Sunday School Information

Calendar for 2011-2012

2011-08-05T17:33:00.003-05:00

August 13 Teacher Retreat

September 11 First day of classes

Elevation of the Cross Procession

Blessing of the Sunday School

Classroom Open House

Roller Skating Party 5:30

October 1 Oratorical Festival: Brainstorming & Pizza Night

October 2 Cake Walk Fundraiser to Benefit Sunday School

October 30 Oratorical Festival: Feedback with Father

November 13 Parish Oratorical Festival

November 21 IOCC Sunday

December 11 Nativity Pageant 5:00

December 18 - Jan 1 Break

February 27 Great Lent begins: OCMC box drive begins

March 4 Sunday of Holy Orthodoxy Procession

(Students bring icons)

March 11 Spring Break -- no classes

March 23-25 Metropolis of Denver Oratorical Festival

April 7 Saturday of Lazarus: Breakfast & Palm Folding

April 8 Palm Sunday, no classes (unless we decide to do another "teach-in")

April 12 Myhhrbears (girls, grades 2-5) participate in Lamentations Service

April 13 Great & Holy Friday Retreat

April 15 Pascha, no classes

May 20 Sunday School Showdown & Picnic

From St. John Chrysostom

2011-06-30T16:22:00.000-05:00

When we teach our children to be good, to be gentle, to be forgiving--all these are attributes of God--to be generous, to love their neighbor, to regard this present age as nothing, we instill virtue in their souls, and reveal the image of God within them. This, then, is our task: to educate both ourselves and our children in godliness." (St. John Chrysostom, Homily 21 on Ephesians)

Showdown Questions Link

2011-05-27T17:55:00.001-05:00

I am entering your excellent Sunday School Showdown questions into a database that we can build up, year after year. Whenever new questions occur to you, please feel free to enter them into the database with me!

I have an easy form for you to submit -- like the Registration form, it will automatically feed information into an Excel spreadsheet.

https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/transfiguration.org/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dG5GNGJrQkpuTHlERk5hME1wUmdEZmc6MQ

or here's an easier link:

http://tinyurl.com/showdownquestions

Please hold onto it (bookmark it?), and use it throughout the year.

Hopefully, this will make our lives a little easier. After all, if you can get me about 20 questions slowly over the course of the year, I won't have to bug you when life gets busy next May!

End-of-Year Picnic & Sunday School Showdown

2011-04-10T18:29:00.004-05:00

The end of the school year is already nearing! We're planning a really great end-of-year picnic for May 22, with the goal of providing both a fun day for the kids and an opportunity to showcase what they've learned in Sunday School this year.

After everyone grabs a kid-friendly lunch (now seeking volunteers to help with hamburgers, hot dogs, fruit, chips, ice cream, etc.), we'll head into the Hall where teachers will have corralled their classes into taped-off areas. We'll have a few rounds where the MC asks questions directed at each specific class (5th graders: what is the name of the Gospel writer who calls himself "most beloved"?) and then an All-Play round, where questions are posed to the entire group, and each class writes down their best answer. For every correct answer, a bell will ring out and the class will get a ball/sponge/balloon/simple object tossed into their class' container (cheap hamper or basket). The class with the most right answers wins! We'll post a plaque listing each year's winners, flanked by a photo of all students participating (the entire Sunday School) and the winning class. We want to foster healthy competition -- fun, good-hearted, cheerful camaraderie.

WHAT EACH TEACHER NEEDS TO DO:

* provide a list of 25 or more questions your class should be able to answer

* organize your class into a team --

1. come up with a class identifier (scarf, pin, big medallion, war paint, whatever)

2. develop a class chant ("We know God, yes we do! We know God, how about you?")

3. identify one student to be the Captain (spokesperson -- after gathering class consensus, this student will announce the class answer)

* be available as a coach during the competition

Current best name for the competition:
SUNDAY SCHOOL SHOWDOWN

(please offer an alternative if you have a better name!)

Items we'll need: tape, baskets (or ?), balls (or ?), microphones, chalkboards or whiteboards, pens or chalk, bell, MC

Jason Garwood -- REF shirt

Chanters as panel of Judges?

Plaque & Photo Albums

Summer Announcements

2011-04-10T18:28:00.002-05:00

SAVE THE DATE: Teacher's Retreat to be held August 14. (Back-up date is August 21.) Father has invited Cynthia Costas, from Houston.

STALLS UPSTAIRS? In an effort to control the wild sound problems in the upstairs classroom, the Parish Council will be exploring the idea of creating "stalls" upstairs. The goal is to divide the classrooms for noise control without interrupting air flow or causing any fire hazards. We're also considering the idea of hanging curtains above existing dividers, although the more I consider it the more I worry about the hazards of long drapes. Let me know if you have any good ideas, or if you know a great sound engineer who'd like to drop in for a very low fee.

Sunday School Holy Week Plans

2011-04-10T17:50:00.001-05:00

Lazarus Saturday: Please plan to join us for Divine Liturgy and Palm Folding next Saturday, April 16. The Sunday School is in charge of the palm folding activity, and we'll need all hands on deck to coordinate this huge effort! (We may also need to send a few teachers over to help with the Lenten pancakes...) This is always a fun day for our parish, and your participation will benefit you and the parish! This is a wonderful opportunity to bond with our students in a relaxed and fun atmosphere, and to help them get started on a lifetime of service to their church and their community.

Palm Sunday: For the first time ever, we will be teaching on Palm Sunday. This is our an opportunity to teach the meaning of Holy Week and Pascha. Please prepare a short (20 minute?) lesson on Holy Week and Pascha, and then escort your students back to church so that they may join the line and receive palm crosses with the parish. We will attempt to let you know when the stream of parishioners begins to exit the church, but please also watch out windows, etc., to help with this effort.

Great & Holy Thursday: GOYA girls will participate in evening services as Myhhrbearers/Mirofores. (dark clothing) Contact: Kiki Benson

Great & Holy Friday: After the Royal Hours morning service, Father will give a short talk about the meaning of various Great & Holy Friday Traditions (do you know why we walk under the tomb on our way back on Great & Holy Friday night?) Father needs a few props: crown of thorns, small cups of vinegar, etc. Adults and children alike will participate in the cleaning and decoration of the church and the epitaphion. At the 3:00 service, children will come to the front (led by GOYAns) while Father removes Christ from the Cross. Girls in grades 1-5 will participate in evening services as Myhhrbearers/Mirofores. (white clothing) Contact: Elissa Bjeletich, Georgia Spiropoulos

OCMC Drive

2011-04-10T17:49:00.002-05:00

The OCMC Drive, our Lenten Philanthropy project, finishes up on Palm Sunday. Please collect boxes in class, and bring them to the Hall lobby.

New Oratorical Resource

2011-01-08T22:17:00.002-06:00

Information on the 2011 St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival is available at oratorical.transfiguration.org

Teacher's Meeting

2011-01-04T21:21:00.004-06:00

We covered a lot of ground at today's Sunday School Teachers' Meeting. Here's a little summary...

I look forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting, after church on March 6.

Many thanks to all those who attended!

In Christ,

Elissa

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We discussed the new curriculum, and the fact that textbooks for middle and high school classes are being rearranged. (All affected should have received handouts from me detailing the changes.)

We discussed the Archdiocese's structure for Sunday School classes -- the Shared Christian Praxis approach. We should all be structuring our classes like this, even if the books we are using do not.

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Shared Christian Praxis

Teachers can make units engaging, current, and educationally sound by planning lessons using the “Shared Christian Praxis” approach:

1. Focusing activity

The focusing activity draws the students’ attention to the theme of the class session, using a story, allegory, or symbol. It is an introduction, and is not the heart of the lesson itself. Spend no more than 5–10 minutes on it. (brainstorming, drawing, What does _____ mean to you?, offer an anecdote and solicit comments.)

2. Name present praxis

Help students to identify a part of the Orthodox Tradition or their current way of life, which was alluded to in the focusing activity.

3. Reflect on present praxis

Help students to inquire about and consider the implications of this part of their life and the Orthodox Tradition.

4. Access the Christian story and vision

Segue into the content of the lesson. If the students have not read the assignment, this would be the time. This can be done in a couple of ways. First, give the students 5–10 minutes to read silently on their own. Second, ask a few students to read a crucial paragraph or two aloud to the class.

5. Appropriate the story and vision

Help students to make the story their own. Allow students to retell the story in their own words, and to respond and to interact with it interacting with it in an authentic way.

6. Decision for lived response

Students take what they have learned and consciously decide how this lesson can be put into practice and bear fruit in their lives from this point forward.

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Father announced the beginning of a new tradition: Godparents' Sunday, to be celebrated on February 2. Please let your students know that it's coming, and that they should ask their godparents to join them in the Communion line and at the luncheon to follow.

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We'll be having a Sunday School Food Drive throughout the month of February. Each class will be given a bin, and whichever class collects the most canned food, dried beans and rice for the Capitol Area Food Bank will win ! The prize is to be determined, but will likely include a trophy or plaque and a cupcake snack. We'll also try to arrange a group trip to the Food Bank to deliver the food collected.

In March, we'll offer a special fun event to celebrate the good job they've done.

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The Oratorical Festival is also coming up on February 27. I plan to visit Middle & High School classes tomorrow to discuss it. This year, all Oratorical information is available online at:

http://tgocoratorical.blogspot.com

There is a section on integrating the festival into Elementary-age classrooms; please take a look and consider using this in your class!

7-12th graders are invited to a pizza night brainstorming session after Vespers on January 22, and to a Q&A with Father during Coffee Hour on February 13.

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On March 13, we'll celebrate the Sunday of Orthodoxy. It's Spring Break, so there are no classes that day. After Communion, we'll gather the kids in the Narthex, and when it's time to process we'll bring them down the central aisle to meet up with Father and the Acolytes and the Choir, to process outside, weather permitting. Please bring extra icons for those who have forgotten theirs.

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We'll be organizing the kids to collect change for the OCMC during Lent.

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The GOYA retreat will be April 8-10. Please let Father know if you're interested in helping.

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Holy Week changes:

We do not traditionally teach Sunday School on Palm Sunday, but this year we're beginning a new tradition of holding classes on Palm Sunday in order to teach a Holy Week & Pascha lesson. Please put aside your usual curriculum, and use this one day to prepare your students for the beautiful services that will be coming throughout Holy Week and Pascha. 4th grade and up will be provided with Holy Week zines, and we're looking at useful texts for younger students (though we may decide to wing it with Holy Week crafts.) This is our opportunity to help our students really connect with the beautiful services surrounding our most central feast, Pascha.

On Great and Holy Friday, we'll all get together for Royal Hours and then the usual decoration of the Epitaphion and cleaning of the church building, but this year we are going to set aside some time for a very special retreat. We'll plan the details at our next meeting.

Myrrhbearers will be participating in Holy Thursday AND Holy Friday services.

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The First Annual Bible Bowl is coming up on May 22 (the Sunday School Picnic). All teachers are asked to think of 15 - 30 questions that would be appropriate for your class. We're looking for questions on topics you've covered this year, and especially on those topics that the students found most interesting. We look forward to some friendly competition! Wacky prizes may be awarded, but the highlight will be the Bible Bowl Championship Trophy, which will of course become a much-desired annual award. Please help me make this a really fun event!

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Calendar for 2010-2011

2010-09-29T14:39:00.002-05:00

September 12
First day of classes
Elevation of the Cross Procession
Blessing of the Sunday School
Roller Skating Party 5:30

October 3
Cake Auction to Benefit Sunday School

November 21
IOCC Sunday

December 12
Nativity Pageant 5:00

December 19 - January 1
Break

February 2
Godparents' Sunday

February 27
St. John Chrysostom Parish Oratorical Festival

March 6
Sunday School Teachers' Meeting

March 13
Sunday of Holy Orthodoxy Procession (Students bring icons)
Spring Break -- no classes

April 1-3
St. John Chrysostom Metropolis Oratorical Festival
Ss. Peter & Paul Greek Orthodox Church, Boulder, Colorado

April 16
Saturday of Lazarus
Divine Liturgy
Sunday School Breakfast & Palm Folding

April 17
Palm Sunday -- teach Holy Week & Pascha

April 21
Great and Holy Thursday
1st - 5th grade girls invited to serve as Myhhrbearers

April 22
Great and Holy Friday
Retreat
1st - 5th grade girls invited to serve as Myhhrbearers

April 24
Pascha -- no classes

May 22
Sunday School Picnic featuring the First Annual Bible Bowl

June 3-5
St. John Chrysostom Archdiocesan Oratorical Festival Annunciation Cathedral, Houston, TX

Communicating with Parents Via E-Mail

2009-09-07T11:49:00.002-05:00

Let’s take advantage of our email abilities! I’ll send out school-wide announcements, and you can email updates to your parents, telling them what your class has been learning and reminding them of upcoming events. Perhaps just this small step could get some of the more relaxed parents excited about the value of Sunday School, inspiring them to more consistent attendance patterns.

Liturgical Calendar

2009-09-01T11:08:00.005-05:00

If you use digital calendars (like Outlook or iCal), a liturgical calendar listing daily Saints, feasts and fast schedules, can be downloaded and automatically followed on your calendar. http://www.goarch.org/archdiocese/departments/youth/planner2009

Teacher's Prayer Before Lessons

2009-08-11T15:14:00.019-05:00

Lord Jesus Christ, to Thee I cry:

hear me Thine unworthy servant!

Enlighten my mind;

grant that I may truly and clearly describe

Thy way into the Kingdom of Glory

which Thou in Thy mercy has granted us!

Grant that those who read and listen to my words

may be filled with Thy love,

enlightened by Thy knowledge

and made strong by Thy power.

Warm our hearts with Thy Spirit

and we shall joyfully and fervently go

the way which Thou hast shown us.

St. Innocent of Alaska,

Apostle to America

Substitutes

2009-08-11T15:14:00.011-05:00

If there is a week where neither partner is able to teach, please let me know with as much notice as possible. We will have a list of substitute volunteers. I can get them your curriculum, or, in the event that there is not time to create a lesson plan, I will furnish them with an age-appropriate lesson.

Schedule

2009-08-11T15:14:00.010-05:00

Students will head down to Mt. Tabor Hall after they receive communion. Classes will be 45 minutes long. Please try to keep track of the time, and release your students promptly.

Thanksgiving Prayers

2009-08-11T15:12:00.016-05:00

Our students receive communion and then head out for Sunday School, often without stopping to offer a Thanksgiving Prayer . We probably wouldn’t let our kids “eat and run” at Grandma’s house, and we certainly shouldn’t be encouraging this in the House of our Lord. Please open your class with a prayer that includes Thanksgiving for Holy Communion. Please be sure that there is an icon available for prayer times, perhaps presented in an attractive prayer corner.

You may already have a prayer that you like, or you may wish to write something simple (especially for the younger students -- perhaps, "Christ our God, I thank You for the good things You have given me, and especially for Holy Communion. In the name of the Father,...") or you may choose to adapt one of the following prayers:

From St. Basil the Great:

O Master, Christ our God, King of the ages, and maker of all things: I thank thee for all the good things which thou hast bestowed upon me, and for this partaking of thine immaculate and life-giving Mysteries. Wherefore I pray thee, who art good and lovest mankind: Keep me under thy protection, and in the shadow of thy wings; and grant unto me with a pure conscience and even unto my last breath, to partake of thy holy Mysteries, unto remission of sins and unto life everlasting. For thou art the Bread of Life, the Fountain of holiness, the Giver of good things, and unto thee we ascribe Glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

From St. Simeon Metaphrastes:

May thy holy Body, O Lord Jesus Christ our God, be unto me for life eternal, and thy precious Blood unto remission of my sins. May this Eucharist be unto me for joy, health, and gladness; and at thy dread Second Coming make me, a sinner, worthy to stand at the right hand of thy glory: through the intercessions of thine all-immaculate Mother and of all thy Saints. Amen.

I thank thee, O Lord my God, that thou hast not rejected me, a sinner, but hast accounted me worthy to become a communicant of thy Holy Mysteries. I thank thee that thou hast accounted me, the unworthy, worthy to partake of thine immaculate and heavenly gifts. But, O Master who lovest mankind, who didst both die for us and rise again, and didst bestow upon us these thy terrible and life-giving Mysteries for the benefitting and sanctification of our souls and bodies: grant that they may be for me also unto the healing of soul and body, unto the averting of everything contrary thereto; unto the enlightenment of the eyes of my heart; unto the peace of my spiritual powers; unto faith invincible; unto love unfeigned; unto fulfilling of wisdom; unto the keeping of thy commandments; unto growth in thy divine grace, and the attainment of thy kingdom: that by them preserved in thy holiness, I may ever remember thy grace, and henceforth live not unto myself, but unto thee, our Master and Benefactor. And thus, when this life is ended, in the hope of eternal life, I may attain unto everlasting rest, where the voice of those who keep festival is unceasing, and the delight of those who behold the ineffable beauty of thy countenance is boundless; for thou art the true desire and unutterable joy of all those who love thee, O Christ our God, and all creation hymneth thee forever. Amen.

Useful Internet Resources

2009-08-11T15:09:00.009-05:00

www.goarch.org

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America has an excellent website, on which you’ll find readings of the day, the lives of the Saints celebrated each day, and articles and q&a’s on various subjects that may come up with your students. If you proceed to their Resources for Teachers Section at:

http://www.goarch.org/archdiocese/departments/religioused/resourcesforteachers

you’ll find that the cover article is a list of good ideas for Sunday School teachers. In addition, you’ll see the CANA Curriculum for High School Students, which is available in a free download.

http://www.antiochian.org/christianeducation and www.orthodoxed.org

The Antiochian Archdiocese offers a page for instructional resources as well as a webstore to purchase a wide array of curricula and educational books.

www.orthodoxonline.com

helpful, free site literally offers a lesson for every Sunday of the year.

http://dce.oca.org

The Orthodox Church of America’s Department of Christian Education has a well-developed site, with Sunday School ideas and curriculum for all age levels, and with banks of resources like line drawings and activity books to print. I have the permission of the webmaster to utilize all of their resources in our school.

http://www.synaxis.org/catechist/index.htm

The Greek Orthodox Churches in the Greater Omaha area have put some Sunday School units with complete lesson plans online for your use.

http://www.annunciationakron.org/phyllisonest/resources.html

Phyllis Onest offers a wealth of Sunday School resources.