All of us who work on the WAVE program want to thank the people of St. Mary's for their faith in this effort, aimed at reaching out to working families in ways that offer their children a broadening of perceptions of the wonders and values which exist in their community. Not only have we continued to experience the generous support of individual parishioners, but also the commitment of parish leadership, during the time-lag between the program's start-up and the Diocesan decision to re-fund or not, to stand behind us financially so that we could go forward with 'year two' on schedule. Our grant was re-funded (modestly increased, actually), as we learned in November; and once more, our sincere thanks go out to the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.

Thus far, we have held three WAVE programs during this school-year: On September 7^th (15 children); October 12^th (10 children), and; November 11^th (12 children). There are two more teachers' professional days scheduled before June: January 14^th and March 14^th. Plans for these currently are in the works.

Highlights of WAVE's September program included a musical segment led by ukulele diva Mary J. Martin, a member of Frank's Ukulele Bash & Revival band and a neighbor of St. Mary's. Our Pirates' Parade down Commercial St., in costumes, beards, mustaches, headscarves and earrings, where bloodcurdling cries of "ARRGH" and "AVAST YE MATEYS!" caused late-lunching patrons at Fanizzi's to wonder if the Town were under siege, (thanks, Alex Glowacki, for the face-paint); this was followed by a Treasure Hunt on the beach, the buried loot to be shared among all hands.

In October, each child was given a sizeable pumpkin on which to create a face of his or her own design (thanks to the generosity of Mollie & Martha); Priscilla led them in a hands-on segment about Harvest on the Cape, which included not only discussion and cooking of traditional foods from the garden, but the bounty of the sea, as well. (Some children had their first steamed clams that day). Thanks to Sallie, we also had a visit from caricaturist 'Mr. Duffy' that afternoon, who patiently and skillfully created a wonderful, 'Duffy-Did-It' caricature of each of the 10 children to give to Mom or Dad.

November found us thinking about Thanksgiving, the First One and the one upcoming. Greg Howe prepared a delicious turkey dinner for 'lunch'; the children made fresh cranberry relish with the help of Fran's manual food grinder (Oh, how they love to see what happens!); Joan Marshall presented her great fitness-to-music segment (now, they really can do the Hokey Pokey!). We visited the Provincetown Theatre where Theatre Foundation President Karen Billard and Operations Manager Patrick Lamerson spoke to them of plays and stagecraft and showed the children every inch of the place, from lobby and box office to stage and dressing rooms. They thrilled the kids with lighting tricks and sound effects, and especially, with an invitation to be a 'Snowflake' in the Theatre's upcoming holiday production. Lots of little hands shot up! In honor of Veterans Day, we concluded the November 11^th WAVE session out in St. Mary's front garden with an age-appropriate discussion of the S-4 accident and the great bravery required to be 'a pioneer.' They counted the names.

This year, we've noticed two welcome changes in the WAVE days: first, the children not only are maturing, they truly are learning some good things from us and have begun to respond to us with trust, and; secondly, we, the staff, have become significantly better at what we do and how we do it. Both are very gratifying.

 Linda Dixon, for the WAVE Committee: Priscilla McChesney, Sallie Tighe, Maureen Cronin, Tim Dixon, Greg Howe, Mollie Steele, Martha Wilson, Diana Hardy, Fran Hartswick and Debbie Minsky.