Saint Matthews Sunday School Program

We are now in our fifth year of using the Episcopal Children's Curriculum which has provided Saint Matthews with a well respected program that continues to grow each year. We hope the information below will answer your questions about our program, but we also welcome you to come and experience it for yourselves and "try us out"!

Please do not hesitate to contact Lucy Templeton, Director of Youth Formation or Father Bill Thomas if you would like to discuss our program in further depth. You can contact us at (304) 343-3837.

How many children attend?

This year, our program is enjoying the benefits of it's success with increased registration to over 70 children. Because we have an engaging program tailored to the needs of each age group, we have a high retention and attendance record

Where are classes held?

Saint Matthews has three dedicated classrooms and a nursery downstairs in Mathes Hall. Mathes Hall is located in the gray building across the road behind the church. Enter by the door left of center, and you will see the welcome sign to Sunday School infront of you. The classrooms were totally renovated in the summer of 2009 with new carpet, new paint and computers added to each classroom too.

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What time do classes begin?

Childcare with Art and Maribel opens at 10am with Sunday School beginning at 10:15AM. This allows parents time to enter church in time for the 10:30AM liturgy with which Sunday School runs concurrently.

The children start upstairs in Mathes Hall, where we have music or a specific group activity from 10:15AM. Promptly at 10:30AM we enter Children's Chapel for communion before going downstairs into individual classes. Once a month, the children will go immediately downstairs after group time and will join the main congregation for communion. This allows them to experience being part of our community as well as being in church.

What age groups do you teach?

We have a nursery and four classes. The age breakdown is as follows:

Nursery & Toddler Class: We are currently blessed to have Maribel and Art on staff to take care of any babies and toddlers in the nursery. They provide a very nurturing and caring environment and use imaginative activities to entertain older toddlers. The nursery is stocked with baby supplies, a pack and play and educational toys appropriate for the age group. We have very few babies and toddlers enrolled with us at present, so Maribel and Art also take care of the children who are not quite ready to be in the Preschool Class. We use the excellent "Toddlers and Two's" curriculum which gives this age group an introduction to faith education through fun play and simple themes.

Preschool/Kindergarten Class in the Blue Room: This is typically one of our largest classes, which takes children aged 3+ through to those in Kindergarten. We work with the parents to decide when an individual child is ready to be in this more structured class which uses the ECC. Due to the size and age group, two teachers are in this class at all times.

Primary Class in the Orange Room: This class is for children in 1st and 2nd Grades. This year, this is our biggest class with over 23 children registered. We have increased out teaching staff to two teachers and the group may be split into groups to ensure they have the attention needed.

Intermediate Class in the Green Room: This class is for children in 3rd through 5th Grades. 3rd Graders move up when the parents and teachers agree they are ready for more in depth material.

6+: This is not a Sunday School class but instead a stepping stone program between Sunday School and full church participation. Any youth in 6th grade or above are welcome to attend. Classes meet in the library or other suitable venue decided upon by the teacher, and start at 10:30AM. The class lasts for 30 minutes, then the youth rejoin the main congregation in time for The Peace and to take communion in church.

What Curriculum do you use?

We use the Episcopal Children's Curriculum (ECC). The aim of the ECC is to sustain and strengthen the ministry of teaching in the Episcopal Church, by providing our teachers with biblically based and liturgically oriented lesson plans that they can adapt to the needs of our individual classes. Most lessons incorporate appropriate material from The Bible, The Book of Common Prayer and the Hymnal, to teach church traditions and standard responses used during Episcopal worship. The program therefore fully assists every child to interpret and live out the covenant made in Holy Baptism and help them build their own unique relationship with God.

The curriculum provides teachers with 10-15 minute segments based on storytelling, crafts, activities, games and music which they select to fit the needs of the class. This helps engage the children for the duration of the class, and helps to reinforce the lesson of the day.

How does the curriculum work?

The ECC is designed on a three year rotation. Each year provides lessons for Preschool, Primary and Intermediate Classes, and at each level totally different material is taught. With nine total years worth of lesson plans, that means your child will never be tuaght the same lesson twice. The material gets progressively harder and more indepth through the years to keep the children engaged and learning.

Each year is broken down into 4 units of nine weeks each. The teachers normally teach one unit, and then hand over to another teacher. All our teachers are members of Saint Matthews and are committed to the ECC method of teaching.

Does Sunday School run all year?

Our program usually starts at the end of August and runs through the end of May. There are dates in the calendar when classes are not held to enable the children and congregation to attend church together at Family Worship. The nursery however, is operational every Sunday without exception.

Throughout the summer we will be providing a one class Summer Program which will be more informal for families still wishing to attend Sunday Services.

Do you run a Vacation Bible School?

Yes! We have a very successful VBS program with around 140 children attending each year. Registration usually opens in March and we have to limit places for safety reasons so, you need to register early as we do close registration without exception when we reach our quota. Watch this website in January for news of our next VBS program.

What do you do to ensure the safety of the children?

We take the wellbeing and safety of all children extremely seriously at Saint Matthews. .

The premises are regularly wiped down with disinfectant, and we ask parents not to bring children if they have a cold with a yellow discharge, fever or other known infectious condition.

Our Nursery assistants, church staff and teachers are required to attend the Episcopal training workshop called "Safeguarding God's Children" which is a sexual abuse awareness and prevention program. The majority of our teachers have also undertaken this course, and parents are also encouraged to attend. Click here for more information about our Safeguarding Program

No child will ever be left alone with a single adult, and we will strive to ensure there are two adults at all times in a class.

All our doors have windows, and parents are encouraged to drop by anytime to check on their children.

When children are dropped off to Sunday School, parents are asked to put a pre-printed name badge on their child. This ensures that the parent knows the child made it into school, gives us a register of who is in attendance, and as the stickers are color coded for each class, helps us ensure every child is in the correct class.

We ask you to fill in a registration form so we know of any known allergies or medical conditions and copies of these forms are kept in the classrooms so teachers have access to your contact infromation.

If you have any concerns, please talk to us so we can address them immediately.