The Religious Education Committee gratefully acknowledges the work of the dedicated First Day School teachers: Catherine Weiss, Molly Finn, Ellen Harter, Ross Capon, Bill Grimm, Jim Breiling, Margaret Plank, Ulrike Lichti and Marion Ballard. Together with their students they spent the 2008/2009 school year exploring Quakerism and community service. In the Fall of 2008, a total of 38 students registered for First Day School. This compares to 41 children who registered the previous year. The age breakdown was as follows:11 in Kindergarten/Grade 1
5 in Grades 2/3
9 in Grades 4/5
7 in Middle School (grades 6-8)
6 in High School (grades 9-12)
While the attendance in classes varied considerably most weeks there was a core group of 4 or 5 in each class. The 4/5 group usually had about 10. The high school group met on several Sunday afternoons/evenings for a movie, ice-skating, and other activities.
We are grateful to Bonnie Grimm for leading junior Meeting for Worship and Sing on the first First Day of each month. The children also worked on various service projects throughout the year.
Several regular annual events were held during the 2008/2009 year. In September, a picnic for BFM families was held on Sycamore Island, in October, students helped raise money and awareness about the homeless by walking in the Fannie Mae Walkathon for the homeless. In December, students participated in the annual Christmas Pageant that included a new play -- Amahl and the Night Visitors. Middle School students also sold chocolate chip cookie mix they had put together for holiday gifts and gave the proceeds to the National Shelter for Women & Children. The annual Easter egg dye took place on Easter (along with a good discussion about the roots of the holiday) and bibles were distributed in May to rising 5th graders. The coming year will focus on the Old Testament with a link to Quaker history and values using curricular materials from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
Efforts by the Religious Education Committee to raise the profile of the children in meeting and the First Day School program were somewhat successful. The Committee claimed space on the bulletin board in the Library as a means of improving communication with families in the Meeting. Children were encouraged to wear nametags, if they have them. Discussion was had with the Clerk of the Library Committee about improvements in the children's area of the Library. Beginning in January the children joined Meeting for Worship for the last 15 minutes - this experiment will continue this year. We hope thoughtful discussion will continue about this and other logistics relating to the children's program in order to more fully build community within the Meeting and deepen the spiritual life of the children.
The Religious Education Committee looks forward to the 2009/2010 year despite some challenges. Keeping enrollment up, finding teachers, and spreading work equally over the RE committee members have been important but difficult tasks. In particular, the RE committee is still in need of an adult to lead the oldest children (high school students). The RE committee would like the support and engagement of the Meeting in designing a program which makes full use of our resources, sets clear goals with measurable outcomes and reaches the children in a meaningful way. The Committee's goal for 2009/2010 is largely the same as last year-- to draw more individuals, both children and adults, into the life of the First Day School and to build the community we are seeking.
