Summer Sessions 2014, JYM
Melanie-Claire Mallison & Dawn Pozzi, JYM Coordinators
Welcome young Friends and parents/guardians to Junior Yearly Meeting (JYM).
Here are some basic things for everyone to remember:
When you arrive at Silver Bay YMCA you must check in with Silver Bay and get your room assignments, and then proceed to the JYM registration area in Gullen Lounge in the Inn. JYM registration will be open on Sunday from 4:00 to 5:30 PM, and again from 8:30 to 9:30 PM. Monday morning JYM registration will be in Gullen Lounge from 8:15 to 9:00. Anyone arriving and registering after Monday at 9:00 should go to the JYM office in See Memorial. Please bring your child’s medical forms, parental consent forms, and a record of any allergies. No child will be allowed to join the JYM group until these forms have been submitted. Your juice and snack donation will be taken at registration as well.
Where does my child go? Each JYM group is based on the grade the young Friend will be entering in the fall, from 1st–12th. Each group meets in the same space every day. These spaces will be posted at JYM Registration and campus maps will be available.
For children from infancy through those entering Kindergarten, on Monday through Friday mornings Silver Bay offers childcare at the Children’s Pavilion, which is supplemented by a JYM volunteer. The fee to Silver Bay for this service is covered by the Yearly Meeting. Donations to offset this cost are appreciated from any Friend, parent or not, who wishes to contribute. See the registration form.
When does JYM meet? All JYM participants except Senior High will gather in their age groups on the lawn in front of the Inn at 8:45 every day, and then go as groups to their home bases. Please make sure that your child gets enough rest every night to be able to participate effectively in his/her JYM group 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 differently, JYM groups will end at 12:00. Those in grades 5 and up will be dismissed from their groups. Children in 1st and 2nd grade group and in 3rd and 4th grade group will not be dismissed until the designated adult picks them up. 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 Senior High. Young Friends entering 10th to 12th grade are invited to attend adult Worship Sharing groups from 9 to 10 a.m., and should indicate that choice on their registration forms. They are expected to join their JYM group right after Worship Sharing. Those who do not wish to attend Worship Sharing should go to the Boathouse by 9:00.
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 Meeting for Business, Meeting for Discernment, committee meetings, and evening session times. These times will be posted at JYM Registration and in the weekly Program. There is no childcare during Fun(d) Fair or Café Night. Evening childcare ends 15 minutes after the end of committee or plenary meeting time. 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. We encourage all Summer Sessions participants to volunteer for PM Childcare and give parents a break! There must be two adults with the children at all times and a child:adult ratio of no more than 4:1. Two volunteers from JYM will supervise each session. Any adult 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 JYM sessions they should be with their JYM groups. If your child’s group will leave their home base 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. If a child is absent from group without parental notification, we will try to locate the parents and let them know.
Parents/guardians/sponsors are responsible for JYMers whenever they are not with their JYM group or JYM childcare. Please discuss and endorse the behavior guidelines with your child at the time you register and again before you come to Silver Bay. It is a parental responsibility to set out clear expectations for behavior and curfew. We strongly suggest that you agree on a regular check-in time and location where the young Friend(s) and the parent/guardian/sponsor meet 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 too wide an age range 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. Children will be placed in a group based on the grades they will enter in September 2014. The groups are Grades 1-2, Grades 3-4, Grades 5-6, Grades 7-9 (Junior High) and Grades 10-12 (Senior High). These two older groups are a change from recent years when there were two grades to a 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 physical or developmental needs, please plan to participate with her or him in the program. The JYM program does not have volunteers with training to provide for all special-need situations. Please contact the JYM Coordinators if you have questions about your child’s participation.
Can my child go to Silver Bay without me? If your child is under 18, she/he may attend Silver Bay with an adult sponsor. Sponsors should be designated by the parent or legal guardian and must be at least 10 years older than the young Friends 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 the sponsor is, send your child’s registration in with that person’s, include necessary medical and permission forms, and indicate that they will be clustering (rooming near each other) or sharing a room. It is also important that you facilitate communication between your child and the sponsor before Summer Sessions so that they get to know each other’s expectations and needs and so that they can have clear agreements about behavior and communication at Silver Bay. You will need to send a completed medical information form with your child, to be turned in at JYM registration. Without that medical form, your child will not be allowed to attend group.
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 should a JYMer bring? If you register with enough lead time, JYM volunteers working with your group will send a letter explaining plans for the group and listing certain things to bring. 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 bring a can of juice and healthy non-sugary cracker snacks for our JYM groups to share during daily snack time. These contributions can be brought to the JYM registration area or JYM office in See Memorial. It is important that the JYM Coordinators know of any food allergy or intolerance so that the snacks given to your child’s group are appropriate.
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. One of the Coordinators will be available Monday through Friday, from 8:30 to 12:00 noon, in the JYM office in See Memorial. You can also go to the 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.
Volunteering with Junior Yearly Meeting
Every year, for the JYM Program to create the best Quaker experience possible, we solicit resource people to share their Friendly skills, and we seek out volunteers to lead the youth groups.
Resource People have read Friendly books and dressed in a bonnet to portray Margaret Fell. They have discussed their committee work or shared the work of NYYM. Volunteer Group Leaders plan and carry out a program, prepared in June. Volunteers also provide a Friendly adult presence at Silver Bay’s morning childcare program, and provide a safe afternoon and evening space (referred to as “PM Childcare”) for children through age 10. Financial assistance is made available to JYM group leaders.
Finally, we encourage all Friends to assist with the PM Childcare Program. You can sign up during JYM registration or at any time during PM Childcare. We thank you in advance for caring for all of the children in our community.
If you have a skill to offer JYM or are interested in volunteering, please contact Melanie-Claire Mallison or Dawn Pozzi, JYM Coordinators for 2014.