New Sunday Club Director On behalf of the Managing Committee I am pleased to introduce Atabey Sanchez - Haiman as our new Sunday Club Director. Atabey comes to us with a wealth of experience which will be of great benefit to our congregation as she builds on the good work commenced by Jeanne Joslin. Many of you will already be familiar with Atabey and her husband Joseph but I am taking this opportunity to ask you all to make them both very welcome and to provide all the assistance and co-operation that Atabey will require in her new role. Atabey has provided some thoughts (below) on her plans for the Sunday Club and I am sure she would welcome your comments and advice. Yours etc Rory Delany Chairman introducing Atabey Sanchez I am pleased to take up the role of Sunday Club Director and look forward to working with many of you as you volunteer to teach the classes I will be scheduling. My main objective is to build a strong sense of community that will be passed on to the children. With the cooperation of the volunteers, the children will learn about Unitarian values, especially respect for all cultures, views and religions. I have a degree in biology from Brown University in the United States and I have been a teacher since 1999. I taught Science at The Wheeler School in Providence, Rhode Island, USA and I taught Science and Spanish at King Richard School in Portsmouth, UK. I am also an artist. My husband Joseph Burke and I moved to Dublin three months ago for Joe to pursue his music career. I love working with children and getting them excited about the world around them. I believe children's curiosity should be nurtured, their questions taken seriously and their opinions respected. I don't believe there is only one right answer and I like to listen to children's creative ideas. The lessons will be an opportunity for the children to explore Unitarian ideas and values, while putting these ideas into practice through collaboration and consideration for others in an environment of caring commitment. The school has three groups and we will need one volunteer per group to teach the lesson. We will also need one extra volunteer, the helper, to assist with materials and escort children upstairs, if needed. In short, at least four (4) volunteers are needed each Sunday. Teenagers (13-16 year olds) are welcome to join the rota to either teach alongside an adult volunteer or be a helper. The groups will be The Birds for 1-4 year olds, The Gorillas for 5-8 year olds and The Giraffes for 9-12 year olds. I will provide volunteers with a lesson plan three weeks before teaching their lesson. Any materials the volunteers are unable to get on their own will be provided by me. I will need two weeks notice to obtain the materials, so please be sure to let me know of your needs two weeks in advance. At the end of the service, I ask that parents please go to the foyer to pick up and sign out their children on the attendance sheet provided by the volunteer in charge of the group. Please contact me at atabey@mundoatabey.com if you would like to be added to our list of volunteers. Volunteering is a way for children and adults to get to know each other and thereby give the children a sense that they are a real and important part of this community. I look forward to working with you. Atabey Cover