Announcement/Rumor/Pilot: Seminary being extended to 8th grade...

[cinepro]

I've just learned that, at least in my area of Southern California, CES is looking in to early-morning seminary for 8th Graders. Most Middle Schools in our area don't have a church building nearby, so the logistics demand finding space at the school that is usable, or the home of a member that is nearby.

Has anyone heard anything about this in other areas?

Edited November 7, 2021 by cinepro

[Calm]

27 minutes ago, cinepro said:

so the logistics demand finding space at the school that is usable

Why?  What do the high school kids do?  In Canada and California we met at a chapel and then rode the bus to school (it picked us up in front of the church) or carpooled to the school if the church wasn’t on the school bus route.  In California the church was down the street from my house, so I would have done the very same thing without seminary.  The bus stop was the same for my middle school as it was for the high school.  Buses arrived at different times.   In Canada, we had students from three high schools in our building. 
 

I am pretty sure it was mentioned my granddaughter was starting seminary this next year and she will be in 8th grade. Will have to check to make sure that is what was discussed. 

Edited November 7, 2021 by Calm

[JustAnAustralian]

So for those outside the US (and don't have the same grade/year/age equivalents), is that just a year earlier?

Edited November 7, 2021 by JustAnAustralian

[Rain]

8 minutes ago, JustAnAustralian said:

So for those outside the US (and don't have the same grade/year/age equivalents), is that just a year earlier?

It is.

[Ginger Snaps]

8 hours ago, cinepro said:

I've just learned that, at least in my area of Southern California, CES is looking in to early-morning seminary for 8th Graders. Most Middle Schools in our area don't have a church building nearby, so the logistics demand finding space at the school that is usable, or the home of a member that is nearby.

Has anyone heard anything about this in other areas?

Yes, it’s a pilot going on in my area. The first half of year 1 is a study-skills class (learning to use footnotes and cross-references, learning how to seek personal revelation, etc.)  then they join the regular CFM seminary schedule until the last half of year 5, which is a mission prep class.

 

[bluebell]

9 hours ago, Calm said:

Why?  What do the high school kids do?  In Canada and California we met at a chapel and then rode the bus to school (it picked us up in front of the church) or carpooled to the school if the church wasn’t on the school bus route.  In California the church was down the street from my house, so I would have done the very same thing without seminary.  The bus stop was the same for my middle school as it was for the high school.  Buses arrived at different times.   In Canada, we had students from three high schools in our building. 
 

I am pretty sure it was mentioned my granddaughter was starting seminary this next year and she will be in 8th grade. Will have to check to make sure that is what was discussed. 

Having seminary far from school campus probably works better with high school students because carpooling is an option, since some of them have licenses.  For 8th graders, none of them would be old enough to drive so a parent would have to take them to seminary, then pick them up afterwards and take them to school.

It's doable, but not for everyone.  Hopefully the few parents it would work for can help with the kids of the ones who wouldn't be able to do it.

[Anakin7]

9 hours ago, cinepro said:

I've just learned that, at least in my area of Southern California, CES is looking in to early-morning seminary for 8th Graders. Most Middle Schools in our area don't have a church building nearby, so the logistics demand finding space at the school that is usable, or the home of a member that is nearby.

Has anyone heard anything about this in other areas?

 You live in Southern Cali ?, so do I. What city do you live in ?.

 

[amo]

2 hours ago, bluebell said:

Having seminary far from school campus probably works better with high school students because carpooling is an option, since some of them have licenses.  For 8th graders, none of them would be old enough to drive so a parent would have to take them to seminary, then pick them up afterwards and take them to school.

It's doable, but not for everyone.  Hopefully the few parents it would work for can help with the kids of the ones who wouldn't be able to do it.

Don't tell me u've forgotten about ZOOM...?

[bluebell]

18 minutes ago, amo said:

Don't tell me u've forgotten about ZOOM...?

I haven’t. But seminary is typically in person. I would be surprised if they were going to have all 8th graders attend completely on zoom.

I guess you never know though. 

[Ginger Snaps]

2 hours ago, bluebell said:

Having seminary far from school campus probably works better with high school students because carpooling is an option, since some of them have licenses.  For 8th graders, none of them would be old enough to drive so a parent would have to take them to seminary, then pick them up afterwards and take them to school.

It's doable, but not for everyone.  Hopefully the few parents it would work for can help with the kids of the ones who wouldn't be able to do it.

In the last area we lived, the church was a 30-min drive from the high school and it just wasn’t feasible for parents or kids to use the church for seminary, even with carpooling. The high school allowed them to hold early morning seminary on campus for years, but a few years ago they rescinded that favor and wanted to charge an exorbitant amount to use the same space. Interestingly, just before that happened, a family in the ward moved into an old renovated church about a half-mile from the high school, and they had the space to let the seminary students meet there. 
 

The big issue with the 8th grade pilot where we live now, is that all the 8th graders have to be on the same track separate from the high school students, where you have 9-12 graders meeting together.  So the 8th graders have their own classes and teachers and they meet at a different time than any of the high schoolers. Eighth grade seminary is early-morning seminary, but even the zero-period high schoolers meet at a different time. It’s kind of a crazy year for the parents who have both 8th grade and high school students. Plus the seminary building is across the street from the high school, but not close to any of the junior high campuses, so there were logistics involved in getting the 8th graders done with seminary and bussed over to their schools in time (compounded by the fact that the district is short on bus drivers).  It gets even more complicated for families who have students in charter schools that are outside the public school system.  I can see how it would be very difficult to employ this program in areas where the church isn’t so prevalent (like the last place we lived).  It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out in a few years. 

[Ginger Snaps]

15 minutes ago, bluebell said:

I haven’t. But seminary is typically in person. I would be surprised if they were going to have all 8th graders attend completely on zoom.

I guess you never know though. 

They do have distance learning seminary, but it’s very obviously modified from a seminary program that was meant for in-person groups. We tried it with our current high-schooler for about three days before we realized it was not going to be great for her and made some modifications so she could do zero-period seminary. I’m sure it works for some, but my kid needed to be in a class with a live teacher and other students. 

[amo]

28 minutes ago, Ginger Snaps said:

They do have distance learning seminary, but it’s very obviously modified from a seminary program that was meant for in-person groups. We tried it with our current high-schooler for about three days before we realized it was not going to be great for her and made some modifications so she could do zero-period seminary. I’m sure it works for some, but my kid needed to be in a class with a live teacher and other students. 

It works perfectly well in our stake, & it's for all ages. Amazing the time, fuel, etc., we're all saving...!

[CV75]

18 hours ago, cinepro said:

I've just learned that, at least in my area of Southern California, CES is looking in to early-morning seminary for 8th Graders. Most Middle Schools in our area don't have a church building nearby, so the logistics demand finding space at the school that is usable, or the home of a member that is nearby.

Has anyone heard anything about this in other areas?

No, but I'd be interested in hearing how it goes for that age group, A chapel should suffice, I've seen that done for highschoolers in areas where there are no CES facilities and they have to go with early-morning. Also takes care of the church vs state thing in some areas that might prohibit religious gatherings in a public building.

Edited November 8, 2021 by CV75

[Calm]

I checked with my daughter in law and I have misremembered. It was not she that told me of this. Can’t remember where. Possibly someone reporting a rumor.