People Get Ready!

Friends, we are beginning to think about what First Day School will look like this coming year. (While we're getting organized, childcare continues to be available for all children during the 11:00 Meeting for Worship.)

We know there are some activities we can count on – including helping with the Mercer County annual homeless count, walking in the Institute Woods, our lovely Christmas Eve Family Meeting, and others. The Religious Education Committee has not yet established our regular meeting schedule for the 2009-10 year, but once we do, we'll be sure to let parents and Meeting members know of our plans. In the meantime, if you have suggestions or concerns you'd like to share with us, the members of the 2009-10 Religious Education committee are as follows:

Ken Tyson

Robert Green

Julie Capozzoli

Melissa Edwards

Doug Fleming

Shelley Krause

Chrissie Knight

Kate Nicholson

The Meeting has also established a Ning group; if you'd like to join us there for online fellowship and sharing, you can find that site at http://princetonquakermeeting.ning.com. And of course general information about the Meeting continues to be available via the Princeton Monthly Meeting page on the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting site at http://www.pym.org/burlington-qm/princeton.htm.

Final FDS Class of the Year May 17th

Please join us as we bring all three first day school groups together as we enjoy community and reflection as on FDS group.  After May 17th we will continue to have child care during 11:00 Meeting for Worship, but no FDS classes until the fall.

Thanks for a wonderful year.

THE COMMUNITY OF THE AMAZING QUAKER INNER FLASHLIGHTS OF PEACE

(originally known as the 3 to 5th graders) are devoting February classes to the practice of Peace and Equality and Respecting the Light in Others.  For example, we observed Super Bowl Sunday by playing non-competitive games and talking about inclusion. In anticipation of Valentine's Day we talked about honoring the Light in people who are important to us and made snacks and keepsakes to share with Meeting members and attenders.  On Feb. 15, we worked on excercises to achieve inner peace and talked about positive ways to deal with frustration and anger in our daily lives.

 

Feb. 22 to March 22 will be devoted to preparing a dramatic presentation for Meeting--children may choose to perform or help with scenic crafts.

Mercer County Homeless Count

This year Princeton Friends School and the First Day School classes of PMM will once again be partnering to support the Mercer County Homeless Count, a point-in-time count of the homeless people in Mercer County, including those living on the streets, in emergency shelters, and in transitional housing programs.  

The purpose of the survey is to gather data that will be forwarded to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in order to determine funding for federally supported services for the homeless.  On the same day, the Mercer Alliance to End Homelessness will be sponsoring an event in Trenton called Project Homeless Connect, the purpose of which is to provide housing referrals, support services, and hospitality to the homeless in Mercer County.  

Anyone who would like to help in this effort please contribute by donating small containers of applesauce and other fruits, pudding, raisins, packaged crackers, cookies, granola bars, and boxed juices.  Contributions of this sort will be accepted throughout the weeks leading up to the event in the First Day School building. 

Another way to contribute is to donate packages of men’s white tube socks.  These will be handed out to the clients.  Please bring them to the First Day School building.

During First Day School on January 25th, children will fill lunch bags with collected items in preparation for the sandwich-making event on January 27th.

On January 27th, we will hold our annual sandwich-making extravaganza and lead PMM and PFS adults and children in the making of brown bag meals to be distributed on January 28th. This is happening from 4:00 – 6:00 pm in the large room of the Meeting’s First Day School Building, just outside the door of the Beginning School room. 

All are welcome to join this effort.

Upcoming FDS Classes

In the upcoming weeks of classes will focus on equality and MLK as well as the issue of homelessness.  

The Play

Rehearsal for the play will begin on February 22nd and we will have five weeks of rehearsal with a performance at the rise of meeting on March 22nd.  The number and ages of cast members interested in speaking parts will determine what will be presented.  Class will continue in the FDS building for students who have not asked for speaking parts.

December Plans for the K - 2nd Graders

December 7th we continued our work on Integrity by reading Dr. Seuss's Gertrude McFuzz and discussing being true to who we are even when what we see around us is different.  We continued this discussion in terms of being true to your thoughts and ideas, even when a larger group disagrees and how important this is to Quaker Process.  We then started to use Quaker Process in deciding what kind of drive we want to do for the children served by Mercer Street Friends.

On December 14th we will continue this work, as well as reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas and working on simple Christmas gifts. On December 21st we will discuss the Christmas Story, and further explore the true meaning of Christmas.