The Junior Department
(Chapter 15 from Dr. Hyle's excellent book, The Hyles Sunday School Manual)
(Written by Mrs. Lewis Shoaf, Superintendent of
the Junior I Department, First Baptist Church, Hammond, Indiana)
Duties of a Junior Departmental Superintendent
Every superintendent should be 100% behind the pastor and the work of the
church. Big decisions should never be made without first discussing the
matter with the pastor. A superintendent should also keep the members of her
own family interested in her department.
1. Make teaching a pleasure, not a chore. The superintendent should make teaching as pleasant as possible for her teachers. Checking the classroom for erasers, chalk, chairs, flannelgraph boards, etc., will help the teachers. Registering new pupils before going to the classroom is an asset to the teacher. Encourage each teacher to decorate his classroom. Should any teacher fail to do so, the superintendent should take this responsibility to make the room attractive for the pupils. Praise a job well done. Never show discouragement. The superintendent should not expect to much from her teachers--financially or physically. Use husband and wife teachers as much as possible and assign them the same teaching area.
2. Keep teachers informed. It is the responsibility of the superintendent to make certain that all teachers and workers are informed of any changes made in the department. When planning a departmental teachers’ meeting (usually only two or three are necessary for the year), or any other activity, everyone should know the date, time, and place of meeting at least a week in advance. A teachers’ meeting could be planned for Sunday afternoon about two hours before the evening service. This will save the teachers and workers an extra night away from their families. Have the entire staff attend this meeting. The teachers and workers should each have a copy of the name, address, and phone number of the entire staff in the department.
3. What shall be expected from the teachers. Teachers are expected to be faithful to all the services. They should love their pupils, be burdened for them, and seek to win them to the Lord. They are required to visit in the homes of each absentee and visitor weekly. Teachers should keep their records up to date and inform the superintendent if a pupil has moved or is attending another Bible-believing church. No teacher is to have an inactive list. All inactive pupils are to be treated as active pupils. The name of an inactive pupil is not to be removed from the class records until all possible means have been used to get the pupil back in Sunday school. Teachers are to notify the superintendent as far in advance as possible when planning to be out of town.
4. Be conscious of lost souls in the department. Oftentimes the pupil with the biggest discipline problem is not only seeking attention but is really wanting someone to show him the way of salvation. The superintendent should make the way of salvation clear during the opening assembly either by explaining it through a song, object lesson, story, etc. She should invite the pupils to tell their teachers if they are not sure they have been born again. It is nothing unusual for a teacher to tell me he has led a pupil to the Lord in his Sunday school class. This happens almost every Sunday in our department.
5. Be enthusiastic. Enthusiasm and smiles are contagious. Juniors love enthusiasm. Always look for juniors wherever you go and greet them warmly. They are pleased when they see you on the street or in a store.
6. Be an example to the teachers. Every superintendent should have taught several years in the Sunday school to know exactly what her teacher faces. She should be consecrated and dedicated to her work as well as an example to her entire staff. The superintendent should be willing to do more than her share of the work if necessary. She should not expect from others what she would not do herself. She should set the pace for her department. Her example in conduct, dress, work, and faithfulness will influence her department. She must be willing to sacrifice and share her time whenever needed. The superintendent should be the first one to arrive in the department on Sunday mornings and make sure everything is in readiness for the day.
8. Work the department all year long. Never expect a summer slack, a holiday slump, or bad weather low attendance. Work harder during these times than ever before. During the spring and fall contests teachers and pupils will help carry the load, but superintendent must bear the weight the rest of the time. During every opening assembly she should always have something exciting to say about the next Sunday and some future event coming up in a few weeks.
9. Set high goals. Plan to nearly double your attendance from what you had on Promotion Day. Plant this goal and desire in the hearts of your teachers and pupils. Talk about it each week. During contest weeks, set goals for each class and for the entire department. Honor the classes who reach their goals.
10. Share responsibilities as they increase. The superintendent should not allow herself to become so burdened with detail duties that the more important things are neglected. The superintendent should free herself from registering visitors, teaching, figuring percentages, and other duties which are time-consuming. Secretaries, substitute teachers, and helpers should share in these responsibilities.
11. Departmental letters should be sent often. Every junior boy and girl likes to receive mail. When promoting something special in the department, the superintendent should send a departmental letter to each pupil enrolled in the department. This includes all who attend faithfully, all who do not, each visitor, and each departmental staff member. The letter should include an attractive picture, a short description of the special event, the name of the church, department, location, and date. If using a postage permit, the superintendent can take advantage of this and mimeograph the permit and church return address on the backside, fold, and address, thus avoiding the use of envelopes.
12. Be thoroughly prepared at all times. Start and dismiss opening assembly exactly on time. Never cheat a teacher of precious teaching time. Have each minute planned! If one minute is lost, the entire group is lost, thus creating discipline problems. During contest weeks, plan the entire contest before it begins. Be organized! Expect the calamities and be prepared for them. Plan for future events.
Much time should be spent in preparation for
the coming Sunday. The superintendent should have the songbooks with a slip
of paper stating the songs and page numbers ready for the pianist. The
pianist should begin playing five minutes before the opening assembly. Only
the superintendent knows how much she has to accomplish in her opening
assembly. She may have a teacher who would make a better songleader than she
but who would take more time singing than can be spared. It is better that
the superintendent lead her own singing and get her program across even
though it may not be as good. The superintendent should keep a written copy
of each of the opening assemblies and file according to date with the
attendance written in the corner. An example of a twenty-minute opening
assembly follows:
Date -----------------
Attendance---------
(1) Signal for reveille to be played on trumpet by teacher.
(2) “Attention”--pupils stand at attention.
(3) Songs: “I’m in the Lord’s Army (Salvation Songs for Children #3, page 21) “On God’s Word I’ll Stand” (Salvation Songs for Children #4, page 35)
(4) I wonder how many of you boys and girls have had a birthday this past week. If you have, then come up and let us sing “Happy Birthday” (Action, page 51) to you. Birthday pencils are given to pupil before opening assembly to pass out to those having birthdays. Birthday cake to be put on flannelgraph board by pupil is also given to pupil before opening assembly. When we sing about two birthdays, we are singing about the first time we were born. We were born into the family of our mothers and daddies and sisters and brothers. The second time is when we accept the Lord Jesus as our Saviour and are born into His family. Everyone must have two birthdays to go to Heaven. How many birthdays have you had?
(5) Boys and girls, look at our prayer puppet. He is going to shut his eyes while we pray. Every boy and girl in the room must shut his eyes and not talk while Mr.------- (man teacher of the department) comes to lead us in prayer. (Prayer puppet is given to a pupil before opening assembly to hold during this prayer time.)
(6) CONTEST REPORT:
Look at Mount Victory! The girls are ahead by 1%! Boys, are you really going to let the girls beat you? Girls, you are really going to have to work or the boys will pass you up next Sunday.
(7) SWORDS: (Good swords will be awarded to the boys’ and girls’ classes having the highest percentage again. Broken swords are “awarded” to the classes having the least percentage gain.)
Today the classes taught by Mrs. ------- and Mr. --------- are awarded the good swords. Let’s give them a hand. My, how I hate to give out these broken swords. They go to the classes taught by Mrs. ------- and Mr. -------. Let’s all say “ahhh.” I’m sure you don’t want a broken sword in your class next Sunday, do you? The only safe way to keep from getting one in your class is to come and bring others with you to Sunday school.
(8) SURPRISE BOX: “What do you think is in here?” You will never guess because it is a SURPRISE BOX. One will be given to the boy and one to the girl who bring the most absentees or visitors to his or her class next Sunday.
(9) COMING IN JUST 3 MORE SUNDAYS-- “ICE CREAM SUNDAE, SUNDAY” How many of you like ice cream sundaes? Good! Do you know that we are going to have an “Ice Cream Sunday, Sunday” here in our Junior I Department? The sundaes will be served between the Sunday school hour and the church service. I will be telling you more about it and will send you a letter telling you all about it in a couple of weeks.
(10) STORY: “The Tragedy That Inspired Victory”
(11) No junior boy or girl will leave the department after Sunday school unless accompanied by the teacher. Teachers may leave for classes. ATTENTION! Junior I soldiers will march to classes beginning with the front row.
13. Check individual class attendances weekly. Have the secretaries make a carbon copy of the attendance sheet for the superintendent. Check class attendances and teachers’ packets regularly. Pupils should not be allowed to slip into the wrong class unless exception has been made by the superintendent or the head secretary. This would often mean that the pupils from another area will not get visited. Teachers must leave their packets at the church on Sundays and can pick them up Wednesday at the regular Teachers’ and Officers’ Meeting if they so desire.
14. Pinpoint weak spots in the department. If the superintendent checks her class attendances and packets weekly, she can almost always tell which teacher is working and which is not. She can tell which teachers could take bigger areas. When a teacher often sends pupils to her for discipline, the superintendent has a right to feel this teacher is either not as prepared as he should be, cannot control his pupils, or is unable to handle a very big class. The superintendent must keep these things in mind at promotion time and place each teacher according to his ability. Watch each teacher’s interests in his pupils. Does the teacher sit and talk with his pupils before the opening assembly? Is the teacher eager to see his pupils or does he visit with another teacher? Is he faithful to the Teachers’ and Officers’ Meeting on Wednesday nights? When he has missed a Sunday, does he call and ask how many were in his class and check who was absent? When a class seems to be at a standstill, it is the superintendent’s place to call in the homes and find out why the pupils are not coming. If she finds half of the pupils enrolled are not attending and have no interest, it is advisable to divide the class. She should talk to the teacher about his class and remind him of his promise to visit when he became a teacher. She may suggest that he divide his class, giving the new teacher as many active pupils as he keeps. The superintendent should never try to divide a class on her own, for she does not know the pupils and their relationship with their teacher. Dividing a class in the middle of the year can be a very serious thing and may cause some pupils not to return.
15. Give new teachers and workers in the department an opportunity to become orientated. When a new teacher or substitute teacher comes to your department, have him sit in a classroom with one of your teachers the first Sunday or two. Inform the veteran teacher of his coming in advance. The teacher can show and tell the new teacher little detail things which are done in the department which the superintendent may forget to mention.
16. Have each classroom numbered and have the teacher’s name printed on the door. This can add to the attractiveness of your department as well as make your teacher feel it is his own personal room. Out teachers pay the expense of having their name plates printed. Name plates should read, MR. TERRY WRIGHT or MRS. HARRY DAVIS. Never use the teacher’s first name. Having the rooms “named and numbered” is helpful to both pupils and workers in the department.
17. General teachers are to be as diligent as regular teachers. The same rules apply for general teachers as regular teachers. They are expected to be prepared to teach at all times. Secretaries are also expected to be prepared to teach should an emergency arrive. Classes should never be combined. This is admitting defeat and is certainly unfair to the class. The general teacher should be called at the earliest date possible. He should be informed of the classroom number, teacher’s name, and area he will be teaching. A typewritten list of general teachers and their designated classes should be posted on the bulletin board along with a list of teachers who are available to teach.
18. Have jobs for everyone. Keep your staff busy. Never let anyone be idle. If this should ever happen, let him help clean the assembly room while pupils are in their classes. Make everyone feel he is needed and that his job is important, for it is!
19. Be on constant lookout for improvements. The superintendent should read everything she can find. She should seek ideas from other superintendents, pastors, and teachers. The teachers should know she is anxious to get their ideas. It should be made easy for the teachers to give their suggestions to her either personally or by the use of a suggestion box or a designated place in the department.
20. The superintendent and her staff should have a good relationship. The superintendent should pray daily for her entire departmental staff. She should love each one and be burdened for each one. When one of the staff is in the hospital, flowers should be sent by the superintendent from the department. An offering can be taken in a teachers’ meeting to cover this expense. Birthday cards should be sent by the superintendent from the teachers and officers of the department with an added note of appreciation. Congratulatory cards are sent to those having babies.
It is not wise to have lady teachers compete against each other, or men teachers compete against men teachers. It is best to have all lady teachers working together in competition against all the men teachers. The superintendent should make rules for the department and expect them to be carried out.
21. “Lost and Found” articles should be handled
efficiently. Juniors are careless, and many things are left in the
department. Assign someone in charge of the lost and found. Our custodian
cares for this for us and keeps a list on all articles left in the
department.
Departmental Promotion and Setup of Classes
Departmental promotion can be one of the most crucial times for the
department. The superintendent must keep in mind that all teachers do not
have the same abilities and must be placed accordingly.
1. Divide classes according to areas. Give each teacher an opportunity to state the desired area he would like to work for the coming year with the understanding that bus captains, bus drivers, and visitation captains have first choice of areas. Place the teacher as near the desired area as possible. It is a waste of your teachers’ time to live in one area and be expected to make weekly visits in another area far from home.
Get a large city map from the City Hall and a listing of the school districts from the School Board. Outline each school district in a different colored pencil and shade the block in which the school is located on the map. Post this in a convenient place so the teachers may refer to it when looking for street locations.
Assign pupils according to school areas in city limits and according to suburban areas outside of city limits. It may be necessary to divide some school areas into two classes or combine two or three schools. This will depend on the number of pupils coming from that particular area. This will make it possible for for your pupils to know someone in their Sunday school class and take away the fear of being alone. It will strengthen the pupils to live for the Lord at school, and it also makes them conscious of schoolmates who do not attend Sunday school. Placing a new pupil in the wrong class may mean losing him forever.
2. Start your classes small. Do not burden your teachers on Promotion Day with a big enrollment. It is far better to curtain your assembly room, divide present rooms, use buses for classrooms or utilize other means of division than to expect the impossible from your teachers. Begin each class with an average active enrollment of six or seven, but assign all inactive names and addresses from the specific area to the teacher of that class. Expect the classes to double in attendance, especially those in the city.
3. Never have an inactive list as such. As a rule, inactive pupils are a result of a neglectful teacher. Never allow an inactive list. Teachers are expected to treat the inactive pupils as they do the active in visitation, parties, etc. The inactive pupil may come one Sunday for a special day and accept the Lord as his Saviour, thus changing and saving his entire life.
4. Prepare teachers and pupils for Promotion Day. Each teacher should be given a typewritten list of his new pupils (names, addresses, and phone numbers) the Sunday before promotion takes place. A letter should be sent to each incoming pupil telling where the new department is located and how the teacher and superintendent are looking forward to seeing them the coming Sunday. Plan something special for the first day in the new department. Sing songs that are familiar to the new pupils. Teachers’ packets and new attendance cards should be typed for each class by the Wednesday night before promotion takes place.
5. Have teachers, helpers, and secretaries greet new pupils promoted from another department. By having each child greeted warmly and shown where to sit in the assembly the new pupils will feel more at ease.
6. Make the first Sunday an impressive Sunday. Avoid as much confusion as possible. Call your new classes by school areas and outlying areas. Have the teacher stand as his name is called. Announce the classroom number and the location of his classroom. Have all pupils living in that area to follow their new teacher to their class.
7. Have a contest with your teachers
immediately after promotion. Have the lady teachers compete with the men
teachers in a contest to see who can call in the homes of all their pupils
first. Set a deadline. The losers treat the winners to a wiener roast.
Husbands and wives are invited but are charged a small fee if they do not
belong to the department. Have plenty of lively games, plenty to eat, and a
songfest by the fire. This will encourage your teachers to call on their
pupils soon after promotion. The outing must be planned in detail to be
successful.
Promotional and Contest Sundays
Promotional Sundays are necessary throughout the year. We have broken our
all-time record on holidays by promoting special Sundays. A promotional
Sunday will only be as successful as the superintendent makes it. It must b
thoroughly planned and publicized well in advance. One time, when planning a
promotional Sunday, one teacher asked, “Won’t the pupils come to Sunday
school just because we are going to have a luncheon?” Yes, many pupils will
come only for the little luncheon; however, they will get more than the
luncheon. They will get a good lesson taught by the teacher, a good message
on salvation by one of our pastors, and many will accept the Lord as their
Saviour. Each teacher will receive new names and addresses for his class
which will be good prospects. It is not all in vain!
Listed below are some promotional ideas we have used in our Junior I department:
1. ICE CREAM SUNDAE, SUNDAY. We serve the sundaes immediately after the Sunday school hour, but before the church service. Dixie cup ice cream (purchased), chocolate syrup (furnished by men teachers), chopped nuts (furnished by lady teachers), and whipped cream (furnished by the secretaries and helpers) are used. We use five serving tables going at one time. Each class lines up with their teacher. As the pupil takes the ice cream, one helper pours the chocolate syrup, another adds the nuts, and another, the whipped cream. Each class returns to their room with their teacher. All empty containers are put in large paper bags brought by the teacher. Approximately 600 pupils can be served in a very short period of time.
2. LUNCHEON. Wieners with buns (furnished by men teachers), barbecue with bus (furnished by lady teachers), catsup, mustard, relish, and potato chips (furnished by secretaries and helpers) can be served in the same manner as the ice cream sundaes but allow for a little more time.
3. WORLD’S LARGEST CANDY BAR. The candy bar can be made of two large sheets of cardboard taken from an empty carton. Place nine jumbo chocolate candy bars between. Wrap the ends with aluminum foil and the outside center with plain white shelf paper. Print WORLD’S LARGEST CANDY BAR in large letters on the wrapper. Use as an award for the pupil bringing the most absentees to his class on a designated Sunday. Show it two or three Sundays before the presentation date.
4. MOTHER’S SAY FLOWER. Get a flat of petunias, or some other flower in bloom. Put each plant in a colorful paper cup with soil, and award to each pupil who brings a visitor or absentee. Also give one to each visitor.
5. A TICKET TO THE ZOO OR MUSEUM. Plan an outing for the department, but make the pupils come to Sunday school the previous Sunday to be eligible to go. Mimeograph tickets to be given the Sunday before the outing and give one to each pupil present. The ticket must state the event, time, meeting place, and time the group will return. The ticket should have a place for the signature of the parent and should be returned by the pupil when leaving for the trip. Have each pupil bring a sack lunch, and the teachers can furnish Kool-aid.
Plan the outing in detail. Have one sponsor for six pupils or less. Make sure each pupil is wearing an identification tag before he gets off the bus. The tag should have the name, address, and phone number of the pupil. Each bus should have a captain who will write the names of the pupils, teachers, and driver of her bus. Each teacher should make a list of the names of pupils in his charge. Let me teachers care for the boys and lady teachers care for the girls. The entire group need not stay together but all groups must know the designated time to return to the buses. Read the list of names before beginning the return trip to make sure every pupil is on the bus. When the buses arrive at the church, each teacher should stay until everyone in his group has been cared for.
6. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARTY. This can be used to celebrate the birthday of a character in a story the superintendent has been telling, etc. Teachers bring cupcakes with candles, and balloons are left at the door of each classroom. Cupcakes are to be eaten in the classroom after Sunday school has been dismissed.
7. KING AND QUEEN SUNDAY. Make, or have made, two robes-one for the king and another for the queen. Crown the boy and girl with crowns (made from colored poster board and glitter) and put the robes on the honored pupils. Take their picture with a Polaroid camera using colored film. Pupils may take the picture home with them. This can be used for the boy and girl bringing the most absentees, visitors, etc.
8. BRING A FRIEND SUNDAY. Have teachers carry placards which they made advertising, “Bring a Friend Sunday,” and display the placards around the department the previous Sunday. Then give suckers to every pupil who brought a friend and to every visitor.
9. JAPANESE SUNDAY. Make Japanese lanterns from construction paper and give each pupil one to take home. Decorate the assembly room in Japanese fashion. Have a missionary from Japan speak during the opening assembly.
10. SILLY BILLY AND OLD TIMER. These characters are used in our vacation Bible school and loved by our juniors. They are usually in the department from seven to eight minutes.
11. MOVING PICTURE SUNDAY. Boys and girls like to see themselves on the screen. Set aside a Sunday to take moving pictures of the department. Promote this two or three Sundays in advance. Make another “big Sunday” when the pictures will be shown. We showed ours between the Sunday school hour and the church service.
12. SANTA’S SAD HELPER GETS A NAME. During the month of December build up “Santa’s Sad Helper,” who wants a name, but everyone is too busy to stop and give him a name. Have make-believe telegrams, letters, phone calls, etc., to build this up. Let the pupils give him a name by making pencils and paper available for them to write on before opening assembly and put in a large decorated box. Have Santa’s helper come to the department and draw a name. Award a box of chocolates to the child whose name is chosen.
13. SKITS. Favorite T.V. characters such as Bat Man, Gomer Pyle, Beverly Hillbillies, etc., can be imitated to create much enthusiasm, but the skit should never last over eight minutes.
14. SPECIAL FLANNELGRAPH STORIES. Oftentimes the superintendent would like to tell the Easter and Christmas stories using scene-o-felt on the flannelgraph board. This may take an extra five or ten minutes of the teachers’ time. She should talk it over in teachers’ meeting and take a vote. If the majority votes against it, she should omit it and forget it. However, most of them vote for the presentation as it portrays the beautiful Bible truths in colorful scenes and is impressive on the hearts and minds of the pupils. The superintendent must be careful not to take anything away from the lesson which the teachers have prepared to teach. This should never be done without the consent of the teachers.
15. DEPARTMENTAL CONTEST. Each contest must be prepared entirely at least two weeks before it begins. The success of a contest will depend on the superintendent. It should be announced and publicized greatly in advance. The contest should have a theme, a theme song, a goal for the department as a whole (high, but not too high to reach), and a goal for each class (usually figured on percentage). Each teacher should give the superintendent a written copy of what he is going to do in his class during contest weeks. The superintendent should make sure a copy is given to her by each teacher.
In the junior department, it is always good to
have the boys compete against the girls. Have a chart, picture, or something
to show the gain and loss of each team weekly. Treat the winning team. Award
the winning class with the highest percentage gain and the losing class with
the lowest percentage with a good and bad token respectively which
correlates with the theme. Cheer for the good classes and everyone says
“ahhh” for the losing classes. No booing.
Secretarial Duties
The departmental secretary shares a big responsibility in the success of
your department. It is most important that he knows what is expected of him.
He must be cooperative with the superintendent and be patient, polite, and
understanding with the pupils and fellow workers. His work must be neat,
accurate, and up-to-date. The secretary should arrive early and have
everything ready by the time the pupils begin to arrive. Be organized.
1. Do not work short-handed. If the department occupies more than one floor, there should be an attendance secretary and as many helpers as needed for each floor.
2. Appoint a head secretary. In a large department it is impossible for the superintendent to care for the many detail duties. A head secretary can be very helpful. This is preferably a man, especially since it requires a lot of running around. The head secretary is responsible to see that someone is assigned to stamp the hands of our bus pupils. He checks all classrooms to make sure all teachers are present. In the case of an emergency absence by a teacher the head secretary fills the position immediately from the names listed on the bulletin board. The head secretary takes the attendance and offering to the church office. It is his responsibility to see that it gets to the office in time. He also posts a man teacher at each entrance to make sure no pupil leaves the building once he has entered. He aids the secretaries with their needs and supplies. When pupils other than Junior I age come to the department, he takes them to their tight department. When planning an outing, he gets the buses and bus driver lined up. He gets the tables and things needed for a departmental luncheon the Saturday before the luncheon is to be served. He also cares for the microphones and helps maintain order in the department.
3. Register new pupils before the opening assembly begins. Registration is done only on the main floor of our department. Each secretary has a mimeographed directory listing the names of school or area, classroom number, and name of teacher. The pupils is registered by name, address, phone number, name of school, grade in school, the class he will attend, and the date. He is placed in a class according to the school he attends. A carbon copy is made of this and given to the superintendent. The pupil takes the original copy and gives it to his teacher when entering class.
A sample portion of our departmental directory
is shown below:
The directory should be in alphabetical order according to school and should
be kept up-to-date.
After new pupils have been registered a hostess takes the pupils to the teacher and introduces them to the teacher or another pupil in the class. This gives the new pupils a feeling of security in a strange place.
4. The secretaries collect class attendance slips and offering. Each teacher checks attendance and takes the offering immediately upon entering the classroom. The attendance packet, attendance slip, and offering envelope are left on the floor in front of the classroom and are picked up by the secretaries. The secretaries give the attendance slips to the attendance secretary, empty the offering in a money bag, and put a new slip (new date and classroom number are written on it) and the empty offering envelope in each packet for the following Sunday.
5. Secretaries assist teachers and superintendent. The secretaries assist the teachers in every way they can. They also help in addressing departmental letters. Each secretary has specified amount consisting of certain areas. The secretary types the name and address neatly and combines mail for sisters and brothers.
When we plan a departmental luncheon or treat, the secretaries are in charge of the tables and are responsible for getting plenty of help. They know which table they will work and what is expected of them. Time is a very important factor and cannot afford to be wasted because of poorly organized help. On special occasions when treats and awards are to be given, the secretaries will leave these at the door of each classroom. At no time is the classroom door to be opened during the teaching unless it is to let in a pupil who arrives late.
6. Keep a “Dead File.” This file is not for inactive pupils, for no such file should be kept. This file is only for pupils who have moved away, who are attending another Bible-believing church, or whose parents refuse to let them come again.
7. Use pigeonhole mailboxes for teachers.
Pigeonhole mailboxes are convenient for the superintendent. This saves her
having to see each teacher personally or calling each one on the phone.
Packets, notes, announcements, returned letters, etc., can be placed in the
boxes. Each pigeonhole is labeled with the teacher’s name and classroom
number.
Decorating the Department
Keeping the assembly room and halls of the department cheerful and
attractive is wholly the responsibility of the superintendent. Use as much
color as possible.
1. Keep a file of pictures. Children love pictures. Every superintendent should keep a file of pictures. This should include Bible pictures, seasonal pictures, and promotional material. The pictures should be large and colorful. Pictures should be hung at the eye level of the pupils and be changed several times a year. Never let a picture or sign hang crooked.
2. Decorate the department for special days. If you are having Japanese Sunday, make large Japanese letters from construction paper and put them on the wall, strings paper lanterns across the room, and carry out your theme. If you are having a contest using armies as teams, use the Christian soldier and a silhouette of an American soldier. Use long sheets of crepe paper as background for your pictures. This will change the appearance of the room and give it freshness and color.
Decorate the walls with colorful leaves cut from construction paper and autumn pictures taken from magazines in the fall. In the winter months use winter snow scenes and snowflakes cut from white paper. In summer use flowers and summer scenes. The Christmas season is the choice time of the year because you can use much color. Make your department as decorative for Christmas as you can. Since we have space on both the main floor and the second floor in our department, we have a Christmas tree on both floors. Get a Christmas tree large enough for the department and decorate it beautifully. Artificial flowers also add much beauty to a department.
3. Make attractive posters. Get a small, inexpensive enlarger, and enlarge simple pictures on colored poster board. Paint them with water paints, and you will be surprised what this will do for your department.
4. Use neat lettering on all signs. Oftentimes
you will have a teacher volunteer to do lettering for you. If you consent,
then you must use it. However, it is best to buy large letter guides and do
the lettering yourself. A neatly printed banner adds much to the theme and
can be used effectively on a promotional day. Make the lettering large
enough to be seen across the room.
Floor Plan of Junior Department
Our Junior I Department occupies an entire building which consists of a
basement, main floor, and a second story. Our large assembly room is on the
main floor. Classrooms are located on all floors.
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