Welcome Junior Yearly Meeting (JYM)

Welcome rising to Kindergarten through Grade Six children and families! All JYM staff happily anticipate meeting and greeting each of you at Bryant University this August!

Theme:

Community: Unity not Uniformity. We will celebrate our individuality while exploring how our uniqueness enriches and contributes to the building of a safe, joyful, and loving JYM community. Just as a puzzle is not complete without all of its pieces, so too our community. Various activities, such as singing, art, storytelling, nature walks, games, prayer, business meeting and group projects will serve as building blocks for the exploration of our theme. Most importantly, we will have FUN together!

When:

First to Sixth graders meet every morning from 8:15-11:45am, and every evening from 6:45-9:00pm. Kindergarten meets every morning from 8:15-11:45am, and every afternoon from 1:45-4:15pm. It is very important for parents or guardians to pick up their children promptly. This may mean that parents must leave a session a few minutes early in order to be on time.

Where:

We begin each morning, and end every evening in the same large group space, MRC 4. Small group locations, and the Kindergarten afternoon session location will be announced at JYM Orientation.

Program:

Morning session: We begin our day, as a large group for singing, worship, “Bible 10 Minutes”, and announcements. Kindergarten, First, and Second graders then leave for their own activities in small group areas. Third to Sixth graders continue meeting for Worship for Business. After Business meeting, they leave for their small group areas.

Evening session: All children begin the evening in their small group areas. All age groups come together toward the end of the evening for sharing, singing, and Vespers. Kindergarten has an afternoon session but no evening session except for Saturday after Opening Session.

All children attending Yearly Meeting are expected to participate in their program. If your child is going to miss a JYM session, please let your child's group leader know. Staff care deeply about the children’s welfare, and become concerned about unexcused absences. Parents or guardians are responsible for their children when JYM is not in session.

Orientation:

Orientation is held for all JYM families on Saturday, August 2nd at 3pm. It is a brief but important meeting which parents and guardians are expected to attend. Please make it a priority to attend!

The children meet their leaders and peers in their small groups, and familiarize themselves with their physical space. Adults meet separately with Betty Ann, and receive needed information, are introduced to staff, and have the opportunity to ask questions.

Our Mission in JYM is to provide a safe, enjoyable, and enriching week for each child and staff member. JYM staff feel honored to live, work, play and minister to your children throughout this intense week and have worked hard to prepare for this time in community. As partners in this process, we invite parents/guardians to join in community with us, by visiting, sharing, and holding the staff, children, and program in prayer as JYM Sessions unfolds.

Please feel free to contact Betty Ann Lee at weelees@comcast.net or 508/994-1638 with questions or concerns.

Afternoon Choices:

This program is an afternoon choice for JYMers. The time frame is 1:15-4:15pm, and meets in its own location. Various choices of activities are available, some quiet, and some active, ranging from games to beads. The success of Afternoon Choices is heavily dependent upon volunteers, who are welcome to share, supervise, and/or lead an activity with the children. Please be prepared to volunteer one afternoon if you use this program. Parents or guardians must sign children in, and let staff know when and who will be signing them out. Children may not leave by themselves in the middle of the afternoon.

An extended program time is available from 4:15-5:45pm for parents who need to attend their committee meetings. In order to plan for staffing for this late hour, parents will be asked to sign up separately for this time slot each afternoon.

There is a beautiful pool on campus at Bryant University for everyone¹s enjoyment. However, for a number of safety reasons, the pool will not be an Afternoon Choices program option. It will be the responsibility of parents or guardians to make arrangements for those children who wish to go to the pool in the afternoon. Parents whose children are going to the pool in the afternoon should not sign them up for Afternoon Choices.

Do consider how much peer interaction your children can manage. While we welcome and cherish your children, we suspect that some afternoons, they would do better to relax with you.