Letter to be sent objecting the new curriculum

Happy & Blessed Feast of Nayrouz
The holy synod of the Coptic church has chosen “My family is holy” as the theme for this year.   Holiness allows us to see God as the apostle Paul said, “and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord…” (Heb 12:14.)
Child development and education are critical, especially for children at a young age (under eight years old). This development requires love, security, stability, care, stable relationships, truth, and godly and holy life. This responsibility falls mainly on the parents with the support of the church, school system, and society. 
NJ school system is known for it is academic excellence. However, the NJ school system has recently adopted new learning standards for Health and Physical Education, which the department of education adopted in June 2020. This differs from the Diversity and Inclusion curriculum law passed by the legislature in January 2021 and signed by Governor Murphy in March 2021. It is essential to make the distinction. The first only applied to health classes, and the second was used in all subjects. Many parents can opt out of health class, but it might be challenging to accommodate the needs of alternative assignments for the second.  
Many parents from different backgrounds feel uncomfortable with the changes that are being made by the school system. Four of the state board of education asked for the re-examination of the Sex Ed standards on May 3, 2022, and Governor Murphy called for age-appropriate content on April 13, 2022. 
So if you feel uncomfortable with the material being taught to your child, you have few options. 
1. You have the right to request the syllabus for all classes, and you can inquire more about any unit or lesson that you feel is inappropriate for your child, and you may ask the Teacher for an alternative assignment. 
2. We encourage all parents to attend the “teacher-parent conference.” and build strong and positive relationships with the Teacher to open the dialogue on the child’s academic performance and appropriate content. NJ has excellent teachers, and creating a positive and good relationship can only help our children and our community. 
3. The parents have the right to attend or participate in the classroom as long as coordinated with the school system.
4. It is encouraged to have a daily discussion with our children on what they learned from school. 
We also encourage the parents to pray and read the bible with their children before school. We also encourage the parents to bring their children to church Sunday school classes, hymns classes, and liturgical prayers.
In addition, we are attaching a potential opt-out letter for parents who feel uncomfortable with the material being taught in school to use. Please send this letter as an email to your child’s counselor, principal, or teachers. You can adjust the content as you’d like.  
Dear Teacher (counselor or principal)
I request to remove my child. 
Name:
From any lessons or activities regarding gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation. Please provide my child with alternative training according to New Jersey Statues 18A:35-4.7
Could you apply this request to all subjects and school assemblies and keep this notice until further?
Name parent/ Guardian: 
Signature & date
May God protect His children and His church.
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Mahragan El Keraza Testing at St. Anthony

In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the One God, Amen
The peace and love of our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ be with you all.
Happy and blesses Feast of Nayrouz
God willing this Friday (9/9/2022) the servants will be performing our in-house testing for the Mahragan El Keraza. Please see schedule below:6:00 to 6:30 Alhan testing for Angels
6:30 to 7:00 Alhan testing for St. George and St. Pishoy. 7:00 to 8:00 book testing for all grades 8:00 to 8:30 memorization testing for all grades 
NOTE: There will be no Alhan (hymn) class this Friday 9/9/2022.

Egyptian Festival Sept. 16, 17 and 18

Peace to all, Come and join us and invite others to our annual Egyptian Festival! Food, fun and a great time for fellowship. This is a great opportunity to invite friends and families to learn about our Egyptian culture and food and our Church history.
With FREE ADMISSION & FREE PARKING, come and experience the many facets of the Egyptian culture; including authentic Egyptian cuisine, clothing and décor, ancient church history, and more! 
Where:
St. Anthony Coptic Orthodox Church: 267 Hartford rd., Medford, NJ 08055.
When:

Friday Sept 16th: 5-10 PM

Saturday 17th: 11 AM – 10 PM

Sunday 18th: 12 PM – 5 PM 

If you would like to help, participate and take the blessing of this service, please contact:
Mr. Amir Dows for help with the food preparation or serving Mr. Magued Saad for help with setup and support.

Church Picnic on Sunday 8/28/2022 after the Divine Liturgy

We invite you all to come join us for our annual picnic which will be held after the Divine Liturgy on Sunday August 28, 2022 at St. Anthony Coptic Orthodox Church 267 Hartford Rd. Medford, NJ 08055. 

 It will be a day full of fun and fellowship.  Bring your soccer/football, Frisbee etc… and come join us for some food and fun. We look forward to seeing all of you.
We need your help:
-Some of the gentlemen to come in at 11:00 am to start the grilling.
-Each family to bring either dessert or fruit
If you would like to help, please contact Mrs. Silia Eskaros.
We look forward to seeing all of you.

Be safe in the Lord.

Services of St. Mary Revival & Feast of Transfiguration & Feast of St. Mary

Happy & Blessed fast of St. Mary & Happy Feast of Transfiguration


God willing the Revival (Nahda) for St. Mary will begin tonight, Monday 8/15/22 and continue to Sunday 8/21/22 from 7 PM – 9 pm.


Divine Liturgy for the Feast of St. Mary will be Monday 8/22/22 5:30 – 8:00 am.
Nightly Nahda:Mon – Sun 7 pm – 9 pm


Feast of Transfiguration Divine Liturgy:Friday 8/19/2021 8 am – 11 am


Feast of St. Mary Divine Liturgy:Mon 8/22/22 5:30 am – 8 amNOTE: 

There will be NO liturgy on Wednesday 8/17/22.

Visit of His Grace Bishop Gabriel on Sunday 8/7/22

Sunday August 7, 2022.God willing the Divine Liturgy will begin at 8 AM (all deacons must arrive by 8 AM) and God willing sayedna will be ordaining deacons Epsaltos (Chanter) and Anaghnostis (Reader). 

Please contact Abouna as soon as possible if you would like to be ordained or have your son ordained as a deacon.

For the Epsaltos, they must be at least 8 years old (with the exception of at least being 6 years of age but must be accompanied by his father who will serve and chaperone his son during the service).

The deadline for registering for the ordination will be Monday, 8/1/22 (all deacon applications must be sent out and approved prior to ordination – there will be no exceptions).

If you miss the deadline, you will have to wait until the next a bishop is visiting St. Anthony.

Sayedna will also be joining us in passing out the gifts for all the graduates after the Divine Liturgy.

Letter to be sent objecting the new curriculum

Many school districts are uncertain about the new curriculum and many school leaders are trying to accommodate students with different backgrounds.  One of the fathers has also spoken with senator Zwicker recently and he mentioned that parents have the rights to opt out their kids of any lessons … It is suggested that the parents sign a request delivered by the hands of the child or electronically to every teacher this week (since it is last week and many schools will be preparing for next year).  We can also repeat the same process next year as well ..  below is a draft of the proposed message to be signed by the parents. 
As mentioned yesterday, attached is the letter that each parent should print and sign for each child and send to the teachers. This should be done immediately, if the child is still in school and should be done again at the beginning of the new school year 2022-2023.
May God watch over and protect His children.
Please share with others.