Organize Yourselves (D&C 88:119)
 

*new message available from Sister Lant
Letter to Bishops in February about safety practices when working with youth and children.
They highlighted a few -

1) plan SAFE activities - little risk involved, appropriate for age groups, etc.
2) ensure that 2 adult supervisors are at every primary activity and
3) parents should not take primary age children on church-sponsored youth activities.

They answered questions - I would love to go to other sessions of this and hear everyone's questions and their answers! Some of the questions were:

* New handbook? Not out yet.
* 2 leaders for activity days? No.
* Stake activity day leader needed? No.
* Are your primary-age children allowed at cub scouts/activity days in yourhome? under direction of local Priesthood leaders, but probably yes.

Big News -

1. Workshops will now only be held in March of each year. In the fall, the workshops will be new leadership training.
2. Teacher Improvement coordinators and quarterly meetings have been discontinued.

Primary leaders must orient each new teacher in primary and provide ongoing instruction and support for primary teachers.

The ward Sunday School president also assists in instructing and supporting teachers. Ward council is a good time to discuss improving gospel teaching.

Primary leaders should:

1. Orient new teachers
2. Support them
3. Instruct them

Orient new teachers by:

• affirming the decision to call them - it is a call through you from Heavenly Father;
• Help teach the program to them
• Remind them that leaders are here to support and sustain them
• give them the vision of the importance of their calling and of primary
• provide them with teaching skills
• build their testimony and confidence D&C 50:13,14 - how we are taught
• Show them the specifics of the manual (helps, etc.)
• go over the class roll - make note of less actives
• remind to use a variety of teaching methods each week in class
• meet with them again in a month to have questions answered
• encourage them, give confidence, thank, share testimony

Support teachers by:

• sharing what has worked for you
• sharing what has worked for other teachers
• encouraging them to follow the handbook and the counsel given (i.e. no treats)

Instruct teachers by:

• General board training - once per year now
• stake leadership training - twice per year (up to your discretion on what to teach based on the needs of your primaries)
• ward leadership training - as needed
• use church resources, specifically the Worldwide Leadership Training materials and talks given in those meetings

How to use the Worldwide Leadership Training in your leadership meeting?

• Don't show the whole 90 minute video!
• Use many little pieces over the year - video clips to illustrate a simple idea
• June Ensign - will have the whole thing
• additional clips from this are included in the online version - there were twice as many ideas as they had time to share in the training meeting