Program Overview

Our Middle School program consists of four key components: Worship, Education, Stewardship/Service, and Fellowship. Throughout the year, we will spend time exploring each element, as they are the building blocks students need to become members of our family of faith through Confirmation.

Worship

Each week, we begin our time together with a brief worship service at 6:30 in the Theater. We sing, pray, share joys and concerns, skits, and other assorted activities related to our unit themes. These worship services are meant enrich our educational programs, and are not a substitute for celebrating worship with the congregation on Sunday mornings.

Stewardship/Service

Stewardship

Each year, our Middle School students vote for a charity or organization to which their weekly offerings for the year will be sent. Talk with your child about charities organizations your family would like to support, and encourage him or her to add them to the list during our voting process. A weekly offering is not required, but is certainly encouraged, and even small offerings of a few coins each week can make a difference.

Service

There are countless service opportunities for our Middle School students, from helping in Church School classrooms on Sunday mornings to making breakfast for Emergency Shelter residents once per month. We encourage all students to ways to use their time and talents to contribute to the church and our community outside of class time. During the Advent season, our students will take one or two class periods to prepare a lasagna dinner for Emergency Shelter residents.

If you are interested in helping in any of the following ways during Church School on Sunday mornings, please contact Kara Woodford.

Nursery/Toddler Assistant

Work with infants through 2-year-olds
Welcome, play and interact with children
Assist adult volunteer as needed

Preschool Assistant

Work with 3 and 4-year-olds
Welcome children as they arrive
Engage children in activities
Help teacher with lessons and activities

Computer Lab Assistant

Help students read computer program content
Turn computers on and off, load programs, and help teachers as needed
Run the Power Point presentations during worship

Church School Assistant

Work with grades K-3
Attend opening worship with children
Help guide children to their workshop classroom
Assist teacher in classroom as needed

Education

This year, we will cover 8 topics, with each unit lasting 3 or 4 weeks.

Unit 1 – Bible Basics

Unit 2 – Spiritual Gifts

Unit 3 – Christmas

Unit 4 – Moses

Unit 5 – Lent

Unit 6 – Mission

Unit 7 – Easter

Unit 8 – UCC Identity

Fellowship

Our great hope is that our youth will begin their post-confirmation years with firmly established friendships and a strong sense of community with others in the church. One of the ways we nurture these ties is by giving students the opportunity to hang out and be together without the pressure of highly structured activities that need to be completed. Because of our limited time with students, and the amount of material we cover during the year, fellowship time is also limited, but precious. Please know that we consider fellowship time to be as important as classroom time!

Policies and Procedures:

Behavior Policy

We expect students to follow the same rules of appropriate conduct they follow at school, and the vast majority of our middle school students exhibit exemplary behavior while in our care. Occasionally, students need to be reminded of the behavior that is expected of them during class. Students are given three warnings to correct their behavior before being removed from class. Students who are removed from class will be expected to write a letter to their parents explaining why they were asked to leave the classroom. If a student needs to be removed from class more than once, a conference with the student, parents, and staff will be arranged. In order to keep all students safe in a healthy learning environment, disrespectful or dangerous behavior will not be tolerated, and parent cooperation with our policies is critical to our success in this endeavor.

Inclement Weather

If Appleton Area School District schools are closed due to inclement weather, our classes will also be cancelled. If weather becomes an issue after school is already in session, we will make a decision to cancel classes by 3:00 p.m. PLEASE check our main church Web site: www.firstcongoappleton.org for cancellation information before calling the church office.

Absences

We ask that you call to let us know if your child will be absent from class. If your child does not have an excused absence, we will call to make sure you know that he or she did not attend class. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns! We appreciate your feedback and look forward to hearing from you! You can call us at 733-7393, or email any of us with questions.

Administrative Assistant: Carolyn Frederick

Director for Children's Ministries: Kara Woodford

Director for Youth Ministries: Lyssa Fish

Education Specialist: Georgia Berceau