Sunday School and Nursery

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 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 Sunday school. To comply with state safety guidelines, the nursery staff can care for up to 6 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 no food allowed 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, Registration 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.

Registration is requested for all Sunday school students and teachers. Registration forms are available in the church office, or you can register online by clicking the following link: Sunday School Registration

Because of the large number of children with food allergies, there will be no food or juice served in the Sunday 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 1st 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 Sunday school to children in grades K-6 from 9:45-10:45am 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 Group)

St. Mark’s invites all junior and senior high school students (grades 7 through 12) to join our Youth Group program. The Jr.Youth Group is open to seventh and eighth graders,and the Sr. Youth Group welcomes young adults in grades nine through twelve.

Each group meets once a month on Sunday evenings from 5-7pm in the Parish Hall. The sessions consist 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 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 Sunday school 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, Sunday school, or to volunteer, please email

Other Classes for Children

First Communion

First Communion class is offered for children ages seven and older, and is held in addition to regular Sunday school classes. First Communion class runs for 3 weeks in the Fall and is taught by Father Craig Lister. This class 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

Confirmation class is for children in grade six or higher, and is held in addition to regular Sunday school classes. Confirmation class is taught by Father Craig Lister and meets once a week for 18 weeks. Please note attendance at all the classes and an overnight retreat is required for a child to be confirmed. Additionally, children will be expected to memorize information, keep a notebook, complete weekly quizzes and pass a final exam.

The actual date of confirmation is usually determined during the class.

For more information on St. Mark’s Confirmation class, please email

info@stmarkssouthborough.org

Vacation Bible School

St. Mark's offers Vacation Bible School for one week each summer. Key topics from the Bible are taught in the context of a central, child-friendly theme, and reinforced through games, crafts and music. Children attend from 9-12pm, and there is a nominal fee.

This year's Vacation Bible School will be held June 23-27th, 2008. Children going into Kindergarten through 5th grade are welcome to attend. The cost is $25 per child. To preview the curriculum of our theme, Friendship Trek, go to www.vbs.cph.org/2008 Please contact the church office for more information, or click on the following link to download the Vacation Bible School Registration Form. Deadline for registration is May 31st.