Junior Yearly Meeting of New York Yearly Meeting

Senior High JYM Epistle '07!!
The theme of this week was stewardship. Stewardship is the responsibility we have to take care of the earth and each other. As we grouped together for JYM on Monday, we discussed how our actions affect the environment and other people all around the world, no matter how small the action. We decided to make a difference right then and there by rinsing and reusing our plastic cups for snack all week long. We got familiar with new friends and old by playing some fun games, such as the Haduran hat game and wagon wheel (in which we told each other what our idea of beautiful was, and our favorite orange object). We watched a video on subliminal messages and advertising that often caused us to doubt our own self-worth. It was a very enlightening session for all of us. The following morning we played Giants, Wizards, and Elves before listening to Roland Kreager tell us about microenterprise. Afterwards Leigh Steinbeck came to loosen us up by playing acting games with us. We made our own advertisements for items such as "compresson" and the "idate." On Wednesday, Héctor Aristizábal came to play his drum and tell us stories, as well as play more community-building games. Afterwards we played originally by playing original play. At the fun fair one of us became the Snitch (from Harry Potter) and was chased around by young witches and wizards. It was fun and helped raise money for our beloved Powell House and Sharing Fund. An incident on Wednesday afternoon caused much shock and pain to many of us. Thursday at JYM we sat and reflected our feelings on the event, holding the injured in the light, and praying for the best. In the hot sun we talked to Bill Gavin about conscientious objection, and now that all of us are closer to the drafting age, we took it more seriously. We were advised to stand up for what we believed in, and to document our actions as Quakers. We then cooled off at Slim Point, where we swam, laughed, and played games for the rest of the morning. We will all be sad to leave each other, but with the love and support we gained from one another this week, we will be better stewards to our community.

Seventh and Eighth Grade
Dear Friends,

On Sunday, the day before our conference began, old friend as well as newcomers were all warmly greeted with plenty of hugs as they arrived on campus, bringing everyone into a good mood for the rest of the week. To get everyone reacquainted both in character and by learning each other's names again the next day we did name whips, activities in which everyone goes around in a circle saying their name and to go along with the earth-friendly theme of the week, something that they do to help the planet. Other group activities, such as improv, tag games, playing with a younger group, and original play, helped us meet our personal needs. Exploring nature both in play at the beach for hours and in choosing a place to peacefully observe nature and make art of it helps us respect the earth around us as well as the person within us.

However, not everything was fun and craziness like the spontaneous end to nap time on Friday morning; much of the week was fun and organized activities. During the conference the group split into a few committees. There was a game committee that planned which games would be played during free periods of time such as banana tag, bridge, and thumper; and Fun(d) Fair Committee that discussed what activities would be held at our booth at the Fundraising Fair on Wednesday, coming up with places to receive bracelets, hugs, and cool nails at the event. There was also an Epistle Committee whose product you are reading right now; and of course, the ever-popular snack committee that provided us all with fuel each day.

The group learned much this weekend. For instance, Roland Kreager shared about Michael Enterprise; Chris and Mike invited us to come to Powell House, a place that we may see our friends throughout the year; and Bill Galvin came to speak about COs. And finally, to conclude the week, all of the groups came together for singing and worship before the conference sadly came to a close.

Fifth and Sixth Grades

Dear friends,

Our 5th and 6th grade JYM gathering began on Monday morning—we had a warm welcome from our four counselors: Virgil, Mykel Ann, Sara, and Sean. We started off with a discussion about S.P.I.C.E.S (Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship) and a visit from Kim and Mark for Original Play.

On Tuesday we talked with Bill Galvin and learned about conscientious objection. Jan and Griff's mom, Leigh, came in and played improvisational games with us which were awesome.

On Wednesday, we went swimming and it was really, really fun. We swam with our friends and jumped off the dock. After we went swimming we went to the Fun(d) Fair and sold water balloons that we threw at each other. There were balloons that made noise and flew around. One got stuck in a tree and a man climbed the tree and got the balloon. There was a boy painted yellow like the golden snitch and you had to chase him on broomsticks. I was really like tag. Wednesday was really fun.

On Thursday we did a cooperation course that helped us work together. It was also Café Night where most of us watched and/or performed an act. It was fun to watch and see everyone's talents.

On Friday we started our day with Chris and Mike from Powell House. Most of us felt sad that the week was almost over. We ended the session with singing in the Boathouse with all JYM.

In Peace and love, The 5th/6th grade group: Emrigael, Guinevere, Carolyn, Carson, Jessica, Tatiana, Michelle, Tanner, Martin, Mariah, Isaiah, Mariana, Griff, Jan, Natalie, Alma, Jennifer, Melanie, Holden, Antonia

Third and Fourth Grade
Twenty-two 3rd and 4th graders and Melvin the Katydid gathered together in a circle.
We accidentally and intentionally poured on the fun. We went back in time with Maryanne McClintock, and learned that "women can do anything, but back then American men ruled the world." Our caterpillars came to life, as did All God's Critters.
We SPICED up our days with stories.
We learned the word interdependence and applied it to the web of life.
Jumping on top of one another in Original Play help us learn to respect each other's space.
Songs carried us through the week to "new of me."
Hearing that Franklin was hurt showed us how everything can change after someone gets hurt.
The linking game with the big kids, splashing at the beach, games, and acting mirrored our week.

First and Second Grade
To All Friends,

We are the 1–2 group writing you from New York Yearly Meeting at Silver Bay on Lake George New York.

We love—the lake, our time in the woods finding nature, and learning about taking care of our world.

We recycled our cups and talked about saving water. Here is the song we sang. We want to share it with you. It’s to the tune "Lollipop." “Habitat Habitat Habitat Habitat You have to have a habitat. Habitat Habitat Habitat Habitat You have to have a Habitat. You have to have a habitat to carry on.”