Church/Sunday School and Nursery Care

Our Mission Statement

It is our goal as Christian educators to provide a welcoming and safe environment for the children of this parish family.  It is our hope, each Sunday, to have our children enter into a Christian community in order that they might have Christ’s love shown to them and learn of the Faith which He established.

 

Nursery Care

St. Mark’s provides free nursery care for any child who is not yet four years of age as of September 1st.   Care is provided from 8:45-11:45am on Sundays by two paid staff members.  Parishioners and guests may leave children in the nursery to attend services at St. Mark’s, or are welcome to stay and play with their children while waiting for a sibling to finish Church school.  To comply with state safety guidelines, the nursery staff can care for up to 10 children per church service.  Additional children may be placed in nursery care as long as one parent remains with the children.

We ask parents who make use of our nursery care to help us maintain a clean and safe environment for the children.  This includes:

• Completing a registration form for each child and a cell phone number where you can be reached
• Signing your children in and out of the nursery each Sunday
• Supplying and labeling diapers for each of your children using nursery care
• Helping to clean nursery toys once every two months

 
Due to the large number of children with food allergies, there is a no food policy in the nursery.  When absolutely necessary, arrangements can be made to give a parent-provided snack in another room away from the other children.

 

Sunday School

Curriculum and Policies
St. Mark’s Sunday School program welcomes children from pre-school age and up.   The curriculum currently in use is the Episcopal Children’s Curriculum.  The goal is to make the people of the Bible and the Church come alive for all of our young learners at St. Mark’s. 

Because of the large number of children with food allergies, there will be no food or juice served in the Church school classes.  Special exceptions require the prior approval of the Director of Religious Education.

Pre-School

Sunday school is available for children age three and up who are ready for a more structured learning environment.  Eligible children must be 3 years old by September 1 in order to register for the pre-school class, and must be able to sit at a table for crafts, music or stories for a thirty minute period.  If you feel your child does not meet both of these criteria, he/she is welcome to continue in nursery care so long as he/she is under 4 years of age as of September 1st.  Unfortunately, children can not be moved up from the nursery to join the pre-school class mid-year.

Kindergarten-Sixth Grade

St. Mark’s offers traditional Church/Sunday School to children in grades K-6 from 9:45-10:30am in the Parish Hall.  In most cases, children are grouped in classes according to their grade in school. There are occasions when classes/grades must be combined because of student numbers and space limitations.  Most classes will learn a prayer from the church service liturgy by the end of the year.

Seventh Grade – Twelfth Grade (Youth Forum & Youth Group)

The Youth Forum meets from 9:45-10:30am in the Parish Hall Library.  Discussions are often linked to mission/outreach initiatives established by the Youth Group.

The Youth Group meets twice a month on Sunday evenings from 5-7pm in the Parish Hall. 
Each session consists of dinner and a program, and every third meeting is devoted to an activity.  Activities are focused on community service or building camaraderie within the group and usually take place off church grounds.

Special Needs Students

At St. Mark’s, we want our church school program to be a meaningful learning experience for all children.  The Special Needs Advisory Committee is available to meet with parents who feel their children have special needs that would require adjustment of our church school programs.  

 

Teachers

Parishioners whose children participate in the Church/Sunday school program are required to teach Sunday School for one session (7 classes) per year.  Parents can choose to teach their own child’s class or some other in the program.  Whenever possible, more than one teacher will be placed in a class.

We realize teaching can be a daunting task for some parents, especially those without prior teaching experience.  To address any concerns, a teachers' meeting is held before each session begins to review the curriculum and lessons for that session.  Additionally, the Episcopal Children’s Curriculum used at St. Mark’s is very straightforward and easy to follow.

 

Additional Information

For additional information on Nursery Care, Church/Sunday school, or to volunteer, please mail Sundayschool@stmarkssouthborough.org.

 

Other Classes for Children

Communion

A series of First Communion classes is offered in the fall for children ages seven and older, within the regular Church School curriculum.  This series is for children who:

• have not yet received Holy Communion,  or
• receive Holy Communion but do not know much about it.

At the end of the class there is a special Eucharist to celebrate the children’s First Communion.

For more information on St. Mark’s Communion class, please email info@stmarkssouthborough.org

 

Confirmation

The Confirmation program will be undergoing a restructuring during the 2010/2011 Church School year.  No Confirmation classes will be held.  Please contact the Director of Religious Education for more information.

 

For more information on St. Mark’s Confirmation class, please email
info@stmarkssouthborough.org