Students at St. Mary’s School found a number of ways to celebrate Christmas this year and spread some cheer with the community.
As part of the season of Advent, Grade 8 teacher Agnes Garrioch said the school reaches out to the community every year, and this year they were able to stay connected with those outside of the school in a safe way.
“I asked our students what initiatives they wanted to do each week to connect with our community, and our students came up with great ideas,” said Garrioch, who is also a technology integration coach.
With the Grade 8 class as leaders, each week was dedicated to a different project.
“We have a team, so it’s made up of different classes, and then Lent, it’s the other grade classes,” said Garrioch.
She wants people to feel important and get a good feeling.
Week 1 from Nov. 30-Dec. 4, with the theme of hope, saw cards sent to the community.
The cards were delivered to Estevan Area Home Care patients, doctors and nurses at St. Joseph’s Hospital, dentists throughout the city, and residents of Hill View Manor, Creighton Lodge, the Estevan Regional Nursing Home, St. Joseph’s Hospital long-term care and Trinity Tower.
Garrioch believes the cards turned out great.
“I took a picture of all the cards under our tree. On Dec. 8, our secretary brought them to the post office, and so we had quite a few envelopes to send away,” said Garrioch. “But the kids were so happy to do it, and it was so neat to see the creativity that was put into it, and also the heart that went into it.”
Since it was the students’ idea to do the cards, they were that much more connected and passionate about it.
Garrioch noted that the students sent letters to Creighton Lodge the week that schools shut down in March, and the enriched living facility had asked for personal letters.
“Creighton Lodge actually sent us the names of the residents, and so some classes wrote directly to individuals, whereas the others cards that were made, for example, for the dentist, it was to the dentists, so there was a bunch of artwork and cards to each location,” said Garrioch.
Students decided on the artwork.
Week 2, from Dec. 7-11, had the theme of love and saw the students participate in Virtual Video Pals with seniors. On Dec. 9, school students connected with the residents of Creighton Lodge. In 15-minute time slots, one to three students visited with each resident via FaceTime. The stories and conversation flowed from both sides.
“I think it was so great for the students and the school jumping at the chance to get to actually do this, so it’s been great, because … all the different classes have been preparing and thinking of their questions they want to ask their virtual video pal, and so they were all ready and everyone was so excited to chat with their pals,” said Garrioch.
They did the same with the residents of St. Joseph’s Hospital’s long-term care on Dec. 10.
“We’ve been asking questions and telling stories,” said Alex Jumbe, a Grade 8 student at St. Mary’s.
The staff at Creighton Lodge and long-term care were so helpful with the students as well. Some students asked lots of questions, some prepared poems, and read stories. There was laughter, wonder, and excitement in these calls, Garrioch said.
“Our virtual pals at Creighton Lodge and St. Joseph's long-term care were so great at answering all the questions from their new pals from St. Mary's School. All the students were so excited that they made a new friend,” she said.
Many of the students asked their new friends if they can do this again, virtually, and hopefully in person next year.
“The wonderful program directors at Creighton Lodge and St. Joseph's long-term care also want to continue this connection,” Garrioch said.
Over the course of the two days, St. Mary’s students met with 16 residents from St. Joseph's long-term care and 11 residents from Creighton Lodge.
In the third week, from Dec. 14-18, students have been sending Christmas artwork to grocery store employees at the Southern Plains Co-op, Sobeys, Clifton’s No Frills and Walmart. The theme was joy.
“Axel’s group came with the idea for the Christmas artwork for the grocery store employees, and so it’s so nice to see students recognize, at that age, who they want to connect with and appreciate in the community, instead of it coming from an adult,” said Garrioch.
The final week, which is happening during Christmas vacation, saw the students share a nativity video with the church and the community they connected with over the Advent season. The theme is peace.
Each class contributed to the video and shared an important part of their faith.
Axel said this was a great way to continue to have Advent activities, especially during a pandemic.
“Already, it’s tough for some people, so the whole point of this is to spread hope, love, joy and peace,” said Axel.
The initiative has allowed the students to think more about everybody, and it’s always good to think about others.
He believes they have accomplished their goal.
Garrioch noted this was a lot of work, but it has been an excellent learning experience for the students, as it allows them to take ownership and decide what they want to do.
“At St. Mary's, we always try to support deeper learning experiences for our students,” said Garrioch. “This was such a special experience for everyone involved. I hope this encourages others to connect, bring joy and lift up all our members in our wonderful community of Estevan.”
