Annual Session 2023
Junior Yearly Meeting (JYM)

Junior Yearly Meeting (JYM) welcomes families to a vibrant community of adults and children. At Annual Session, your child can meet and get to know children from other Meetings, have fun, and learn Quaker values and history.

The JYM program is divided by age:

• Nursery (infant-preschool) provides childcare in a space filled with loving, creative adults who are ready to play, read books, and run!
• Elementary (Grades K-5) provides teacher-led activities and fun focused on the Annual Session Theme. In the afternoon and evenings, elementary students participate in less-structured activities and games indoors and out.
• Junior Young Friends (Grades 6-8) meet in their own community to learn experientially about Quaker process and participate in a wide variety of activities - sometimes joining the elementary classes and sometimes joining the Young Friends.'
• Young Friends (Grades 9-12) gather from Tuesday to Sunday in dorm housing. Young Friends self-organize programming under the direction of BYM's full-time Youth Programs Manager. During Annual Session, Young Friends have some separate programming while also joining the larger BYM community for meals, workshops, evening lectures, and the Coffee House. Young Friends generally stay in a sperate dorm under the supervision of trained and background checked adults who provide a "Friendly Adult Presence" and sleep in separate rooms but on the same floor as the Young Friends. 

A co-op aftercare is organized among parents and other participants after JYM official programming. Parents who would like their children to participate in Aftercare must sign up to work at least one shift. 

JYM Schedule visit https://www.bym-rsf.org/file_download/16ac7e73-d4e3-4076-8de7-9dbfc7d49e62

Young Friends Schedule (coming soon)

Youth Safety at Annual Session

All Friends at Annual Session are expected to uphold BYM's Youth Safety Policy. Adults who serve as volunteer teachers and leaders for Junior Yearly Meeting and Young Friends programming are background checked by BYM. Children attending Annual Session are expected to either participate in JYM programs or be under the direct supervision of a parent or other designated adult. Unlike other Young Friends (grades 9-12) programming throughout the year, Young Friends must have a parent or an adult sponsor present at Annual Session. 

Every child or Young Friend participating in Annual Session must have the following forms on-file. 

• Registration
• Medical Form
• Letter of Understanding (Young Friends only)

Forms can be submitted in-person at Annual Session when you check your child into JYM. Alternately, forms may be submitted in advance by emailing them to JYM@bym-rsf.org (infant-8th grade) or YouthPrograms@bym-rsf.org (grades 9-12).

Questions? Concerns? Please reach out! 

For information about programming for children ages infant-8th grade, please contact Erik Hansen at JYM@bym-rsf.org

For information about Young Friends programming (grades 9-12), please contact Sunshine Klein at SunshineKlein@bym-rsf.org