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Our Whole Lives

Honest, accurate information about sexuality changes lives. It dismantles stereotypes and assumptions, builds self-acceptance and self-esteem, fosters healthy relationships, improves decision making, and has the potential to save lives. For these reasons and more, we are proud to offer Our Whole Lives (OWL), a comprehensive, lifespan sexuality education program.

Register for Grade 5/6 Program

This year’s Grade 5/6 OWL Program (2023.24)

Our Whole Lives (OWL) Sexuality Education • GRADES 5 & 6
with certified OWL facilitators Lynn Rosenbaum and Stephen Garschina-Bobrow

  • Mandatory Parent & Child Orientation – Sunday, October 01, 2023; 4:00 to 6:00 pm (120 min);
  • 10 Youth Sessions – Sundays, 4:30 to 6:00 pm; October 15, 2023 through January 21, 2024 (90 min);
  • in the event of any class cancellations, a potential make-up date is scheduled for January 28, 2024;
  • 2023.2024 Grade 5.6 Detailed Schedule – Updated and Published 2023.10.03
  • In-person @ Hillside Community Church, 144 North Street, Medford.

Limited to 16 Youth, grades 5 or 6 (2023/2024 school year); we will seek to create a gender-diverse class.

Sanctuary UCC and Hillside Community Church are proud to offer to the wider community Our Whole Lives (OWL), a comprehensive sexuality education class for 5th and 6th graders. The program equips young people of all genders with accurate, age-appropriate information and skills to help them lead sexually healthy, positive, and responsible lives. Grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, OWL addresses a wide range of topics including puberty, body image, relationships, social media/internet, sexual orientation, gender identity, sexually transmitted infections, contraceptives, and cultural influences on sexuality. Through engaging activities and discussions, OWL helps young people clarify their own values and to build their interpersonal skills. Our Whole Lives is used nationwide in a variety of community settings including schools, youth-serving agencies, and faith-based communities. Although developed by two progressive, faith-based organizations (UCC and UU denominations), OWL is secular in content and contains no religious doctrine. 

Students’ registration requires the following:

  • attendance at mandatory parent/child orientation meeting** on Sunday, October 01, 2023,  4:00 pm to 6:00 pm 
  • receipt of parent approval form following orientation (refunds will be provided should your family decide this is not the program for you)
  • signed family agreement regarding health protocols (stay home if you are sick)
  • Payment or payment arrangements

We ask that students commit to attending the full 10-session program.

**PLEASE NOTE – We still have space in this series – if you would like your child to participate beginning with the Oct 15 class, our facilitators will arrange an online orientation with parents. Contact Rev. Wendy!!

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Location: Hillside Community Church (lower level); 144 North Street, Medford, MA  02155

Registration: Registration: $350.00 for (10) ninety-minute session series; plus a materials fee of $ 10.00 and a required book, It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, Gender, and Sexual Health – 2021 Edition ($15). An optional resource for parents is also available The Parent Guide to Our Whole Lives for K-1 and 4-6 ($15). The books can be purchased when you register and picked up at the orientation.

Scholarships and payment arrangements are available on the registration form or contact Rev. Wendy (below)

We seek to create a gender-diverse class. After your payment is received or payment arrangement is made, you will be notified of your child’s spot in either the class or a waitlist. Full refunds will be made through 2 days after your orientation if, following the orientation, your family determines not to proceed.

Register Here: Link to Grade 5/6 Registration/Payment Portal

Schedule: 2023.2024 Grade 5.6 Detailed Schedule – Updated and Published 2023.10.03 including make-up date for snow delays

Contact: Rev. Wendy Miller Olapade: Wendy@SanctuaryUCC.org; Rev. Thomas Hathaway: pastor@hillsidemedford.org 

Note: Masks are optional for all participants; and anyone experiencing a positive COVID-19 test or potential COVID-19 symptoms should stay home

Session Postponement due to Snow: If weather cancels any of our meeting dates, we will not move to virtual sessions (given the nature of the program). We currently have potential make-up sessions planned to be added at the end of the course, if needed.

Register for Grade 5/6 Program

Meet Our Facilitators

Lynn Rosenbaum, M.Ed., M.A. has been enthusiastically facilitating Our Whole Lives for the past nine years to young people in grades 5-12 in towns throughout the Boston Metro area in both church and community settings. An experienced Health Educator, she has led workshops on a wide array of topics including mindfulness, substance abuse, sexual assault, and eating disorders. She co-authored the chapter on Sexuality in Our Bodies, Ourselves (2005) and works with the Community Engagement Team in Cambridge. Lynn is also a musician and dancer, and a leader of improvisational CircleSings.

Stephen Garschina-Bobrow is a father, educator, and musician who believes strongly in community. Since training in 2012, he has taught OWL for 5th/6th and 8th/9th grade students in Belmont and Arlington. A former high school Math teacher, Stephen now works in the Boston Public Schools. He has three daughters in grades 4, 11, and college, is married to a high school teacher, and raises a beloved family dog and some backyard chickens. He works towards creating a more equitable world, builds useful objects, and plays the trombone and guitar.