This Week in RE, 10/4

[Rev. Amy Freedman]

Did you know that RE Announce includes a weekly description about what each class is exploring?  See the "What's Happening this Sunday" section!

In this RE Announce:

• Breakfast with Amy—10/4
• Building a Life-sized Game—10/11
• Halloween Costume Drive
• Social Action Community (SAC) Listening Sessions
• What’s Happening this Sunday
  

Breakfast with Amy
Sunday, October 4, 9:00am, Parish Hall
Parents, children, and youth are invited to an informal breakfast in the Parish Hall. This is an opportunity for us to get to know one another. Amy will be available to meet you, answer questions and listen to your hopes, concerns, and ideas for our RE Program. Coffee, tea, chocolate milk, orange juice, muffins and fruit will be available.  Drop-ins are welcome!

Building a Life-sized Game
Sunday, October 11- Columbus Day weekend
We're going to super-size our Sunday fun and build community among our Kindergarten through 7th Graders! Working with Peter Bowden, Amy Freedman and Dawn Van Patten, we'll be making and playing a giant First Parish Concord board game. That's right, we're making a life size game, complete with giant dice, special game spaces, fun question cards, and more. If your family is in town on Columbus Day weekend, come join the fun!

Halloween Costume Drive
Many families can’t afford costumes for their children. Our collection will support Pumpkin Patch, a program that helps low income families get free costumes in Lowell. Please donate your gently used costumes!! A donation bin will be in the Coat Room from October 5th – 16th. For more info, check out their website, http://www.fromthepumpkinpatch.org/About.html or just ask Margot Venesy or Ainsley Haut (5th graders here at FP)

Social Action Community (SAC) Listening Sessions
Why do we (as UUs) highlight social action in our religious education? Do you want to see more social action in our RE program? Why is it important for you and your family to do social action in a church community? Attend a SAC Listening Session to explore these questions! We will look back to social action initiatives that inspired us, and look forward to how we hope to make a positive difference in the world going forward. There will be a Listening Session after worship on Sunday, October 4th at 11:30 in the Emerson Room. Childcare will be available for the Sunday session. Other sessions will be on:
• Monday, October 5th at 7 PM, Brooks Room
• Thursday, October 8th at 1:30 PM, Brooks Room
Please plan to attend one session so we can hear from you.

What’s Happening this Sunday
Please read below to learn about what your child(ren) are exploring this Sunday!
If you have any questions, please contact Amy: afre...@firstparish.org

Children in Kindergarten through Grade 7 begin in the service with their families. Following our Children’s Message, children leave the Sanctuary for their classroom with their teachers. All RE classes are held until 11:15am. Parents of children Preschool- 3rd Grade are asked to pick up their children in their classrooms listed below. Older children and youth will be dismissed to Coffee Hour.

Little RE– Lower Level
Teachers: Siobain Mitchell and Jason White
Teaching Assistants: Claire, Olivia, Nuffi, Robert and Hannah
Our youngest children (0-4 years) will play in a caring environment with time for making friends, reading stories, playing outdoors, eating snack, and craft projects. Parents are invited to bring their children to the classroom fifteen minutes before worship service begins (9:45 a.m.).

Kindergarten Class – Lower Level
Teachers: Leanne Baxter & Jeanne Williams
Our theme this Sunday is “Promises.” This is a lesson about our Unitarian Universalist community.

1st Grade Class – Lower Level
Teachers: Vivienne Aldrich & Jen Izzo
Our story this Sunday is drawn from the Judeo Christian tradition. Through Spirit Play we will explore the Garden of Eden.

2nd Grade Class – Ripley Room
Teachers: Kimberly Brainerd and Caroline Minkin
3rd Grade Class – Greeley Room and Lawn
Teachers: Jason Fortier and Colleen Mischel
This Sunday our 2nd and 3rd Grade classes are exploring “My Acts of Goodness”. Each class will use gems as a way to share examples of acts of goodness they might have done or witnessed. They will begin to name and recognize ways they can be kind, helpful, fair, caring, and generous.

4th Grade Class – Brooks Room
Teachers: Ayres Stiles-Hall and Michelle Fortier
5th Grade Class – Bulkeley Room
Teachers: Meghan Giannetto and Kristin Haddad
This Sunday our 4th and 5th Grade classes will review the seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism. What do they mean? How do we use them in our interactions with other people? Each child will make a mobile to take home.

6th-7th Grades– Hugh Cargill Community Gardens
Teachers: Stuart Johnstone & Amy Rensko
Our “Neighboring Activists” will be learning about the Concord Area CROP Walk and making plans for their participation on Sunday, October 25th. They will start designing banners for the Banner Contest held during the Opening Ceremony. Please consider walking and/or collecting donations to take a stand against hunger locally and worldwide. For more information or to register, check out Concord Crop Walk

8th Grade Drama Program – Parish Hall, 4:00pm
Teacher: Katherine Akerley
Parent Coordinator: Kate Svrcek
The class had fun with improv games last week! The first script is blocked now. The 8th graders are invited to bring in some books or stories to act out. This group is learning to work as an ensemble and will stage several stories for two performances on Sunday, December 13th. Save the date!

9th-12th Grade –Youth Group, 7:00pm in the Loft
Youth Program Director: Bethany Russell-Lowe
Youth Group is an open community of spirited teens coming together to play, create, explore, do social justice work, and laugh together! We meet every Sunday evening (except Holiday weekends) from 7-8:30 p.m. All are welcome. For more information, contact Bethany: BL...@firstparish.org