Advent: Joyful Waiting!

This past Sunday marked the first Sunday of Advent. 

We have been learning about the liturgical calendar. Can your child point out Advent?

Advent is a time of hope and anticipation. We are waiting for the birth of Christ!

We changed our prayer table cloth from green, when it was Ordinary Time, to purple for Advent. Can you see our wreath? We light one candle for each of the four Sundays in Advent. This week we lit the first candle. As we light more candles each week, our world becomes brighter, symbolizing our growing anticipation of Jesus, who is the light of our world. 

Each Monday, we celebrate with a school-wide virtual assembly. At our daily Connection Time, we will always begin each day with a cozy little Advent celebration. 

This week, we reflected on the birth of Christ by making our own torn paper advent wreaths. These will come home prior to Christmas break. 

As we journey towards Christmas, may we prepare our hearts with kindness as we joyfully wait for the coming of Jesus!

Share the Good News! The Christ Child is born!

This year's theme across our school division is Sharing the Good News with Joyful Hearts! What greater news to share than the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ!  

Today, the wondrous story of the birth of our King was re-told using beautiful prayers from the book "The Twelve Prayers of Christmas" by Candy Chand. Prayer and song was interwoven as the story of Jesus' birth was shared. 

The boys and girls in our class played the parts of the animals in the stable; the sheep, donkeys, cows and doves who were present that special night. We sang a peaceful song about the animals in the stable when Jesus was born. 

Jesus, our brother, kind and good,

Was humbly born in a stable rude, 

And the friendly beasts around Him stood,

Jesus, our brother, kind and good.

Our little "friendly beasts" were amazing. Absolutely radiant. From initial rehearsals beginning last month, to full costumed run-throughs yesterday and today, their consistent effort and energy was remarkable. 

Here are some special memories from concert week:

Many thanks to the patient mom who ensured our costumes were "up to snuff", and to the boys and girls in Grade 1, who captured the essence of the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ! This week marks the second week of Advent. Throughout Advent, we have been discussing how we are preparing our hearts for the arrival of Jesus. Students are encouraged to take time to pray and find ways to share kindness with others.  May your families be blessed with peace and joy this Christmas season!