Summer Sessions 2013: JYM

JYM At Work

Summer Sessions

July 21–27, 2013 • Silver Bay, New York

Junior Yearly Meeting

 

Melanie-Claire Mallison & Dawn Pozzi, Coordinators

Quicklinks

 

Welcome young Friends and parents/guardians to Junior Yearly Meeting (JYM) 2013!.

Here are some basic things for everyone to remember:

When you arrive. When you arrive at Silver Bay YMCA, you must check in with Silver Bay to get room assignments, and then proceed to the JYM registration area in Gullen Lounge in the Inn. JYM registration will be open from 4:00 to 9:00 pm on Sunday. Those registering Monday morning or later should go to the JYM office on the upper level of the Boathouse. Please bring your child’s relevant medical history, parental consent forms, and a record of any allergies.

Where does my child go? Each JYM group is based on the grade the young Friend will be entering in the fall, from 1st to 12th. Each group meets in the same space every day. These spaces will be posted at JYM Registration.

For children from infancy through those entering Kindergarten, Silver Bay offers childcare Monday through Friday mornings, which is supplemented by a JYM volunteer. The Yearly Meeting covers the fee to Silver Bay for this service. Contributions are welcome!

When does JYM meet? On Monday morning, the entire Yearly Meeting community will meet in the Auditorium for our opening worship and our plenary speaker. The young Friends will then leave the auditorium with their group and be in their program until noon, when they will again join the Yearly Meeting in the auditorium and be dismissed from there at about 12:15. For the rest of the week the JYM program meets at 8:45 a.m. Please make sure that your child gets enough rest every night to be able to participate effectively in his/her JYM group each morning. Parents/guardians/sponsors of children age 8 and under are expected to drop off their children promptly each morning. If your child will not be attending group on a given day, please notify the group leaders or the JYM Coordinators. Unless you are notified otherwise, all JYM groups will join the Yearly Meeting in the Auditorium at 12:00 and will stay together until the end of Community Worship at 12:15 and will be dismissed from there. Children in the 1st and 2nd grade group and in the 3rd and 4th grade group will not be dismissed from group until the designated adult picks them up. Parents and guardians please let the group leaders know in advance if you wish them to release your child to someone other than yourself.

Morning worship sharing for teens. Young Friends entering 10th to 12th grade are invited to attend adult worship sharing groups from 9 to 10 a.m, except on Monday, and should indicate their choice on their registration forms. They are expected to join their JYM groups right after worship sharing.

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Afternoon and evening childcare. JYM provides cooperative childcare for children up through the age of 10, with JYM volunteers and JYM parents, every day during committee meeting times and evening session times. These times will be posted at JYM Registration and in the weekly Program. Evening childcare ends 15 minutes after the end of evening programs. All the PM Childcare sessions rely on volunteer help and all parents who bring children to PM Childcare are expected to give an hour to the program. There must be one adult for every four children. Two volunteers from JYM will supervise each session. You can sign up to help during JYM registration or at any time with the JYM PM Childcare volunteers. We thank you in advance for helping to provide care for all of the children in our community.

How do I know where my child is during the day? During official JYM sessions, they should be with their JYM groups. If your child’s group will leave their regular space on a given day for a special event, you will be informed, and/or a notice will be posted on the door of the regular meeting place. Any child not attending an age-appropriate JYM group must be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or parentally designated adult companion during JYM session times. Parents/guardians/sponsors are responsible for JYM’ers whenever they are not with their JYM group or JYM childcare. We suggest that you have a regular check-in time and location for the young Friend(s) and the parent/guardian/sponsor to connect with each other each day.

Which group will my child be assigned to? The JYM groups are organized by standard public school grades in an effort to build on the strengths and needs of our children. Experience has shown us that placing children in groups with attenders years older or younger than they are does not work well for community building. Although it is tempting to ask that siblings who are assigned to different groups be placed together, we have found that this is usually a hindrance to both the children and the JYM group.

Can the JYM volunteers provide for my child with special needs? If your child wishes to attend JYM and needs a very high level of individual attention because of a physical or developmental handicap, please plan to participate with them in the program. The JYM program does not have enough volunteer staff with special training to provide for all special-need situations. Please contact the JYM coordinators if you have questions about your child’s participation.

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Can my child go to Silver Bay without me? If your child is under 18, he/she may attend Silver Bay with an adult sponsor. The sponsor should be designated by the parent or legal guardian and must be at least 10 years older than the young Friend they are sponsoring. The sponsor and the child should know each other reasonably well. When you register your child to attend Yearly Meeting you will need to indicate who their sponsor is, send your child’s registration in with that person’s, and indicate that they will be clustering (rooming near each other). You will need to send a completed medical information form with your child, to be turned in at JYM registration.

What is clustering? People in a “cluster” are assigned rooms in the same building, on the same floor, in close proximity to one another. Clustering allows children and their parents, guardians, or sponsors to check in with one another and communicate responsibly. You must request clustering when you register for Summer Sessions at Silver Bay, and if feasible, send in the clustering registration forms together.

What do I need to bring? If you register with enough lead time, JYM volunteers working with your group will send you a letter explaining what you will be doing in your group and listing certain things they think you may want to bring with you. We suggest that everybody bring along a beach towel, bathing suit, sunscreen, sturdy shoes, and rain gear. The weather at Silver Bay is unpredictable and can be quite cool. Be prepared for this by packing some warmer clothing (for example, long pants, sweatshirts, windbreaker).

Snacks. All families are asked to bring a can of juice and healthy non-sugary cracker snacks for our JYM groups to share during snack time. These contributions can be brought to the JYM registration area or JYM office in the Boathouse.

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Whom do I talk to if I have any questions? The JYM coordinators, Melanie-Claire Mallison and Dawn Pozzi, are available to answer questions about JYM during our week at Silver Bay. Except during community worship times, one of the Coordinators will be available Monday through Friday, from 8:30 to 12:00 noon, in the JYM office on the upper level of the Boathouse. You can also go to one of the co-clerks of the JYM committee, Miriam McGiver or Aldona Januskiewicz, or the NYYM conference office in the Inn. If you cannot find us and want to leave a note, there is a message board in the Inn for that purpose.

JYM volunteers needed!s JYM volunteers give their time to the Yearly Meeting at Summer Sessions at Silver Bay working with the youth in grades K–12. Volunteer group leaders plan and carry out a program prepared at the June JYM Planning Weekend at Powell House. JYM group leaders also provide afternoon and evening childcare (referred to as “PM Childcare”) for children through age 10 during Committee and Session times Monday–Friday. Financial assistance is made available to JYM group leaders.

Silver Bay’s morning childcare program is always happy to have a Friendly adult presence, as is the afternoon and evening childcare programs offered by Junior Yearly Meeting. You can sign up to help during JYM registration or at any time with the JYM PM Childcare volunteers. We thank you in advance for helping to provide care for all of the children in our community.

If you are interested in serving the Yearly Meeting as a JYM volunteer in future years, please speak with Melanie-Claire Mallison or Dawn Pozzi, Coordinators of JYM 2013.

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