1 First NOVEMB Semester ER Sunday S S STAF School Offering: F Mission to the Children Little Lambs: (www.missiontothechildren.org) Sara Manglos (208-602-8329, saramanglos@ hotmail.com), Jessi Trentz PreK-K: Linda Bafus (208-371-8049, glbafus@gmail.com) Ann Kennedy 1-2: Rylie Jorgensen (208-407-8359, ryliewalters@ u.boisestate.edu), Jenny Shaw 3: Kandi Walters (208-991-8899, kandwalt@aol.com), Casi Berrier 4: Tonya Hibbs (208-362-3893, rthibbs@msn.com, Marji Nordick 5-6: John Meier (208-477-3862, meierjsp@q.com) Music: Andrea Lange (208-484-3834, idaho.lange @gmail.com Music & Coord: Kristen Koepsell (208-922-8422, kristen.koepsell @cocidaho.org) Sunday School News! C R O S S O F C H R I S T L U T H E R A N C H U R C H N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 8 Bring Your Parents to Sunday School......is almost done! Two Sundays left for you to join your kids at Sunday school for a morning of growing in faith and having fun together. Register online at tinyurl.com/byptss for November 4 or November 11 or both if you need them! In this issue of your parent newsletter, you ll find important supplemental information about our Sunday school program, in addition to what you received at the beginning of the year. Read it through, and please address any questions or feedback you have to Kristen Koepsell (kristen. koepsell@cocboise.org). And if you aren t yet, get in the habit of looking for this newsletter in your inbox at the beginning of every month! Kids Christmas Service! All Sunday school students are invited to participate in this year s kids Christmas service, And He Will Be Called, on Sunday, Dec. 16, at 11:00 am. Most of our preparation happens in Sunday school over the next two months, but we ll also hold two Saturday morning practices in December. Please put these on your calendar: Dec. 8, 9-11 am, grades 1-6 only lunch provided (freewill donation) for kids attending Christmas for Kids, 12-3 pm Dec. 15, 9-11 am, grades PreK-8 Little Lambs don t attend Saturday practices; they ll learn their songs in Sunday school and at home. Grades 7-8 narrators practice their lines at home and participate in the Dec. 15 practice. The spoken recitations and song words will be sent home on November 11, and emailed shortly after. Please help your children practice at home! We also invite the kids to praise God with their individual talents at the service. If your child would like to share their musical gifts by playing an instrumental piece, notify Mrs. Lange (idaho.lange@gmail.com) by Dec. 2. If you have any questions about your child(ren) s involvement, feel free to talk to either Miss K or Mrs. Lange. Joy to the world, the Lord has come!
Offerings for Jesus In September and October we brought $150.68 for Jesus Cares Ministries. JCM shares the gospel with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and helps congregations all over the country serve these special individuals. Thank you, kids, for your generosity! Our offerings for November and December will be given to Martin Luther College through their Congregational Partner Grant Program. This program matches congregational gifts for the tuition of students from that congregation. Three young ladies from Cross of Christ are studying to be Christian teachers at MLC: Avery Broyles, Danielle (Harris) Tews, and Grace Williams. How cool that we can support them in their preparations to teach lots and lots of other kids about Jesus! If your child(ren) would like special envelopes with which to give their Sunday school offerings, ask the Hall Monitor on a Sunday morning! 2 What s Sunday School All About, Anyhow? God tells us that the primary responsibility for teaching the faith to and encouraging spiritual growth in children belongs to the parents. But you don t have to go it alone. One of the blessings of belonging the body of Christ is working together to teach and nurture young faiths. The pastors, Miss Koepsell, and the Sunday school staff encourage you to be as involved in your child s Sunday school experience as you can. Communicate with the teachers, ask your child questions about what they learned each Sunday, and use the materials sent home to talk about God s Word all week long. We get your kids 60 minutes a week, and we do as much as we possibly can with that precious hour. But you get them all week long! Curriculum To be as effective in our teaching of God s Word as we can, we use a carefully planned and designed continued pg. 4 Fall Youth Events Grades K-2 Unbirthday Party & Service Project RSVP by Friday, Nov. 2, please! Saturday, November 3, 1:00-3:00 pm Games, cake & ice cream, and assembling Birthday Party Bags for kids in need! Grades 3-5 Cookie Decorating Workshop Friday, November 9, 6:30-8:30 pm Friends are always welcome! Register for either event in the lobby at church or email kristen.koepsell@cocidaho.org. Saturday, December 8 12:00-3:00 pm for age 3 to 5th grade The Christmas story, crafts, games, snacks, music! Registration available soon. Do you have a friend who doesn t know why Jesus was born at Christmas? Invite them to come with you!
3 What We re Learning in November PreK - 6th Grade I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11 Date Lesson In the Bible Memory Treasures (assigned on the date listed; for recitation the following Sunday) Nov 4 Special Lesson: The Reformation Nov 11 Jesus Before Pilate Matthew 27:1-2, 11-31; Mark 15:1-20; Luke 23:1-25; John 18:28-19:16 PreK-K: Psalm 51:5 1-2: Ephesians 2:8-9 3: Acts 4:12 4: Ephesians 2:8-9 5-6: Romans 1:16 PreK-K: Psalm 51:5 1-2: John 8:47a 3: The Eighth 4: The Eighth 5-6: The Eighth Nov 18 Nov 25 Christmas Service Rehearsal! Christmas Service Rehearsal! John 3:16, 1 John 3:1a-b, sections of Luke 2 John 3:16, 1 John 3:1a-b, sections of Luke 2 Little Lambs Nov 4 Jesus Brings a Dead Girl Back to Life Nov 11 Jesus Feeds More than 5000 People Nov 18 Jesus Teaches Peter to Trust Nov 25 The Good Samaritan Helps a Hurt Man
What s Sunday School All About, Anyhow? curriculum. Christ-Light is published by our church body s publishing house, and is thoroughly biblical and Christ-centered. It includes Old Testament and New Testament lessons every year, in a three-yearcycle, with key lessons (such as Jesus Birth and Jesus Death & Resurrection) repeated each year. The Little Lambs use the Early Childhood edition of Christ-Light, which cycles through 24 OT and NT lessons on a different schedule from the older kids. Taking It Home Two vital elements of the curriculum that you can use at home to continue the learning started on Sunday are the student lesson sheets and the Memory Treasures. The lesson sheets include a summary of the day s lesson, an activity or discussion starter for home, a prayer, and the week s Memory Treasure. Use these sheets to review the story, ask your child questions about it, do the activity or use the prayer together and spend time learning that Memory Treasure. Memorizing isn t easy for everybody, but of all the things we can get stuck in our heads, what s more important than God s Word? If you d like ideas for different ways to learn and practice Memory Treasures, talk to your child s teacher or Miss K. In addition to the weekly Memory Treasures, each class will work on learning a portion of the books of the Bible each summer. 4 Kindness & Respect Besides teaching the content of our faith the Bible lessons and truths about God we are also dedicated to nurturing Christian character in our students: showing by our words and actions that we are God s children. This can be summed up in two words: kindness and respect. Here are some specific ways we encourage students to show kindness and respect to each other and to God s house in which we worship and learn: Follow teacher/adult instructions. Use appropriate language and a kind voice. Play gently; stay in your own personal space. Watch out for younger students, especially in the gym. Walk inside. Wait for an adult before entering your classroom or the gym. Food and drink in the classrooms only when supplied or permitted by the teacher. Whiteboards and supplies in cabinets are for teacher use only. When in the gym, take off shoes with black soles that may leave marks. Toys and piano area in the gym are off-limits. Leave toys and electronics at home or with Mom or Dad. Enforcing rules is by no means our primary purpose, but we do want to provide a safe, nurturing environment that is conducive to connecting kids to God s Word. Our teachers are well able to handle the minor
5 issues that may arise from week to week. If, however, your child gets into a habit of disrupting the learning environment so that neither he nor the other students are able to take in God s Word, we will communicate clearly and promptly with you what the situation is, and will work with you to find a long-term solution. Safety Speaking of a safe environment Allergy and special needs info is posted in every classroom. If you haven t communicated this with us yet via a registration form, please do so! Emergency exit routes are posted in every classroom. In the unlikely event of a building-wide emergency, we will follow our emergency response procedures and evacuate the children to the southeast corner of the back field. You may join your children there after exiting the building via your nearest exit. A number of our SS staff are CPR/AED certified, as are all of our church staff. Hall Monitors have a list of certified staff as well as medical and law enforcement personnel who are members of our church, and are also on hand to assist with finding teachers, students, and/or parents in any situation, and assisting with any special needs. Bulletin board: specific events, newsletter, etc. Event-specific emails (singing for worship, Christmas service, etc.) Teacher emails or notes home Website: www.cocboise. org > Get Connected > Kids Sunday School (program info, monthly newsletter, online registration) Any week your child has to miss Sunday School, their lesson sheet will be put in your church mailbox. We also like to send postcards and notes from your teacher, classmates, or Miss K to let you know we ve missed you after a few Sundays, or to mail your lesson sheets to you if you haven t been able to pick them up for a while. Thank You The church staff, the Sunday school staff, and our entire church family are so grateful to God for you faithful Christian parents who bring their little believers with them! Thank you for the privilege of partnering with you to raise them up to know and love their Savior. Communication We will do our utmost to make sure you know what s going on in Sunday school and have every opportunity to participate and respond. Take advantage of the following: Monthly parent newsletter (via email, also posted on the bulletin board)