CHURCH SCHOOL

The St. George Church has a flourishing Church School program with over one hundred and fifty students enrolled. Grade levels start at the Little Angels Class, and continue through Tenth Grade.  Preschoolers who are at least 3 years old by October 1^st may register for the Little Angels Class.    All other children go to the grade level which they attend in their home school district.  The Little Angels, Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, meet at 11:00; while the older children are asked to attend the Liturgy with their parents and then proceed to their classes after Holy Communion until dismissal at 12:30.

Our Church School staff consists of forty teachers and their assistants.  Some of them have been Church School teachers for more than thirty years and are devoted to teaching and living their Orthodox faith. 

In an effort to teach our children the importance of practicing their faith, the Church School undertakes many projects. Some of them have been on-going for years, while others are short term projects. 

v     Support-A-Priest Mission Program: The students make a nominal weekly donation, which enable our Church School to send $50.00 each month to the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) which them forward our donation to a missionary priest to supplement their meager income. 

v     Thanksgiving Food Collection: The Church School coordinates the effort to collect food for needy families in our parish and the surrounding community.

v     Angel Tree: A Church School class decorates a Christmas Tree with angels and asks the other children and parishioners to select an angel and purchase the item written on it.  The gifts are then donated to disabled children and adults.

v     Junior Choir: The purpose of the Junior Choir is to teach the children the beautiful hymns of our Orthodox faith so that they’re better able to experience the Divine Liturgy and other services of the Church.  The Junior Choir groups meet every other week from 10:15-11:15.  All children are encouraged to participate.

v     Christmas Pageant: On the Sunday before Christmas, the children reenact the Incarnation of Jesus by presenting a pageant in the Church

v     Oratorical Festival: The Church School has been involved with the Oratorical Festival since 1983.  Many of our students have represented the New Jersey Diocese, and New Jersey Metropolis at the Archdiocese Oratorical Festival.  The students in the Seventh through Tenth Grades go over the topics in class and are guided in the writing and delivery process. This program provides a wonderful opportunity for the students to gain self confidence and poise when speaking before an audience. The Little Angels-Sixth Grades also prepare a brief presentation which is also given in church.

v     Church School Retreat: The Church School teachers coordinate the annual Lenten Retreat, the theme of which changes annually.  Usually held on a Saturday, the children attend the Liturgy, and after breakfast, participate in various age appropriate workshops where the lessons are taught and take home art projects are made.

v     Cake Sale: The Church School sponsors an annual cake sale, whereby the funds raised, are sent to various philanthropic institutions.  In the past, we helped the Orphanage in Guatemala, and the Protection of the Theotokos Family Center in Romania by sending clothes, and other needed items.  We also sent money to help an Orthodox missionary compound in Africa purchase an ambulance.

v     Warm the Children: This was recently undertaken to collect warm clothing and school supplies to send to children between 6-18 who are in Church sponsored orphanages in Albania, Russia and Belarus.

v     Adopt-A-Soldier: This short term project was undertaken so that magazines, toiletries, and non-perishable snacks could be collected and sent to our military who were deployed to Afghanistan.

v     Attendance Awards: At our final day of Church School, those students who achieved perfect or excellent attendance are recognized for their achievements. 

v     Graduation: A graduation ceremony, where each graduate is presented with an icon and a certificate commemorating the day, is held for the Tenth Grade Class.  One of the requirements we ask of the students is to write an essay on a topic relating to how Church School affected their lives.   It’s always quite interesting to see how the question is answered.   A plaque is also presented to the graduate who achieves the most years of perfect attendance.  

Through the various projects the Church School sponsors, it is hoped that our children will be inspired to live their lives according to the basic morals and traditions of the Orthodox Church.