Ecumenical Vacation School

Was A Great Success

To the Editor:

As the director of the Newtown Ecumenical Vacation Church School held at Trinity Church, August 13-17, I would like to thank all the volunteers who helped make it the successful week it was. The planning team, which began meeting in April, included Treasurer Vivian Michalka, Youth Coordinator Tom McMorran, Craft Coordinator Holly Willsey-Walker, Recreation Coordinator Lauren Elliott and Data Collector Kathleen Moody, all from Trinity Church. The Nursery Coordinator was Ester Nichols, and the Snack Co-Coordinators were Renate Williamson from Newtown Congregational with MaryJo Runkle from St Rose. All the coordinators put in many hours of volunteer time, and were a great team.

Thank you to the classroom teachers: Donna Hoffman from the Lutheran Church; Amanda Potter, Anna Wiggers, and Robin Binnie from Newtown Congregational Church; Chrissie Pierce and Jen Peterson from Trinity; Judy Watts, Donna Locke, Dot Perpignand, Victoria Beauchimand, and MaryJo Runkle from St Rose; Becky Bombaro and Cara O’Neill from UConn; and Amy Treadwell from WCSU. The teachers put in many hours of preparation to decorate and plan for the week. Their enthusiasm and creativity made the week an exciting time for all the students.

In addition to the teachers, there were about 20 youth helpers involved as well. Many were fulfilling their community service requirement for Confirmation. They were helpful, friendly, and cooperative the entire week. Tom McMorran (Youth Coordinator) did a great job training them and assigning them to the classes, playground, nursery, and daily skits. They were a credit to the youth of Newtown.

The nursery, which provided care for the younger children of teachers, was staffed by parent volunteers including Margaret Larsen, Lisa Pliszka, Margaret Cassidy, Michelle Mendonca, Jamie McCleary, Michele Buzzi, Carolyn Thanasoulis, and Colleen McMorran. Thank you.

Many local businesses donated items which included food, drinks, supplies, and paper goods for the over 150 children, youth, and adults involved. EVCS would like to thank The Big Y, Bagelman, Dunkin Donuts, Donut Hut, Stop & Shop, Stew Leonard’s, Edmond Town Hall Theater, Pepperidge Farms Thrift Shop, and Castle Hill Farm. Your generosity made the week possible. Thank you to all the parents who were snack volunteers each day distributing the food to the classes.

Thank you to the many parents who helped with the crafts, especially Sue Conley and Ruth Campbell of Trinity who sewed together the children’s quilt squares. The nine quilts will be displayed at the participating churches over the next few weeks.

Each day of EVCS started with a group worship service. Some of the youth volunteers would do a skit demonstrating the Bible lesson of the day followed by a short sermon from one of the participating clergy. The Reverend Kurt Huber from Trinity, the Reverend Janice Touloukian from Newtown Congregational, and the Reverend Terry Pfeiffer from United Methodist Church each spoke with the group of 120 children. Thank you to all the participating clergy for their support.

The Mission Project of the week was for each child to bring in canned goods, food, and toiletry items for the FAITH Food Pantry of Sandy Hook. Thank you to all the parents and children for your cooperation and generosity. The Food Pantry runs low on food during the summer, and this should help them keep up with demand.

This was my first time running something as complicated as this. It was a lot of work, but it was a wonderful experience in the end. The children were well-behaved, and all seemed to have a great time. The coordinators were fantastic, and the teachers were marvelous. I’m grateful to have worked with such special people – many have already volunteered to help again. Next year, Newtown EVCS will be hosted by St Rose Church in the third week of August. It’s a wonderful Newtown tradition.

Sincerely,

Sue Vogelman

26 Rock Ridge Road, Newtown                                    August 28, 2001