Students from St. Francis Catholic Elementary School in grades 3 and 4 eagerly wrote postcards to war veterans for Remembrance Day. The postcards were provided by Veteran Affairs Canada. The class put their friendly letter writing skills to use in order to compose a thoughtful message. Students in teacher Graziella Visentin’s class annually write postcards to thank veterans for being brave and courageous in order to protect us. The grade 3 and 4 students acknowledged the veterans’ efforts and their gratitude for the freedom we so much enjoy today. This year the postcards were sent to war veterans residing in Ottawa, Ontario.
Peace Tree at St. Francis
On Friday, November 16th all students at St. Francis School participated in a Peace Tree activity. This activity was the culmination of Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week, and focused on Mahatma Ghandi’s message “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”. After reading the book “The Tree” by Dana Lyons, classes talked about respect for the environment and how disruptive disrespect can be to the peace of a forest or wetland. They then made connections between this story and how disrespect disrupts peace in our school. Symbols of different cultures and faiths from around the world were provided to every class and students turned these symbols into ornaments for a Peace Tree, situated in the lobby of the school. The tree is now covered with ornaments, many of which also have messages about how they will promote peace in their school, home, local community and the world.