2005-2006 was a busy year for the Religious Education Committee. We registered a total of 54 First Day School students:

• 11 in Kindergarten/Grade 1,
• 10 in Grades 2/3,
• 6 in Grades 4/5,
• 15 in Middle School (Grades 6-8), and
• 12 in High School (Grades 9-12).

This represents roughly half of the members and attenders of school age listed in our directory.

Last year was the Quakerism year in our triennial cycle of Old Testament, New Testament, and Quakerism. Lessons focused on Quaker his-tory, the Testimonies and Queries, and how modern Quakers let their lives speak. We became more familiar with early Quakers like George Fox and John Woolman. We used the Queries to explore how concepts like Peace and Simplicity can inform our everyday lives.

The Middle School class invited adults in BFM to share how they are putting their Quaker beliefs and values into prac-tice. The Middle and High school classes heard from a Friend who had attended the World Gathering of Young Friends in England last summer. She shared her new perspective of Quakers from all over the world, and how we have more in common than we have differences.

The committee began work on core aspects of Quakerism guide, not only to assure that key concepts were covered during the Quakerism year, but also to facilitate integration of Quaker values into our study of the Old Testament this year and the New Testament next year.

Once a month, we gathered all classes together for a Youth Meeting for Worship, exploring different ways of Centering and using the silence of Meeting for Worship, as well as encouraging youngsters to share and learn from vocal ministry. In addition to the Sings that followed these sessions, we explored other ways to incorporate music into Meeting experience.

While we avoid rituals, we try to teach our youngsters the meaning of the symbolism behind Christian holidays, particularly at Christmas and Easter. We have continued to try to develop a sense of concern for others in our youngsters. We held a mini Walk for the Homeless, noting that there are things we can do to address the problem in our own community. The Middle Schoolers conceived and created crafts to raise money with which they bought books to donate to the library at Martin Luther King Elementary School in DC. The Middle and High Schoolers designed and operated successful Spring Fling activities to benefit the Ramallah Friends School. Having met with two visiting students from Ramallah earlier in the year, they had a clearer picture of life in Ramallah and the role of the Friends School in that community.