The First Day School’s Corner of the World: March 2021
By Religious Education Coordinator Charlotta Koppanyi
March is here! Let the sunshine and the spring in!
March is Women’s History month and just as the students in Intermediate learned more about Black history and Quakerism in February, in March our intermediate students will learn more about Women’s History and Quakerism.
One Sunday in February one of our intermediate students asked how old you needed to be to volunteer, to help in RE and teach. Now, I had noticed how this student had been spending more and more Sundays attending the Primary RE classes with her brothers so I had a strong feeling where this was leading to. Long story short, it was decided, based on this question posted, that students in our Intermediate classes will each do a short presentation about a woman or female figure of their choice and who they think of as a role model, mentor, and/or representing Quaker values and SPICES. Lined up
we have Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, The Greek Goddess Demeter, Ashley Fiolek, Greta Thunberg, Hildegard Von Bingen, and Jane Goodall. It should be mentioned that Camille, Raphael, and Oliver (four-legged family member working with Camille) Roberts are included to do a presentation.
In January our Primary students got to hear and see a new story – The Martin Luther King Story. As always, Liz Kenney-Moran did an amazing job. And thanks to her creative, handy, and skilled woodworking husband Mike Moran, we have the materials which go with the story. What a team we have in the Kenney-Morans!
At Business Meeting in February, it was decided RE can resume our First Sundays again. We are very excited about this opportunity to see each other in 3-D, in our EFM yard again!
We will roll this out on Easter Sunday, April 4 with an Easter Egg Hunt. It will be a “COVID-modified Easter Egg Hunt” and we are planning for something special for students who cannot attend the hunt at EFM. As always, we will observe all the safety precautions and provide individual hot cocoa drinks and an individual snack. Dress for the occasion. More information to come!
The next Fifth Sunday is in May, and we will do a special program for our Recognition Sunday in June.
A few dates to keep in mind:
Monday, March 8: International Women’s Day
Sunday, March 14: Daylight Saving Time — we spring forward
Wednesday, March 17: St. Patrick’s Day
Saturday, March 20: Spring Equinox
Sunday, April 4: Easter Sunday and First Sunda
Did you know that on…
March 4, 1681 King Charles II of England (May 29, 1630 – February 6, 1685) granted a Royal
Charter to William Penn, to establish the colony that became Pennsylvania
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No need to remind everyone it was one year ago that we went into stay-at-home orders and that we sadly now have surpassed 500,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the USA. It is a sober reality and reminder that life is both brittle and strong, that we can lose and be lost, that access to medical care and being able to quarantine is not something everyone has the ability to do, that when our government fails us, we as human beings stand up and help each other, that fear can blind us and lead us astray, and that in all the suffering there is also the powerful reality of love and life! And vaccines!
During this past year I have come to EFM, to work, have class with Zoom, clean and organize the classrooms and projects, to water the plants, and to just be. A few years ago, someone brought about 6 or 7 small flowerpots for potluck and a few were left after the event, which then became a part of the RE classrooms—they bloom every year. Last year I repotted them all in one larger pot, each leaf being strong and green, the stems reaching for the sunshine outside, and then opening up with bright vivid orange flowers. “Thank You” to the person who purchased the plants some years ago and left some of them for me to care for and for all of us to enjoy!