Invitation to partake in summer school’s bounties
An earlier version of this announcement was sent to all Bahá’í communities on 10 December. This article itself has been revised (22 December) with new details, especially about the summer school website, which is now up to date for the 2021 event.
The National Spiritual Assembly is joyfully looking forward to Bahá’ís across the country engaging with enthusiasm and dedication in this year’s decentralised summer school and would like to share the following details. Resources and further information are available on the summer school site, summerschool.bahai.org.nz.
Main pages of the summer school website
The site is now loaded with information as a one-stop-shop for your summer school needs.
Workshops (materials are provided for one workshop and advice given on holding reflection/consultation sessions)
Children’s activities (includes lesson plans and resource materials)
Junior youth activities (advice, ideas and resources)
Suggested schedule (for optional use by gatherings)
Media (plenary presentation videos and details of online youth sessions)
Policies (attendance register, pandemic safety, privacy issues re photography)
Contact (query form and phone numbers)
Feedback (event report and reflections form)
General information
Communities, sectors, neighbourhoods, and families are encouraged to arrange gatherings that suit their local and personal circumstances, during the four day period from 27-30 December.
The foundation of the programme for adults and youth will be eight plenary sessions of video presentations. These will be released online on 26 December and thereafter may be viewed at any time throughout the summer school period (and beyond). The videos will be published on this page: https://summerschool.bahai.org.nz/media/
Materials and suggested activities for children and junior youth have been made available. See:
The materials are designed to be used in person. Arrangements will need to be made for running children’s and junior youth activities in parallel with the adult programme.
Two arts-focused sessions will be offered for youth live on Zoom - see below for details, which are also published on the Media page of the summer school site.
Language groups will not be coordinated nationally this year.
Leading up to the Summer School, the National Office is happy to help any friends who need assistance with technology; for example in case of difficulty in accessing online video presentations or children’s materials, or how to use Zoom for online workshops. During the summer school period, for urgent assistance, please call Travis on 021457443.
For the special attention of organisers and hosts
Please consider the hospitality aspects of the gatherings e.g. ensuring people are welcomed, an opportunity to introduce each other, etc. including expressions of aroha, generosity and mutual respect.
A reporting form is provided on the Feedback page of the summer school site. After the event, all hosts of summer school gatherings are requested to supply information and share reflections. The reporting form allows you to easily do this online, or you may respond by phoning the National Office (after 4 January) on 09-5224123, or you may email the National Office.
Please remember to have photos taken, especially at least a group photo of those present. Send your best photos to the National Assembly to be shared around the national community (in some form to be announced later).
Plenary session details
For the latest information about plenary sessions, as it becomes available, please see the summer school Media page (for videos and presentation descriptions), and the Programme page (for an overview). The plenary presentation videos will be published on the Media page on 26 December.
The Media page contains information about youth interactive sessions. (These sessions are also described below in this article.)
The following additional information is enclosed as two separate documents:
“Summer School Plenary Sessions December 2021”. This provides details of the plenary video presentations — titles, descriptions, and presenters.
“Suggested Summer School Programme and Schedule”. This is offered as an optional model that summer school gatherings can adapt to their own circumstances. It shows how the two plenary sessions could be run each day (in the mornings and afternoons) along with follow-up sessions for reflection and consultation. There are periods on the programme that are allocated for local implementation entirely, notably an opening session in the morning and community reflections plus activities in the later afternoon.
Additional creative youth interactive sessions offered on two days
Title: Home viZarts - 2 ways to engage:)
Days: December 27 and December 28
Time: 2-4pm
Description:
Join us as we go on a home visit “pop in” trail to learn how friends and collaborators are tapping into creative practices across different settings
Volunteer for 10min to receive Zoom visitors and share how you're using the arts in your home and neighbourhood settings. (Message Nisyola - 0212375524)
Zoom Meeting details:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4217129243?pwd=eTBFR0ZZd1N0SlhVSUVRU3ZUV1ZYUT09
Meeting ID: 421 712 9243
Passcode: swatspotus
The National Assembly is excited about the power of the summer school experience to build capacity, unity, inspiration and learning. All are warmly invited to support the success of the endeavour with their participation and presence.
