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The Spirit is Alive at Christmas

December 18th, 2009

 

Students from St. Mary's Catholic Elementary School in West Lorne took part in the Journey of Love. It was an evening walk based on the walk of the people of Bethlehem to the stable where Joseph and Mary laid Jesus in a manger. It was a wonderful evening and 300 people took the journey.

The St. Thomas Aquinas' Angel Campaign wrapped up this week. This year's campaign is helping to bring Christmas to 54 families in the STA neighbourhood. Gifts were purchased for 156 children and their parents, and each family will receive a food voucher. Assumption School had a Community Christmas Celebration with each student publishing a hand made Christmas book, a Christmas Carol Sing Song, "For Your Entertainment" student performances, a book fair and yummy cookies and hot chocolate. This created a special memory for the school families and put them in the Christmas spirit!
St. Martin's students from Mrs. Gianotti's Grade 6 class celebrated the Christmas season by publishing their own personal narratives. Each proud, young author wrote, illustrated, and constructed their very own book. Sharing their literacy talents with family and friends was the perfect gift to celebrate this blessed season.

 

The Be an Angel Campaign at John Paul 11 Catholic Secondary School will mean  a happier Christmas for many London families. 
For a link to the campaign, click HERE.

St. George angels were very generous once again this year. Many items were brought in for families in need. This year students also collected personal care items, baby items and food items. The Angel Program was extremely successful. Way to go St. George!

Both Grade 3 classes from Monsignor Morrison were very excited to present Christmas Care with a cheque for $422.40 from funds raised at a Christmas Bake Sale. The money will go to help families in need in the St. Thomas community.

tudents at Blessed Sacrament school welcomed residents from Longworth retirement residence in the library today. Longworth have been raising funds to help the Breakfast Program run by Mrs. Thea Hiemstra at Blessed Sacrament School. Young and old enjoyed a craft, a nativity story, and some light refreshments. 

The Assumption School students in Mrs. Berry's grade 1/2 class created yummy gingerbread houses to celebrate the unit on the gingerbread man. Many parent volunteers showed up to help with this sweet Christmas tradition.

Students at St. Anne's School in St. Thomas have been perfecting their acting, singing and dancing skills with many Christmas performances for the school community. The Kindergarten students presented "The Christmas Story" for parents and grandparents. .(Above)  Many students from grades one through eight performed a Christmas musical revue called, "Twas One Crazy Night Before Christmas." (Below) There have been well over a thousand people entertained by students over the last two weeks.

Mrs. Mercredi's Grade 3/4 class at St. Anne School (London) put on the Nativity play at the Christmas Mass at St. Andrew the Apostle Church. The students did a wonderful job.

Under the direction of Mrs. VanDeCappelle, coordinator for St. Francis Catholic School’s healthy snack program, Trevor, Brittany, Gary, Chris and Linda help prepare a delicious Christmas treat for the students.  The school, celebrating the Christian virtue of gratitude this month, showed their appreciation for all of the volunteers by giving them a treat at a practice for Thursday evening’s Christmas concert. On Wednesday, Holy Cross Elementary School got in the spirit by enjoying a delicious Christmas dinner together. The annual dinner was sponsored by the council and local businesses.
St. Anne School (London) celebrated the Christmas season with their annual Christmas concert. The highlight of the concert was the sign language rendition of O Holy Night. Mrs. Carmela Mendonca organized and taught the Sign Language choir the appropriate signs for the song.
 
John Paul ll Catholic Secondary School celebrated the week with mass at St. Peter's Cathedral and a Christmas concert. (Above)  Mrs. Norris' Grade 1/2 students from St. Paul elementary, attended a Christmas cooking class at the Hyde Park Superstore. They had lots of fun and made all kinds of yummy goodies to bring home to their families.

A 1940's Christmas 


To help our students celebrate the real reason for our Christmas celebrations and put what we do today in context to what has happened in the past, the students from Grades 1 to 6 from St. Francis in Princeton, visited the Princeton & District Museum on Wednesday, December 16. The museum offered a brief history lesson about Christmas during the 1940’s, its emphasis on the birth of Jesus, and the consequential family celebrations. Finally, the students made common Christmas decorations for a 1940s Christmas tree to take home and decorate their own trees.  

The St. Martin School Community supported the "St. Martin of Tours Dinner Plate Campaign" as one of their Christmas projects. Each $10.00 donation will provide a year of community dinners for one person (six dinners per year). The school raised $2,500.00 for the less fortunate of the community. Pictured are St. Martin students who volunteer to serve the meals. Special thanks goes to Mrs Gianotti who organized this fund raising project.

Students and staff from St. Patrick's Catholic School in Woodstock rallied together for their annual food drive. Pictured here are members of the school's student parliament sorting food into boxes for families in need within our school community. The food drive, which was organized by the student parliament and their teacher representative, Mrs. Ford, hopes to help make the Christmas season a little brighter for families needing some extra support.
Hazaa!!  St. George's gym was transformed into a Medieval Feast Hall yesterday Students in grades 3, 4 and 5 quite enjoyed learning about customs, sports, leisure, food, etiquette and anything else medieval. The Hall was even graced with royalty, Queen Agnelli, sitting at the head table, was entertained by her minstrels and jesters and when angered showed her displeasure (to the stocks!). What a fantastic kick-off to learning about the Middle Ages!

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