Children's Religious Education Committee, May 22, 2011
Attendees: Sue Beckman, Wil Rutt, Sarah Shirk, Amanda Sneed, Wil Rutt
Pam will circulate the OPFM history notes on CRE to the group
Amanda will circulate copies of curriculum items to the group for approval
Sarah will check on possibility of announcements on Trib Local
Day in Village
Sarah will staff 11:30 – 1:30
Sue will staff 1-4
Wil and Jim Holmes will staff 9-11:30 and will take down at 6
Pam will check her calendar
Amanda will prepare elements for a colorful necklace or wrist bracelet, the elements of which will include the Quaker principles and the website address
Amanda will circulate a signup sheet for substitute teachers on occasions when she will not be present. She will provide a curriculum piece for the substitute in advance. The teacher should be present no later than 9:45 so that preparations are complete by 10. The greeter should not send children upstairs unless they are sure a teacher is present. In case of an emergency the greeter should find someone to fill in.
The group decided to meet at 9 AM the fourth First Day of each month. These dates are June 26, July 24, Aug. 28, Sept. 25, Oct. 23, Nov. 27 etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children's Religious Education Committee, May 8, 2011: No report.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children’s Religious Ed Comm. meeting notes April 3, 2011
Present: Sue Beckman, Wil Rutt (interim clerk), Amanda Sneed, Sarah Shirk, Pam Timme
Amanda will prepare some possible handouts or activities for The Day in Our Village booth on June 5 from 11-6. These will need to be approved by business meeting.
We recommend that we contract with Amanda Sneed for another year. She will be entering Graduate School at the U. of Chicago in Sept. studying elementary education. She will work at preparing lesson plans for the school year. The teaching will be led by her two to three Sundays each month and by volunteer teachers for the remaining Sundays. CRE Committee will also seek high-school age students interested in Quakerism to assist with CRE activities on a paid hourly basis as in prior years. "We are requesting $1200 for this activity and up to $100 for materials.
We will continue to discuss and work on possible communication paths on Face book and Twitter. Amanda will begin to develop a Facebook site for persons over 12. It is hoped that parents see it as a resource and will share it with their children.
We thought the Teaching Non-Violence panel held March 20, 2011 at the OPPL was quite informative and appropriate. We will continue to explore ways to get more interested persons attending future events of this nature. In attendance were: Panelists Sophie de la Mar, Board Member at Chicago Friends School; Darlene Gramigna, American Friends Service Committee; Amanda Sneed, Children’s Religious Education Coordinator at Oak Park Friends Meeting; 3 members from the OPFM Children's Ed committee; 3 adults affiliated with OPFM, 1 child affiliated with OPFM, and 1 non-affiliated guest.
Amanda will develop simple snack options to be used during the Religious Ed sessions
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children’s Religious Education Comm. Report, March 2011, Wil Rutt, interim clerk
The planning is complete for the “Teaching Non-Violence” event at the Oak Park Public Library on Sunday March 20 at 2 PM in the small meeting room on the second floor. Amanda Sneed, our First Day teacher, Sophie de la Mar, board member of the Chicago Friends School, and Darlene Graminga of the American Friends Service Committee will participate in the panel discussion. Community members are encouraged to attend. Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate will be served.
The Committee is pleased that we have had some students attending First Day School in recent weeks
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children’s Religious Education Committee Report, Feb. 6, Wil Rutt, interim clerk
We will have the pancake breakfast this Sunday at 9 AM. Amanda is making the pancakes including Smiley Face pancakes for the kids. Wil will bring bananas, orange juice and syrup. We will set up two tables in the gallery. A display of children and youth oriented activities will be arranged. We will urge all members and attenders to invite new faces to this and the following Ed. session at 10:00 am.
Sue agreed to and already has done a reservation for our March event.
The event will be at 2 PM Sunday March 20 at the OPPL in the small (cap. 50) meeting room on the second floor adjacent to the art gallery. The group supports having a rep from the Chicago Friends School and the AFSC Chicago high school project.
Amanda and the group are committed to continuing our effort to invigorate the First Day School and hope to continue for a second year (review again in May).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/9/2011: No Report.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children’s Religious Education Comm. Report, 12/12/2010, Wil Rutt, interim clerk
Children’s Religious Education Committee met on 12-05-10.
Attendance: Sue Beckman, Wil Rutt (acting clerk), Sarah Shirk, Amanda Snead, Pam Timme
The ad in the Oak Park Regional Housing Center Guidebook has been distributed and is on their website.
Suggested changes to the new business card by Business meeting were to remove option for parents to drop off children for first day school, and to eliminate the phrase- no charge. The committee will review the revisions before printing. Then each member and attender will be sent by USPS mail a letter and five cards urging them to talk with potential families that may attend.
Pam and Amanda will prepare additional materials for the Website.
We are planning a pancake breakfast at 9 AM on Sun. Feb. 13. Amanda will prepare the pancakes and we will bring syrup, bananas and juice. There will be no charge and members will purchase any leftover food. We will publicize it in the news, Buzz café, library etc. Parents, youth and children will all be invited to attend.
We are planning a presentation and discussion on teaching non-violent approaches to children and youth. A meeting is planned for Sun Feb. 13 at 3 PM, location to be determined. Amanda who has had education on this topic will speak and we are inviting one of the teachers from the Chicago Friends School to participate.
The Trick or Treat table on Halloween did not result in any new children attending yet, but some good acquaintances were made and some money donated to UNICEF, so we plan to do it again next year.
Amanda will work on developing a FACEBOOK site directed at children and youth. We recommend that we continue our sponsorship of Amanda for at least the next six months.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children’s Religious Education Comm. Report, Nov. 14, 2010, Wil Rutt, interim clerk
We have had one child attend first day school on two occasions. The publicity effort continues and all are encouraged to think of possible attendees. Some info was given at the Trick or Treat Table in front of the Art League on Halloween. Work continues on developing a Face Book Page.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children’s Religious Education Comm. Report, Oct. 10, 2010, Wil Rutt, interim clerk
We have printed new business cards for visitors and members to distribute describing the children’s religious education program. Pam and Amanda have prepared a resume to distribute to all members and attendees. The Oak Park Housing Office is placing the notice on their website, and placing it in their brochure which is given to several thousand new residents each year. We have altered the biweekly notice in the Wed. Journal. Pam and Sue will host a Trick or Treat table at the entrance of the Art League on Sun Oct 31 from 3-5. They are recruiting a few more volunteers. They will be distributing Fair Trade Mini Chocolates and also descriptions of First Day School. As of now we have had children only one week and hope that all will think of creative ways to get the word out. We are offering parents the option of dropping off their children at 9:45 and picking them up no later than 11:30 if they do not care to or cannot attend worship themselves. Amanda is also working on a FaceBook page.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minutes, Children’s Religious Education Comm. Sept. 10, 2010
Attendees: Pam Timme, Sue Beckman, Amanda Sneed, Wil Rutt
1. An ad in the Oak Park Housing Authority Guide and Website has been accepted. Ministry and Oversight has agreed to pay the fee of $75.
2. 1. We will prepare a two sided business card, with some details of the program on the reverse. These will be available for distribution
3. 2. We will prepare a letter with a few of the cards, to be sent to all members and attendees, encouraging them to do some creative distribution
4. 3. Pam will write an article for the newsletter about Amanda and the program. Amanda and she will also prepare info for the website.
5. 4.We agreed that if parents want to bring their children, they can either stay for worship or pick them up no later than 11:30. Each child will be registered with contact information
6. 5. We are planning to have something like a pancake breakfast to invite parents and children. Wil will check with the Art League about food regulations. Such an event could be listed in the events column of the local newspapers.
7. 6. The committee hopes that we can have six to twelve events at the Oak Park library on a variety of subjects to attract interested persons to our meeting. This will be further seasoned with specific recommendations in the next month.
8. 7. Pam and Sue are developing an idea for a trick or treat table in front of the Art League to include a goody, an opportunity to contribute to UNICEF and some available literature about the religious ed. Program. It is anticipated that the event would be between 3 and 5 PM on Halloween. The Art League will be asked to approve this activity.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad Hoc Joint Committee of OPFM Children’s Religious Ed. and Finance committees to decide Process for Hiring and Review of C.R. E. Employee, July 30, 2010
MINUTES
In Attendance: Sue Beckman, Judy Erickson, Kelly Maynard (convener/recorder), Sarah Shirk, Pam Timme, Val Lester, Wil Rutt
0. In lieu of Silence, prior to discussion of business, we played an empathy game.
1. We began with a review of recent decisions and actions by both committees.
2. We agreed we will hire the Teacher (Amanda) on a month-to-month basis, and reevaluate the continued need for a teacher in May, approximately one year in the future. The Teacher (Amanda) will be paid once monthly, on the last Sunday of each month, by the Treasurer. The Teacher’s salary is U.S. $100 per month. The Treasurer will subtract any required withholding from that amount and send that and the necessary matching payments to FICA.
3. The C.R.E. committee will oversee the Teacher’s discharge of her duties. For example, the C.R.E. committee will approve her curriculum. In order to ensure the Teacher is fulfilling the terms of her employment agreement (to attend at least 80% of all Meetings for Worship, from 9:45-11:45) The Membership Recorder (currently Wil Rutt) will record her attendance.
4. The Teacher has requested that any children arrive directly to her (upstairs) and then at 10:50 towards the end of Meeting for Worship, she will bring the children into the Meeting. It is the duty of the Greeter to inform any children/their caregivers who arrive of this arrangement. Since the Greeter is an alternating duty of us all, this information will be announced at the rise of Meeting for the next few weeks and Judy E. will put an announcement on the webpage.
5. One of the terms of our new liability and worker’s compensation insurance for an employee, we must put up a poster with the contact information of the insurance agent. Someone will need to contact him soon after any accident. We will put this amongst our First Day School belongings. Keep in mind in a real emergency call 911 first!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minutes, Children’s Religious Education Committee, Tues. July 20, 2010
Attendees, Sue Beckman, Sarah Shirk, Pam Timme, and Wil Rutt-interim clerk
The meeting began with worship
The progress of establishing employee status was reviewed. Judy E. is completing the determination of insurance coverage. The committee and Amanda are willing to hire for a nine month period and then have a mutual decision whether to continue. We trust the Finance Committee to use their best judgment on this matter.
A second adult does not need to be present at the class. Volunteers have previously agreed to be on call if the teacher desires assistance.
The Committee is committed to support of the teacher. As noted in the approved plan, all curriculum material will be approved by the committee. Each of the committee members will be available for interaction with the teacher. The Membership Recorder will also note the attendance record of the teacher. The teacher has implemented the plan to arrange for a substitute on days when not available. In emergency, the clerk of the committee will be responsible. The committee members will note satisfaction of parent and child.
The Committee continues to support the concept of a monthly payment to be given by the Treasurer and will report to the treasurer if for any reason they do not think the duties are being carried out. The Committee or the Teacher can give 30 days’ notice if it is desired to terminate the agreement.
Amanda has requested to have children arrive in the classroom and she will bring them to the meeting as a group at 10:50. She and the Committee also will support the attendance of high school students if they desire.
Promotion of the religious education program will include calls to families with children who have attended in the last year. Members and attendees will be encouraged to identify possible families that may be interested and to inform them of the activity. A brief description of the program will be developed for the website. We will resume stating “religious education provided for children” in our listing in the Wed. Journal. We will investigate possible listing in other area newspapers. We will pursue the possibility of informing the Newcomers Group in Oak Park of our program. Sarah will report on this.
The committee will ask the nominating committee to continue search for a regular clerk on the committee. Until this happens, Wil is able to act as interim.
Submitted by Wil Rutt, interim clerk
Attendees: Sue Beckman, Wil Rutt, Sarah Shirk, Amanda Sneed, Wil Rutt
Pam will circulate the OPFM history notes on CRE to the group
Amanda will circulate copies of curriculum items to the group for approval
Sarah will check on possibility of announcements on Trib Local
Day in Village
Sarah will staff 11:30 – 1:30
Sue will staff 1-4
Wil and Jim Holmes will staff 9-11:30 and will take down at 6
Pam will check her calendar
Amanda will prepare elements for a colorful necklace or wrist bracelet, the elements of which will include the Quaker principles and the website address
Amanda will circulate a signup sheet for substitute teachers on occasions when she will not be present. She will provide a curriculum piece for the substitute in advance. The teacher should be present no later than 9:45 so that preparations are complete by 10. The greeter should not send children upstairs unless they are sure a teacher is present. In case of an emergency the greeter should find someone to fill in.
The group decided to meet at 9 AM the fourth First Day of each month. These dates are June 26, July 24, Aug. 28, Sept. 25, Oct. 23, Nov. 27 etc.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children's Religious Education Committee, May 8, 2011: No report.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children’s Religious Ed Comm. meeting notes April 3, 2011
Present: Sue Beckman, Wil Rutt (interim clerk), Amanda Sneed, Sarah Shirk, Pam Timme
Amanda will prepare some possible handouts or activities for The Day in Our Village booth on June 5 from 11-6. These will need to be approved by business meeting.
We recommend that we contract with Amanda Sneed for another year. She will be entering Graduate School at the U. of Chicago in Sept. studying elementary education. She will work at preparing lesson plans for the school year. The teaching will be led by her two to three Sundays each month and by volunteer teachers for the remaining Sundays. CRE Committee will also seek high-school age students interested in Quakerism to assist with CRE activities on a paid hourly basis as in prior years. "We are requesting $1200 for this activity and up to $100 for materials.
We will continue to discuss and work on possible communication paths on Face book and Twitter. Amanda will begin to develop a Facebook site for persons over 12. It is hoped that parents see it as a resource and will share it with their children.
We thought the Teaching Non-Violence panel held March 20, 2011 at the OPPL was quite informative and appropriate. We will continue to explore ways to get more interested persons attending future events of this nature. In attendance were: Panelists Sophie de la Mar, Board Member at Chicago Friends School; Darlene Gramigna, American Friends Service Committee; Amanda Sneed, Children’s Religious Education Coordinator at Oak Park Friends Meeting; 3 members from the OPFM Children's Ed committee; 3 adults affiliated with OPFM, 1 child affiliated with OPFM, and 1 non-affiliated guest.
Amanda will develop simple snack options to be used during the Religious Ed sessions
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children’s Religious Education Comm. Report, March 2011, Wil Rutt, interim clerk
The planning is complete for the “Teaching Non-Violence” event at the Oak Park Public Library on Sunday March 20 at 2 PM in the small meeting room on the second floor. Amanda Sneed, our First Day teacher, Sophie de la Mar, board member of the Chicago Friends School, and Darlene Graminga of the American Friends Service Committee will participate in the panel discussion. Community members are encouraged to attend. Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate will be served.
The Committee is pleased that we have had some students attending First Day School in recent weeks
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children’s Religious Education Committee Report, Feb. 6, Wil Rutt, interim clerk
We will have the pancake breakfast this Sunday at 9 AM. Amanda is making the pancakes including Smiley Face pancakes for the kids. Wil will bring bananas, orange juice and syrup. We will set up two tables in the gallery. A display of children and youth oriented activities will be arranged. We will urge all members and attenders to invite new faces to this and the following Ed. session at 10:00 am.
Sue agreed to and already has done a reservation for our March event.
The event will be at 2 PM Sunday March 20 at the OPPL in the small (cap. 50) meeting room on the second floor adjacent to the art gallery. The group supports having a rep from the Chicago Friends School and the AFSC Chicago high school project.
Amanda and the group are committed to continuing our effort to invigorate the First Day School and hope to continue for a second year (review again in May).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1/9/2011: No Report.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children’s Religious Education Comm. Report, 12/12/2010, Wil Rutt, interim clerk
Children’s Religious Education Committee met on 12-05-10.
Attendance: Sue Beckman, Wil Rutt (acting clerk), Sarah Shirk, Amanda Snead, Pam Timme
The ad in the Oak Park Regional Housing Center Guidebook has been distributed and is on their website.
Suggested changes to the new business card by Business meeting were to remove option for parents to drop off children for first day school, and to eliminate the phrase- no charge. The committee will review the revisions before printing. Then each member and attender will be sent by USPS mail a letter and five cards urging them to talk with potential families that may attend.
Pam and Amanda will prepare additional materials for the Website.
We are planning a pancake breakfast at 9 AM on Sun. Feb. 13. Amanda will prepare the pancakes and we will bring syrup, bananas and juice. There will be no charge and members will purchase any leftover food. We will publicize it in the news, Buzz café, library etc. Parents, youth and children will all be invited to attend.
We are planning a presentation and discussion on teaching non-violent approaches to children and youth. A meeting is planned for Sun Feb. 13 at 3 PM, location to be determined. Amanda who has had education on this topic will speak and we are inviting one of the teachers from the Chicago Friends School to participate.
The Trick or Treat table on Halloween did not result in any new children attending yet, but some good acquaintances were made and some money donated to UNICEF, so we plan to do it again next year.
Amanda will work on developing a FACEBOOK site directed at children and youth. We recommend that we continue our sponsorship of Amanda for at least the next six months.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children’s Religious Education Comm. Report, Nov. 14, 2010, Wil Rutt, interim clerk
We have had one child attend first day school on two occasions. The publicity effort continues and all are encouraged to think of possible attendees. Some info was given at the Trick or Treat Table in front of the Art League on Halloween. Work continues on developing a Face Book Page.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children’s Religious Education Comm. Report, Oct. 10, 2010, Wil Rutt, interim clerk
We have printed new business cards for visitors and members to distribute describing the children’s religious education program. Pam and Amanda have prepared a resume to distribute to all members and attendees. The Oak Park Housing Office is placing the notice on their website, and placing it in their brochure which is given to several thousand new residents each year. We have altered the biweekly notice in the Wed. Journal. Pam and Sue will host a Trick or Treat table at the entrance of the Art League on Sun Oct 31 from 3-5. They are recruiting a few more volunteers. They will be distributing Fair Trade Mini Chocolates and also descriptions of First Day School. As of now we have had children only one week and hope that all will think of creative ways to get the word out. We are offering parents the option of dropping off their children at 9:45 and picking them up no later than 11:30 if they do not care to or cannot attend worship themselves. Amanda is also working on a FaceBook page.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minutes, Children’s Religious Education Comm. Sept. 10, 2010
Attendees: Pam Timme, Sue Beckman, Amanda Sneed, Wil Rutt
1. An ad in the Oak Park Housing Authority Guide and Website has been accepted. Ministry and Oversight has agreed to pay the fee of $75.
2. 1. We will prepare a two sided business card, with some details of the program on the reverse. These will be available for distribution
3. 2. We will prepare a letter with a few of the cards, to be sent to all members and attendees, encouraging them to do some creative distribution
4. 3. Pam will write an article for the newsletter about Amanda and the program. Amanda and she will also prepare info for the website.
5. 4.We agreed that if parents want to bring their children, they can either stay for worship or pick them up no later than 11:30. Each child will be registered with contact information
6. 5. We are planning to have something like a pancake breakfast to invite parents and children. Wil will check with the Art League about food regulations. Such an event could be listed in the events column of the local newspapers.
7. 6. The committee hopes that we can have six to twelve events at the Oak Park library on a variety of subjects to attract interested persons to our meeting. This will be further seasoned with specific recommendations in the next month.
8. 7. Pam and Sue are developing an idea for a trick or treat table in front of the Art League to include a goody, an opportunity to contribute to UNICEF and some available literature about the religious ed. Program. It is anticipated that the event would be between 3 and 5 PM on Halloween. The Art League will be asked to approve this activity.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ad Hoc Joint Committee of OPFM Children’s Religious Ed. and Finance committees to decide Process for Hiring and Review of C.R. E. Employee, July 30, 2010
MINUTES
In Attendance: Sue Beckman, Judy Erickson, Kelly Maynard (convener/recorder), Sarah Shirk, Pam Timme, Val Lester, Wil Rutt
0. In lieu of Silence, prior to discussion of business, we played an empathy game.
1. We began with a review of recent decisions and actions by both committees.
2. We agreed we will hire the Teacher (Amanda) on a month-to-month basis, and reevaluate the continued need for a teacher in May, approximately one year in the future. The Teacher (Amanda) will be paid once monthly, on the last Sunday of each month, by the Treasurer. The Teacher’s salary is U.S. $100 per month. The Treasurer will subtract any required withholding from that amount and send that and the necessary matching payments to FICA.
3. The C.R.E. committee will oversee the Teacher’s discharge of her duties. For example, the C.R.E. committee will approve her curriculum. In order to ensure the Teacher is fulfilling the terms of her employment agreement (to attend at least 80% of all Meetings for Worship, from 9:45-11:45) The Membership Recorder (currently Wil Rutt) will record her attendance.
4. The Teacher has requested that any children arrive directly to her (upstairs) and then at 10:50 towards the end of Meeting for Worship, she will bring the children into the Meeting. It is the duty of the Greeter to inform any children/their caregivers who arrive of this arrangement. Since the Greeter is an alternating duty of us all, this information will be announced at the rise of Meeting for the next few weeks and Judy E. will put an announcement on the webpage.
5. One of the terms of our new liability and worker’s compensation insurance for an employee, we must put up a poster with the contact information of the insurance agent. Someone will need to contact him soon after any accident. We will put this amongst our First Day School belongings. Keep in mind in a real emergency call 911 first!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minutes, Children’s Religious Education Committee, Tues. July 20, 2010
Attendees, Sue Beckman, Sarah Shirk, Pam Timme, and Wil Rutt-interim clerk
The meeting began with worship
The progress of establishing employee status was reviewed. Judy E. is completing the determination of insurance coverage. The committee and Amanda are willing to hire for a nine month period and then have a mutual decision whether to continue. We trust the Finance Committee to use their best judgment on this matter.
A second adult does not need to be present at the class. Volunteers have previously agreed to be on call if the teacher desires assistance.
The Committee is committed to support of the teacher. As noted in the approved plan, all curriculum material will be approved by the committee. Each of the committee members will be available for interaction with the teacher. The Membership Recorder will also note the attendance record of the teacher. The teacher has implemented the plan to arrange for a substitute on days when not available. In emergency, the clerk of the committee will be responsible. The committee members will note satisfaction of parent and child.
The Committee continues to support the concept of a monthly payment to be given by the Treasurer and will report to the treasurer if for any reason they do not think the duties are being carried out. The Committee or the Teacher can give 30 days’ notice if it is desired to terminate the agreement.
Amanda has requested to have children arrive in the classroom and she will bring them to the meeting as a group at 10:50. She and the Committee also will support the attendance of high school students if they desire.
Promotion of the religious education program will include calls to families with children who have attended in the last year. Members and attendees will be encouraged to identify possible families that may be interested and to inform them of the activity. A brief description of the program will be developed for the website. We will resume stating “religious education provided for children” in our listing in the Wed. Journal. We will investigate possible listing in other area newspapers. We will pursue the possibility of informing the Newcomers Group in Oak Park of our program. Sarah will report on this.
The committee will ask the nominating committee to continue search for a regular clerk on the committee. Until this happens, Wil is able to act as interim.
Submitted by Wil Rutt, interim clerk