|
IF YOU ARE AN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN READING THIS AND
ARE LOOKING FOR WORSHIP, FELLOWSHIP AND EDUCATION WITH A PARISH FAMILY IN THE NY METRO AREA, WE WOULD LOVE TO MEET YOU!
HIGHLIGHTS
FROM 2008/2009
Look for some bright new changes in the hallway of our school
building as classes begin this year! In addition to the 5 gorgeous icon banners completed by the students in time for
Pascha/Easter '08, look for the icons of the 12 Orthodox feast days and Pascha on one wall and a huge new magnet board on
the other! And don't forget to look up at the new white ceiling overhead! After 40+ years, the ceiling tiles have
been replaced in every classroom and the hallway. (Restrooms are next!)
Thank you to Father Sudick for obtaining the
set of Russian Feast Day icons: To George Wislocki and all the guys who helped get that ceiling done: and to Bob Piwinski
for creating the magnet board and hanging the icons.
And you won't be able to miss the brand new American flags in each
room! Hopefully, there will also be some new furniture additions early on in the school year.
That's the
pretty stuff: on to the real business of Church School! Our classes and teachers are arranged as follows:
PreK/Nursery: Susan Sulich
1st/2nd grade: Alicia Pipher & Nadia Bolinsky
3rd/4th grade: Margaret Wislocki
5th/6th grade (Middle School): Dasha Piwinski
Upper Class: Christopher Nolan
*** High School:
Stephen Wislocki/ Susan Sulich (planning assistant)
***As you may remember, our 4 high school students successfully
completed the 2-year course: “The Way, The Truth & The Life” last spring and received “Certificates
of Completion” when Metropolitan Herman visited our parish on Pentecost. Our currant goal with our high
school students (who will all be juniors this year), is to now take what they have studied all these years about their Orthodox
Christian faith, and begin to put it into everyday practice as young adults. This actually began last year with their
increased service and responsibilities to the parish. (Martha began assistant teaching in our Church School; Roman has
been singing in the choir; Paul “holds down the fort” as a senior Altar Server as well as occasional Epistle readings
and Nick has been involved with the very practical work of manning the Candle station and collections. All 4 labored diligently
in preparing the church for Pascha.) This is how we expect our senior students to participate in parish life. They are
setting an EXCELLENT EXAMPLE & GOAL for all the other students right behind them!
We are VERY PROUD OF THEM!
This year, our high school students will meet on an irregular basis, to accomplish particular projects or points of
study. They will NOT have weekly classes, but rather, meet at the discretion of Steve Wislocki. However, they
will be expected to continue their expanded roles on a regular basis.
All other classes will meet weekly after
a short break for a “Coffee Hour” snack.
This will be the first year the St. Nicholas class has been
split. This was done to accommodate the 1st & 2nd graders need to move forward while not rushing the younger ones.
Alicia & Nadia will introduce the Divine Liturgy to their class as well as prepare the 2nd graders for First Holy Confession
in the spring.
Meanwhile, Susan is looking forward to doing a complete “180” in her teaching: she'll
bring quite a fresh perspective to the Nursery//PreK class after having just completed “Way/Truth/Life” with the
High School students! There's also a different view once your own kids have passed through that time; and you're
looking back with a new group of little ones… you really appreciate the innocence and beauty of it all the more!
While Susan is demonstrating the Sign of the Cross to little fingers, Chris Nolan has (bravely!) agreed to take on
the Upper Class, where he'll be walking that minefield of the early teenage years! Chris will be starting “Way/Truth/Life”
with his class. Chris may be a relatively recent convert to Orthodoxy, but his breadth of knowledge and understanding
of our Faith often puts the rest of us “on notice”! (Don't tell anyone….but we even heard one student
describe him as “cool”!! High praise, indeed!)
My class, 6th grade/Middle school, will be working
on “The Scribe” curriculum. This class has the reputation of being the “easy” class….we'll
see if that holds as they pass into adolescence! My goal is to have the kids out of their chairs, expanding on the newspaper
reporter premise of “The Scribe” into video reports/interviews ---where they can watch themselves and perhaps
do a parish presentation at some point--and any other kind of “tech-y” stuff we can use. (Yikes!
What am I saying? I can barely use email!) But our goal is to use anything and everything available to keep and
expand both the interest, knowledge base and spiritual “depth” of our students. I hope we are (technically)
able to use some of the Orthodox internet broadcasting available now.
Finally, Margaret's 3rd/4th grade class has
already covered so much ground (Sacraments, Feast Days, Divine Liturgy, Life of Christ) that at this writing, her curriculum
is still TBD! But knowing Margaret, I am confident that whichever curriculum she decides on, she will stir both the
hearts and creativity of her students.
REMINDER: PARENTS: DO YOU REMEMBER-way back around Lazarus Saturday-- STEVE
ASKING YOU ABOUT YOUR AVAILABLE DATES FOR A SCHOOL TRIP TO DC? WELL, THAT'S STILL IN THE WORKS…AND WE'D
LOVE TO GIVE YOU A DEFINITE DATE but would you believe it-----we can't do that even at this late date due to bureaucratic
red tape! (Possible dates are, I believe, 3rd wkend. in Sept. or 1st wkend in Oct.) Congresswoman Nita Lowy's office refuses
to give us the exact date any more than 3 weeks in advance! That's going to be fun trying to make a group hotel
reservation with that kind of notice! Look for more info on this in the very near future….we hope!! Our tax dollars
hard at work! But fear not!! Our man, Steve is on their tail!!
As in previous years, we will continue
to open our classes by gathering as one to sing our opening prayers and once again, Father will meet with the entire student
body on the first Sunday of each month (circumstances permitting.)
So enjoy the last rays of summer…..and
listen for the bell on Sunday, Sept. 14th!
Pray that our Church School will always bring glory to Jesus Christ!
|
