Expectations for Families
Family Expectations
Register
It is very important for parents / guardians to register each child participating in our RE programs from nursery through high school. Registering helps our team track attendance and stay in touch with your family. More importantly, it provides us with crucial safety information like allergies and emergency contacts. Please see the Registration page for information on how to register your child. By registering your child, you are accepting the Children and Youth LRE Participation Agreement, which you can view here.
Lend a Hand
We ask that each family help our Religious Education program succeed by volunteering in our program. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. You could:
Youth and families enjoy socializing, stadium staples and baseball at a Cougars game.
Serve as a teacher or advisor for one of our classes
Volunteer as a substitute teacher
Provide food for a RE event
Serve as a chaperone for youth activities
Help drive to offsite events
Assist our teachers with class preparation or clean up
Help with planning and execution of events
Lead or assist with social justice projects
Please watch for announcements and respond promptly if you can help!
Communicate
The RE Team will communicate with parents and youth in a variety of ways. All key announcements will be made via e-mail and/or: in the weekly newsletter (mini Pioneer); monthly Pioneer; Order of Service (Sunday bulletin). We’ll do our best to keep you informed. Please do your part by checking your messages and responding promptly to communications from our volunteers and staff.
Sick? Please stay home!
Please keep sick children (and adults) at home! If your child has a contagious condition or has experienced fever, vomiting, or diarrhea in the past 24 hours, for the health and welfare of your child as well as others, please keep your child at home.
Tell us how to include your child
We want our programming to be as welcoming and inclusive as possible for all who wish to participate. If there is anything that we can do to help make your child feel safe, welcome and included, please notify Becky Hruby, Director of Religious Education for Children and Youth (DRE@uusg.org). In particular, please let us know if your child has any specific physical, emotional, behavioral or other needs that our team can help meet.
Dress for the Activity
Children and youth should come dressed for the weather and dressed for fun. They may go outside for some portion of the morning unless the weather is severe, so dress accordingly. Please label coats, hats, gloves, etc. with your child’s name. Some of our projects may get messy, so please save your finest clothes for special occasions.
Parent or Guardian On Site
A parent or guardian must stay on the church premises while their child is in programming. Emergency exceptions can be made with the agreement of a RE Steering Team Member if the child is in the K-2 class or above.
High school youth enrolled in YRUU may participate in YRUU without a parent or guardian onsite. However, parents / guardians remain responsible for their youth. This includes providing transportation to and from church and being available in the event of an emergency or if your youth otherwise must leave the activity.
Our team members cannot take responsibility for supervising children or youth outside of our scheduled RE activities, so please ensure that your kids are adequately supervised at all other times.
Be Present When You Can
We understand that life is busy and that other priorities prevent people from making it to church. You are welcome back at any time, even if you have been away. If we don’t see your child for awhile, we may follow up just to see how things are going and make sure things are OK.
Dismissal Procedure
As a safety measure, we require that each student in the K-2 and 3-5 classes be picked up at their classroom (K-2) or in the common room (3-5) by a parent or guardian. If a child will be picked up by another adult, the parent or guardian must notify the classroom teacher in advance. Please retrieve your child promptly at the end of their class time. Youth in middle school and high school will be released from their classrooms. Please make arrangements to meet your child.
Nursery Check-in / Check-out
Upon arriving at the nursery, parents should fill out a stick-on nametag with the child’s name, the parent’s name and mobile phone number, and location during the service. They will receive a matching ticket, which must be presented when picking the child up from the nursery. This is a safety measure to ensure that our youngest children are picked up only by an authorized adult. If you forget or lose your ticket, the nursery staff are trained to wait for the Sunday Coordinator to authorize them to release your child to you.