This spring the Sunday School started Great Lent with the annual Diocesan Lenten Drive. The proceeds for the drive from all of the Diocesan Sunday Schools will go to the Berd Soup Kitchen in Armenia and the Feeding America organization in the United States. The children were given Lenten boxes to put money into during the 40 days of Lent. We set a goal of $800 and beat our goal by the children and their parents donating $825. For a small parish Sunday School, the children achieve big things.

This year our Easter Breakfast, Egg Hunt and Egg Fight held on Saturday April 26th was off to a wonderful start with Der Daniel doing a special service in the sanctuary that included the children reading parts of the service. The breakfast in which the food was donated by the Sunday School parents was a wonderful menu of eggs, bacon, pancakes, bagels, fruits and desserts. The kitchen crew of David Sabonjian, Jennifer Haytaian, Louise Vartanian and Marie Haytaian had the breakfast ready right after church services. Maso and Tina Vartanian helped with set up with Sharlene Hovsepian providing a great effort in cleaning up the kitchen with Marie and Jennifer. Taleen Terjanian set up the Easter Egg Hunt outside on the church grass with every child getting a lot of eggs filled with candy and 10 filled with a surprise gift.

We then had what always is a lot of fun for the children, the egg fight. With hard boiled eggs colored and prepared by Ashken Tadevosyan and her children, the children cheered and groaned as their eggs survived each hit or were cracked. Since it is so much fun, next year we may have to have the parents in their own contest.

To all the parents that donated food and labor a very big thank you for what is always a wonderful event for the children.

Armenian School and Sunday School ended this past Sunday May 18^th. We started off the last day with a graduation ceremony for Tina Vartanian our only 8^th grader this year. The children in her class (6th/7th/8^th) grade read to Tina what they hoped for in terms of her continuing church life. Richie and Meli Pekmezian and Ryan Kozak hoped that they would continue to see Tina in Sunday School as an assistant and to continue to see her participate in our church. Tina was presented with a silver Etchmiadzin Cross with the hope that it will give her strength and remember her ties to the Armenian Church.

On Saturday May 17^th, the children of the Armenian School provided the entertainment for the Mother’s Day Dinner and celebration of Aida Kado as the St. Stepanos women of 2014. The parents and teachers of the Armenian school taught and practiced the Armenian songs and poems with the children. More of this fine performance and individual talents is in the article on the dinner. The Armenian School students are all very young but they are very smart and talented.

To all of the parents and teachers in the Armenian and Sunday School, we thank you for your devotion and support of the St. Stepanos schools by bringing your children and to the teachers for being there each Sunday. It was a wonderful 2013 – 2014 school year.