Christian Education

Church School

Christian Education | A Note from the Rector | Church School | Adult Faith Formation | Worship/Study Resources

St. John's church school begins in September. Every week the church school meets at 10 am, while parents attend the education forums. We have classes for two years olds (they meet at one end of the nursery) and for every other age and grade through high school. The threes, fours, kindergartners, and first and second grades meet in classrooms on our education wing. The third and fourth grades meet together, as do the fifth and sixth grades, on the lower level. Seventh and eighth graders are part of the Rite Thirteen program, which is a step in the confirmation process: they meet in the conference room on the lower level. The Journey to Adulthood class, of the ninth and tenth grades, is the next step, which will culminate in a pilgrimage. The high school class this fall joins the J2A class in the Youth Room, also on the lower level. A map of all the classes is on the bulletin board at the West Avenue entrance lobby.

Curriculum

Our curriculum is called "Living the Good News" and it is based on the lectionary rotation of Scripture. Each age has appropriate activities for their development, yet the whole church is learning about the same part of the Bible. (The toddlers and three year olds have a simpler class format.) Our fifth and sixth graders are working on a special three month curriculum called "God and Family", formulated by the Scouts. The seventh and eighth grades are enjoying a curriculum called "The Gospel According to the Simpsons," and the high school is engaged in a process of self-exploration in their fall unit.

Teachers

All our teachers are volunteers; parents help on a regular basis. We subscribe to the goal of building a community in the classroom and then with the church school as a whole and then with the whole parish, as best we can. To this end we are walking to Norwood Park, in a Fannie Mae sponsored Hike for the Homeless, on October 10. Many children attend the Animal Fair honoring St. Francis on October 3, from 2-4. Our children give parties for other classes in mid-winter, and we have inter-generational events at intervals so we can connect to the oldest parishioners.

Goals

Other church school goals are building character through practicing kindness and enlarging our sympathies; extending our creativity by writing, acting in, and producing plays and pageants; and learning the spiritual practices of Christianity, such as prayer, the Eucharist, and the rituals of the church seasons.

Registration

There is no formal registration process for church school: we welcome your child, and we acquire the information we need when adults fill out the newcomers cards during a visit. For more information, or to talk about your particular child's situation, please call the church school director, Nancy Derr, at 301-654-3623.