Sunday School

 Saint Paraskevi Sunday School  

 

Click here for Sunday School Registration Form on REALM

We will continue to have Open Enrollment on REALM

The Saint Paraskevi Sunday School provides religious education and an Eastern Orthodox Christian foundation for the youth of the community. Classes are available for children Pre-Kindergarten through High School, Grade 12. The education provided by the Sunday School enables children to learn and grow in the Orthodox faith, while practicing the faith in a dynamic environment where the student’s relationship with God can grow. Our program encourages life-long membership in the Church community, which is the body of Christ. Our teachers use various methods and resources to create a classroom full of enthusiasm for learning, while maintaining the suggested curriculum of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

Sunday School families are encouraged to arrive for the Divine Liturgy on Sunday promptly at 9:45 a.m.  Our Sunday School classes begin every week following Holy Communion.  Class time is approximately 45 minutes.

Please note, students will be sitting in church with their families and will be able to receive Holy Communion first, to proceed to their classrooms and begin their Sunday School classes.

 

IMPORTANT: ALL CLASSES CONCLUDE AT 12 Noon. Parents of Pre- K to Grade 4 students may pick up their children from their classrooms. Parents of all other students (Grades 5-12) can wait for their children in the Community Center where there is Coffee hour.

Stay, Pray, Sing  and Play

Early Pre-School Sunday School Class for 2 & 3 year old children

This early pre-school Sunday School class meets at the same time as the Sunday School classes (see Calendar below), following Holy Communion until approximately 12 noon. The class is for a parent (or grandparent) to join their  child  with other parents and children to learn about going to church, praying,  singing songs from “Since God Loves You and You Know it Sing Out Loud”( Go to www.SinceGodLovesYou.com), reading Bible stories and coloring/crafting.  Note: One adult per child must participate. Lead parents needed. 

 

Our Sunday School classes and teachers this year are as follows:

Early Pre-K (2 & 3 year old’s) -Maria Kourounis (Lead Parent)

Pre-K and Kindergarten – Lisa Schiede and Eleni Triantafillou

Grades 1 and 2- Nick and Karen Kontos

Grade 3 and 4- Cally Schickler and Cristina Chiciu

Grade 5 and 6 – Kathy Demacopoulos and Elizabeth Essopos

Grades 7 and 8- Christopher Triantafillou

Grade 9, 10, 11 and 12- George Demacopoulos

Director - Flo Ioannou

Assistant Director - Ann Ebe

 

Sunday School volunteers are always needed. If you have a teaching background, a passion for the faith or a talent to share or love working with our youth please contact Father John Vlahos or Flo Ioannou at fioannou@optonline.net.

Saint Paraskevi Sunday School

Program Classes For 2023-2024

Sept. 10

Ministry Sunday

Sunday Before Holy Cross

Sept. 17

No Class/Festival

Sunday After Holy Cross

Sept. 24

First Day of Class

1st Sunday of Luke

Oct. 1

Class

2nd Sunday of Luke

Oct. 8

Class

3rd Sunday of Luke

Oct. 15

Class

Sunday of the 7th Ecumenical Council

Oct. 22

Class

6th Sunday of Luke

Oct. 29

Class

7th Sunday of Luke

Nov. 5

Class

5th Sunday of Luke/ Participation Forms Due for Pageant

Nov. 12

Class

8th Sunday of Luke/ Pageant Leads Meet

Nov. 19

Class

9th Sunday of Luke/ Practice for Pageant - Leads

Nov. 26

No Class

13th Sunday of Luke

Dec. 3

Class

14th Sunday of Luke/ Pageant rehearsal

Dec. 10

Class

10th Sunday of Luke/ Pageant rehearsal in the Church following Liturgy

Dec. 17

Class

Christmas Pageant /Sunday Before Nativity

Dec 24

No Class

The Sunday before the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Dec. 31

No Class

The Sunday after the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Jan. 7

Class

Sunday After Epiphany

Jan. 14

Class

Leave-taking of the Theopany our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Jan. 21

Class

12th Sunday of Luke

Jan. 28

Class

15th Sunday of Luke

Feb. 4

Godparent Sun.

Godparent Sunday/15th Sunday of Matthew

Feb. 11

Class

16th Sunday of Matthew

Feb. 18

No Class

Sunday of the Canaanite

Feb. 25

Class

Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee:Triodion Begins

Mar. 3

Class

Sunday of the Prodigal Son

Mar. 10

Class

Judgement (Meat fare)  Sunday

Mar. 17

Class

Forgiveness Sunday/Oratorical Festival

Mar. 24

Class

Sunday of Orthodoxy/  Icon Procession

Mar. 31

Class

Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas

Apr. 7

Class

Sunday of the Holy Cross

Apr. 14

Class

Sunday of St. John Climacus

Apr. 21

Class

Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt

Apr. 28

No Class

Palm Sunday

May 5

No Class

Great and Holy Pascha

May 12

Class

St. Thomas Sunday

May 19

Class

Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women

May 26

No Class

Sunday of the Paralytic

June 2

Last day of Class

Sunday of Samaritan Woman

June 09

No Class

Sunday of the Blind Man-High School/College Recognition Day

 

Christmas Pageant

On the Sunday prior to the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Sunday School students  present a Christmas Pageant in Church.  Children in Grades Pre-K through 12 will have the opportunity to participate in the Nativity scene on a voluntary basis.  The forms for participation are completed prior to the first week in November prior to rehearsals. Please note rehearsals on the Sunday School Calendar.

Godparents Sunday

On the first Sunday of February our parish  celebrates Godparent Sunday. Parishioners, family and friends come and  share their faith with their God-child by celebrating the Divine Liturgy, receiving Holy Communion, and enjoying a wonderful brunch together following the Divine Liturgy in the Community Center.  

Great Lent Outreach Mission

 Each year during lent, the Orthodox Christian Missions Center (OCMC) distributes Lenten Missions Boxes to Orthodox Churches throughout the country. The Orthodox Christian Missions Center is a Pan-Orthodox administrative body which coordinates the charitable activities for Orthodox throughout the world.  A box is given to each student at the beginning of Lent.  It is hoped that during the Lenten period, the student will make the effort to fill the box with monies earned through chores or allowances and in doing so assist others who are in need of our financial assistance.  The sacrifice of a few coins a day could then accumulate to a substantial amount by the time the boxes are collected after Holy Pascha. 

Oratorical Festival

Our parish participates in the St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival  held during March each year for the Parish Level following the Divine Liturgy. Students in 7th  through 12th  grade are encouraged to participate. The Saint John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival provides teenagers the opportunity to learn, write, and speak about their Orthodox Faith, Church, and Heritage. This process will enhance their understanding and appreciation of their identity as Greek Orthodox Christians, and will cultivate spiritual growth and maturity.  For more information go to :  St. John Chrysostom Oratorical Festival: https://www.goarch.org/en/oratorical

Lenten Retreat on Saturday of Saint Lazarus

Our parish youth 2nd to 7th grade is invited to participate in the  Lenten Retreat. The Retreat begins with the families gathering in church for the Divine Liturgy for Saturday of Saint Lazarus.  Following the Liturgy, there is a Lenten brunch for the community, in the Community Center.  Following the brunch, there is  Palm making, a craft, a Lenten discussion and Confession. Parents are welcomed to stay and help make Palms.

 

 Mission Statement 

    The mission of the Saint Paraskevi Sunday School is to nurture, instruct and direct students growing in the Orthodox faith by fostering a closer relationship with God and one another, by following Christ in Christian living “the life in Christ”.

     Education of faith is a life-long journey that starts in the family home and is enhanced, nurtured and fulfilled in the community of faith, the household of God, which is the Church. The goal of the Orthodox teaching is for each person to become an icon, a living image of God, a person who lives in continual fellowship – communion – with God, reflecting a particular way – the Christ-like way – of knowing and living in the world.

Click on the Links below for additional online Religious Education Resources to Foster the Spiritual Life of Your Children:

Sunday’s Gospel’s for Children:  http://ww1.antiochian.org/christianeducation/letusattend

Saint or Feast (Online Chapel):  https://www.goarch.org/educators/churchschool

Y2AM Live the Word:  https://www.y2am.org/athome