Wednesday, October 5, 2011

With thankful hearts

Yesterday, I was at St. Francis school for a prayer service with the students and teachers.  The theme of this month's gathering was (and is) thanksgiving.  As it happens, this coming weekend will see the celebration of Canadian Thanksgiving, so it is good that we should get the students thinking about all for which they can be thankful.


Students gathered in the school gymnasium and prepared for this time of prayer (quite a challenge given the fact that there has been such a drastic change to the make-up of the student body over the past few months.  Where once there were students from JK-Grade 8, the school is now made up of students from JK-Grade 6.


Some the Grade 6 students dramatized the gospel passage of the healing the ten lepers.  Their hours of practice and dedication paid off.  We were all very thankful for their help, bringing this passage to life for us.


Ms Visentin's Grade 3 class also helped us to appreciate the importance of giving thanks.  The children wrote a cryptic poem which pointed out many blessings which we so often take for granted, and wrote their reflections out for us.  By the time they were finished telling their tale, the sheets they were holding spelled the word T-H-A-N-K-S-G-I-V-I-N-G.

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Yesterday was also the liturgical feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the school, so a wood carving of the saint (which is yet to find a home somewhere in the office or in the newly-renovated foyer) was put on display for all the students to see.


In the days, months and years to come, passers by will be able to appreciate this work of art, even as they learn a little about the life of this thirteenth-century saint.

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