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Sunday School
Annual
Report 2004
Thirty-five
students are enrolled this year, evenly distributed amongst the four
combined classes (about nine each) from Preschool to Grade 6. The
confirmation class is the largest in recent years, boasting 18 students
who are capably instructed by Carmon Stone. Other dedicated teachers
include: Brittany Green, Stephanie Reid, Kyle Mason (Preschool &
Primary), Nancy Green and Lisa Hamilton (Grade 1-2), Nancy Knight and
Kathy Mason (Grade 3-4), Kenneth Francis and Audrey Li (Grade 5-6). Sunday
School music is again ably led by Colleen Day; she also started our Junior
choir this year. Our fine accompanist is Brian Field.
Our
schedule remains unchanged from last year. Each Sunday morning begins with
group singing. This brings all the children together as a community to
share the joy of music. The music is chosen for its singable tunes, and
how well the lyrics support the Christian themes being taught. The Sunday
School holds a license from Church Copyright Licensing International,
which allows the use of 150,000 different songs. Many of the songs we are
singing this year come from "KidSource" a compilation of songs
appropriate for children. Music is integral to the Christian education
experience at St. James. After 15 minutes of singing, students attend 35
minutes of class time, and then return to their families for Holy
Communion. At the church service, a children's talk is presented by Rev.
Rod Gillis. This year all classes are following the newly revised Witness
curriculum (Augsburg Fortress).
The
2004 school year began with a "Meet & Greet" social during
coffee hour in early September. The students were entertained with games
(Piñata and "Pin the tail on the sheep") while the teachers and
the parents became acquainted. This year we initiated our first ever
outreach project, a "Penny Jar" drive. In view of the recent
tsunami disaster in Asia, the donation will be directed towards helping
these victims. We are also in the process of sponsoring a child in
Nicaragua through the Sunflower Children's Foundation (www.sunflower-children.org).
This program will help our students to appreciate another culture, and
raise awareness of the plight of less fortunate children. The students
will be able to contribute in their own concrete way. In order to support
these two projects, more fund raising activities will be planned in the
new year and the support of parents and other parishioners will be much
appreciated.
The
Sunday School presented two mini pageants this year: at the Christmas Eve
and Good Friday services. The students looked forward to these events. Not
only did the pageants enhance the worship, the enactment helped to
galvanize the Christian faith and beliefs as well as the personal growth
of the students. At both services, the church orchestra provided music
under the expert direction of Dr. David Wilson. During Lent, the students
made pretzels, hosted coffee hour, and learned about the importance of
outreach from worksheets distributed by the Primates World Relief and
Development Fund. Easter egg hunt was another favourite activity after the
Easter worship. Photographs of these past events, as well as other current
matters such as our T-shirt design contest, can be found on the church
website (stjamesanglican.chebucto.org)
During
closing last May, attendance prizes were awarded to Nelson Field, Niall
Fitzsimmons, Allie Robar, Bailey Francis, Ryan Mason, Trent Field, Meaghan
Harlow, Kate Hinchey-Day, Sarah Edwards, Maria Josey, Thomas McAuley and
Sarah Reid. We thank all the parents for their support of the Sunday
School. In addition, we extend our appreciation to Craig Hinchey and Brian
Mason for taking photographs and videos at various functions throughout
the year.
Respectfully
submitted,
Audrey Li
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