Grades 6-8 (COA)     Link to Washington DC page

Kayren McKnight, Martin Schmedt, and Ellen Graves form our super-hip teaching team for Grades 6-8. We affectionately call this group the COA – which stands for Coming of Age. This group loves to work on their altar. Each quarter, they generate a new altar as they learn about the basic tenets of each Via. They are also our resident chefs. At least once a month, they cook healthy, delicious food items that they share with the Jubilee! community.

They also like to compare Judeo-Christian stories and practices with those of other religions. This year, they focused on Judaism for the month of October. They learned about Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. They also made Jewish foods to sell as a fundraiser. Their unit will culminate with a visit from Rabbi Rob Cabelli from Temple Beth Israel. In November, they will talk about Islam – the Five Pillars, the Koran, daily prayers, Ramadan, Eid ul-Fitr, and Eid al-Adha. They will again make traditional foods to sell as a fundraiser. And, we’re hoping that someone from the Islamic Center will come to visit at the end of the month.

This group loves to engage in community service. They regularly clean Wall Street and volunteer at Manna. Once a year, they also participate in the Turkey Bowl. Folks donate money based on their bowling skills, and all the proceeds go to Loving Food Resources.

But, they want to have fun, too. Ice skating, climbing, going to movies, spending the night at Jubilee!, and tubing are some of their favorite just-for-fun activities.