lady Lent has 7 legs that represent every week. We have also been filling up our treasure chest with "gold coins". Each gold coin that goes into the treasure chest has a good deed written on it that the children have come back week after week to share with the class that they have done!!! They are so very proud of their good deeds. We continue to also review the Old Testament bible stories. In March and April we did Daniel and the Lion's Den and Joseph. In May we will be talking about David & Goliath! Thank you for sharing your very young chil- dren with us. You would be amazed how much they learn!
PRE-KINDERGARTEN: STEPHANIE MACHAMER & DIANE FOSTER The year has been wonderful with a lot of eagerness to learn about our faith. Our "little" Orthodox Christians have learned how to receive Holy Communion (and what it is) and the proper way to light their candles, make the sign of the cross, kiss the icon and enter into the church. We spent a lot of time on The Miracles of Jesus. They were fascinated on how Jesus could feed 5,000 people with only two pieces of fish and five loaves of bread (and have leftovers). We are now taking a Journey through Lent and concentrating on Palm Sunday through Holy Week, the Crucifixion and Resurrection. "WOW!!!! How could anyone nail Jesus to the cross like that? Didn't it hurt?" These are just a few examples of what is going on in our class- room. We do make learning fun, by singing, dancing, and the "Treasure Box". Thank you for sharing your beautiful children with us on Sunday Mornings. They are a sermon in themselves.....by just looking at their shining faces and sharing conversa- tions and big hugs with them. THANK YOU!!!
KINDERGARTEN: TINA WEY & PAULA PAPDOPULOS The Kindergarten class has many things going on this year. We spend quite a bit of time learning The Lord's Prayer, learning the proper way to receive Holy Communion along with the fact that they are Orthodox Christians. We learn the holidays and major feast days of the church. Much time is spent during Lent with the booklets they make regarding the Easter journey, wooden crosses they make commemorating the Veneration of the Holy Cross and the icons we make and have blessed by Father Nick. We also spend quite a bit of time on thankfulness, why we should be thankful and how to treat others. We are also learning about God's creation of the heavens and the earth. This is such a great learning age and we hope parents are also taking the time to reinforce these things with their children at home and in everyday life.
ST. HARALAMBOS CHURCH SUNDAY SCHOOL Koinonia May & June 2014
35 GRADES 1 & 2: STEPHANIE WITHERS What a great group to teach! This is the age when they have very inquiring minds about our faith and are not afraid to ask questions. We’ve had a very successful year learning more about Orthodoxy. We started out the year reviewing how, why, and when to make the sign of the cross, the proper way to receive Holy Communion, appropriate behavior in church, and reciting the Lord’s Prayer. Throughout the year we’ve learned how very special we are through the gifts our Lord has given us, and through His teachings we treat others and the earth, with love, respect, and kindness. Learning more about the cross and about Jesus' life has been our emphasis all year. The students have engaged in conversation and shared many of the experi- ences that they and their parents do to help them live a Christian and sharing life. I would like to thank all of the parents for the excellent attendance of their children in our class. I thoroughly enjoyed the children this year and wish all of them and their families a wonderful and safe summer!
GRADES 3 & 4: LINDA NATALE Each Sunday the third and fourth grade students look up, read, and discuss the day’s Gospel lesson. They each have become quite proficient at finding passages in the Bible. In addition we have discussed and constructed a model of the Iconostasis and are learning about the various feast days depicted on it. Currently, the students are completing a LENTEN JOURNEY picture book that will serve as a reminder of the themes for each of the important days leading up to and through Pasha. All of the student work is kept in their own individual portfolio, which they will be able to keep as a reference for years to come. This has been again a very delightful group or students who are truly a pleasure to work with. Thanks to all the parents who encourage their regular attendance. Have a wonderful summer!!
GRADES 5 & 6: TULA PIROVOLOS
This bright, energetic group has been very busy this past school year. They have been learning about the seven sacraments, the twelve major feast days, and the parables of our Lord. They have become very proficient in looking up the weekly Gospel reading. They have also been learning the hymn to our patron Saint Haralambos. To test their knowledge about what we have covered, they enjoy playing our own versions of Bible Jeopardy and Bible Wheel of Fortune!
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL CLASS: JOHN KELLAMIS & ANGELA VAGOTIS-SHANKEL The theme for the Junior High class this year is “What Do You Stand For?” Our curriculum has been based upon the materials we purchased from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, Department of Religious Education. We have tried to challenge our youth to explore and practice Orthodox Christian character traits such as honesty, kindness, empathy, integrity, tolerance, patience and respect. We have incorporated the weekly gospel readings into our theme. We wish much success to those stu- dents who will be moving on to the high school class. To all our students, we deeply thank you for your attendance and partici- pation and the respect you always show us. HIGH SCHOOL CLASS: KAREN LAZORAN The “Hearts to Change the World” Community Outreach really kept the H.S. Class extremely busy. In the process the stu- dents learned that the Outreach is GOD’S Ministry and that when you pray for God to bless it. He did so abundantly! They learned that God provided not only the abundance, but also the manpower to complete a job that seemed impossible. They learned how to be frugal with donations: ex. Making six fleece scarves out of a fleece throw for the minimal cost of 50 cents each! They learned that working for God can be and is fun especially when everyone does their job efficiently. They learned that there is satisfaction for a job well done, especially when it is done with love for the sake of “others in need.” They learned that it takes dedication and love to monitor an Outreach from “beginning” to “end.” It is much like the job of a Chris- tian: to persevere in this life with Love for God and Dedication to Him by acquiring His virtues so that we may grow in our rela- tionship with Him and our fellow man.
We are continuing our study of the priest’s inaudible prayers before the First, Second, and Third Antiphons during the Divine Liturgy. Combining three different translations of each prayer (even though slightly different) and blending them together, reveals more of the “fullness of Orthodoxy” in that particular prayer. We have continued the Lenten Reflections homework. It is very rewarding to see how each student is maturing in his/her introspection, focusing on God, adapting and acquiring one or more of God’s virtues in their everyday life.
From our Sunday School family to yours, we wish you a safe, fun, restful summer and God Bless! Respectfully in His Name, Mary Griveas, Director Yüklə 31,13 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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