After 25 years as the Director of Children's Education at the Church of St. Michael and St. George, our beloved Jane Fisher has decided to retire this summer. Longtime parishioner and educator Mary Beth Tipton will take over for Jane in July.

Mary Beth taught art at the Wilson School in Clayton for 24 years, designing and implementing an art curriculum for second through sixth grade students. She is a teaching artist at COCA in University City and served as a board member for the Carondelet Leadership Academy. At CSMSG, Mary Beth served as a Sunday School teacher for both Church School and Youth Ministry for 15 years. She also is a regular volunteer at Gateway 180 with CSMSG's Shelter Ministry.

We wish Jane the best as she pursues her new career as a full-time grandmother to her first grandchild, who is expected to arrive in July. We look forward to seeing her in the pews of CSMSG, hopefully still wearing her Tretorns.

Here's what is happening in Church School this Sunday, May 12, and in the weeks ahead :

Preschool to Third Grade

Happy Mother's Day! Church School students will make Mother's Day gifts and learn about important women in the Bible such as Deborah, Ruth, Naomi, and Sarah.

Fourth and Fifth Grades

Fourth and fifth grades students also make gifts for their mothers to celebrate Mother's Day. Fourth and fifth grade students also play Bible Trivia - boys vs girls. Who remembers the most about what they've learned in Church School?

Church School Volunteer Recognition

Sunday, May 19, is the final 9:15 am service of the school year. All Church School students will start in the Chapel at 9:15 am and will join their parents in the church for communion. All Church School volunteers, including teachers, steering committee members, and high school assistants, will be recognized at the end of the service. Please plan to attend and stand when your name is called.

If you haven't done so already, please have your child bring his or her Lenten mite box to Children's Eucharist in St. George's Chapel on Sunday, May 12. Hopefully many of you have boxes filled with the money your children collected throughout Lent. All of the money given during the offering at Children's Eucharist on Sundays during Lent, as well as on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, totaled more than $260 and will be added to our Lenten giving project. Additionally, a generous and clever Church School parent raised an additional $225 through donations made by patrons at the Alpine Shop. Several Church School children also returned mite boxes totaling almost $70. Please help us push our total donation to more than $600 by returning your mite box. All the money raised will benefit Operation Backpack, a program that addresses childhood hunger in St. Louis and is run by Operation Food Search.

The Parish Picnic in the Street is Sunday, May 26, following the first 10 am service of the summer. The picnic will feature food, drinks, Wayne the Balloon Man, face painting, pony rides, and more. Several volunteers are needed to help supervise the bouncy house. Please email Jane Fisher if you are able to volunteer for a 20-minute shift at 11 am, 11:20 am, 11:40 am, noon, 12:20 pm, or 12:40 pm. Adult volunteers are preferred to help monitor the size and number of kids in the bouncy house in order to avoid injuries.