Seven Graded Sunday Schools Part 7

The part.i.tions between the cla.s.s rooms are windows of ground gla.s.s of amber color. They are movable, so that cla.s.ses can be united whenever desirable. Those between cla.s.s rooms and the main room are double doors of ground gla.s.s, so hung that they may be swung aside easily, and arranged when open not to interfere with the line of vision. All the rooms are well lighted and well ventilated; and the main room, when all the rooms are closed, has abundant light and air from a clear story above, with movable windows.

To the gallery and its cla.s.ses there are three entrances. The one from without the building leads exclusively to the Primary Cla.s.s, which, by having its own exit, can adjourn earlier than the rest of the school.

The two other stairs are interior and lead to the gallery corridor, on which all the cla.s.s rooms of the upper floor open. These are separated from each other and from the main room by sliding doors of amber gla.s.s, so that they may be united or isolated at will, and in a moment. The seats in these cla.s.ses rise in tiers so that those in the rear as well as in the front can see the platform and the blackboard. There are nine cla.s.s rooms, of which the central one is for the Primary Department, and all the others are for the Senior cla.s.ses. All the Senior cla.s.ses are large, and are kept full by promotion every year from the Junior Grade.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GALLERY PLAN

VINCENT CHAPEL]

The library room is at the main entrance, so that books may be delivered by the pupils while pa.s.sing into the school, and might be given to them while pa.s.sing out, though in fact they are brought by the librarian to the cla.s.ses. On the opposite side of the building, in the rear of the entrance, is a kitchen, which is used at entertainments and social gatherings. For these two or three of the cla.s.s rooms are thrown together as a refreshment room adjoining the kitchen.

One advantage of such a chapel is its expandable character. When all the rooms are closed there is seating capacity for two hundred and fifty chairs in the main room, which generally suffices for the prayer meeting, while room after room may be opened as the congregation increases. This form of building is equally adapted for the Sunday school, the prayer meeting, and the social gatherings of the Church.

THE END.