Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church

9601 Cedar Lane    Bethesda, MD 20814-4099

301-493-8300   Fax: 301-897-5713   E-mail: RE@cedarlane.org

 

Fall 2011

 

To Youth Activity Group (YAG) Students and their Parents:

It is time for 7^th and 8^th grade students to join Cedar Lane’s Youth Activity Group and continue the fun and reward of being a Cedar Lane student.  To help you get started, attached is YAG’s Schedule for this fall and early winter.  YAG’s goal is to create activities that keep our youth involved in Cedar Lane and have lots of fun in the process. And with a lot of help from many, many students and parents, we usually succeed.

Activities:  This past year, here are some of our activities:

·         Enjoyed a weekend retreat at Camp Tockwogh on Maryland’s Eastern Shore —

          performed high ropes course, wall climbing, rode motor boats in the Bay, archery, and

          more.

·         Rafted on the Shenandoah River in Front Royal, VA

·         Spent a weekend in New York City seeing the sights and enjoying city life

·         Explored Whiting’s Neck Cave in West Virginia

·         Orienteering at University of Maryland—College Park Campus

·         Ski Trip at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Pennsylvania

·         Weekend trip in West Virginia where we hiked in Dolly Sods and climbed up Seneca

          Rocks

·         Ate pizza and watched movies at the Chalice House at Cedar Lane and at the mall

·         Hiked the Billie Goat Trail

Student Responses:  For a lot of our students, these are very new and demanding experiences.  One of the students, who one year did the rafting, caving, skiing, and hiking trips, had this to say:

“I never would have guessed that in one year, I have exceeded my physical abilities, faced my fears, and made friends with people I would have never suspected in my life.”

Another student was thrilled by one of our earlier caving trips:  “Caving was the scariest, most terrifying thing in my life.  I enjoyed every second of it.”

Manna Food Packing:  In addition to all of this fun, the Youth Activity Group has a serious service learning project—packing food boxes at Manna Food in Rockville.  This has been a youth group responsibility for more than fifteen years and the students have met their obligation with the joy of doing an exceptionally good deed for needy families in Montgomery County.  This work qualifies for service hours in the county schools.

Religious Education Classes:  The Youth Activity Group is in addition to the Religious Education classes taught each Sunday for 7^th and 8^th graders. While YAG is purely voluntary, as you can see, we try to organize enough fun and challenging events that students will want to attend without being pushed.  We coordinate with the R.E. program to minimize conflicts.

Objectives:  The objectives of YAG are simple. Activities are intended to allow 7^th and 8^th grade students to get to know each other, advance their socializing skills, learn ethical lessons of sharing and caring for each other, perform public service for our community and church, and have fun in doing all this. 

Schedule of Events:  Look for YAG’s schedule that accompanies this letter, mark the dates on the family calendar, and come to as many events as possible. Before each event, an announcement will be mailed or emailed to the student with information about the activity. If you have any questions, please call at the number below, or contact Gale Luce at the Church (301-493-8300).

Youth Activity Group Coordinator: John Daniel (301-946-5509)