Greetings teachers --

I hope this finds you well! I apologize for filling your inbox with yet another email this week but wanted to share this information with you.

I’ve been putting the old pencil to estimating new class sizes once eligible kids move to the next grade on Sept 10. Please bear in mind that you can usually expect about 50 percent (average) – 75 percent (high) of the actual number registered for any class.  Average is the norm! This is really important info to keep in mind as you read on, do please try not to stress out!

That being said I want to give you guys some advance info on how things are shaping up. For the most part we are fine! These numbers are estimates based on last year’s registration since this year’s registration drive is underway and the actual forms will continue to trickle in from now thru the end of September. Our net growth in most years is incrementally manageable and scattered throughout the Sunday School.

Assuming we have about the same number as last year register, Pre-school teachers – you win the prize for the highest estimated number with 22, with 4th & 5th and coming in second at 21, while the 2nd & 3rd grade class will shrink to 12. Two years ago this combined group (of what will be our 4th & 5th grade class) was the largest group we had in our Sunday school and it appears they’re still tracking high.

Here’s how it all shakes out. Again these are estimates and doesn’t include times when our attendance is low as it is during the summer.

When can you expect high attendance?? Attendance spikes can be unpredictable but over the years as I’ve tracked registration and attendance numbers I’ve found that our three biggest Sundays are Easter, Carnival Day and either the day Robin returns from summer hiatus, Promotion Sunday, or when a disaster strikes – like Sept. 11. September is usually the month when we have the highest average attendance.

Robin (I don’t think he minds me speaking for him here), the Christian Ed board and I are committed to rallying the congregation to support you with classroom helpers. We plan to run announcements in the bulletin, send emails to the congregation and parents, and Kyle Sweet, chair of the Christian Ed board, is going to speak to the congregation on Promotion Sunday asking for everyone to pitch in and sign up for one or two Sundays a year. If that does not shake out the response we need, we may move the classroom helper sign up sheets to Fellowship Hall to see if we can get more people to involved that way. We may do this anyway!

If we ever have more kids than you can handle and not enough helpers – Robin says its fine for me to come to the sanctuary, give him a note detailing how many helpers we need and recruiting from the congregation right then and there. (So far we’ve only had to deploy this tactic once.) If that doesn’t garner the helpers we need, we can always bring the kids back to sanctuary and then my guess is you will get the help you need. J

Because of the estimated numbers – shrinking 2nd & 3rd class & growing 4th & 5th class -- starting Sept 10 we need to reconfigure the space these two classes share. We’ll switch room dividers – using the southernmost divider rather than the northern one as we do now. We’ll also probably need to move a table and a few chairs into the 4th & 5th grade room.

Please know that I consider what you do -- teaching – to be one of the highest callings in the church because it is about seeding the future of the church, our community & world with centered, mindful, compassionate people. Teaching is a selfless act, you are selfless people, and you and what you do are valued! I know the accolades probably don’t come often enough but the peace you so carefully nurture each and every Sunday does make a difference in our church, community and world. Thank you, thank you for making the spiritual growth of Mayflower’s kids one of your top priorities!

We’re going to have a great fall!! Looking forward to and praying for cooler weather soon!

Grace & peace –

Shauna