The very best part of working at an elementary school is always the kids! This year was no different. Even in a year with many challenges, we look back and see God’s goodness often reflected through our students experiences as they loved God and others.

We asked our elementary staff what was their best moments from this past year. Here is what they shared:

THIS YEAR’S BEST MOMENTS BY OUR ELEMENTARY STAFF:

1.Five-year-olds crack me up. Seriously, they’re hilarious. The amount of times I have caught myself doubling over with laughter from a comment or facial expression are too many to number…it’s almost a daily occurrence in our class! From children accidentally wearing matching outfits, to having matching cheese strings in their lunch bag (it’s a BIG thing!), to bringing worms and snails into the classroom to share…they are full of wonder and love for the world! We’ve had crazy hats, sung silly songs, and goofed around during wiggle dances. (If you know, you know…) – Ruth Mackenzie

2.One “best” theme this year was how God provided TOCs—again and again—through challenging circumstances. I’m very thankful for how he provided through the willingness of so many TOCs. – Seth Bakker

3.Some of my favourite moments this year have been during group activities where I saw the students working together and growing in community. During our community unit in February, the groups worked together to create a community map. It was awesome to see them sharing their ideas with their group and being a valued member of the team! In late spring, the children worked in groups to write a fairy tale puppet show together. I absolutely loved watching them respectfully listen to each other’s ideas and share the responsibility of writing and creating props. I had anticipated a few squabbles, but the kids did a fantastic job of working together and caring for each other. – Corinna Fair

4.The best part of this year was definitely welcoming our community back on campus for events such as student-led conferences and Grandfriend’s Day. I was surprised how emotional I was! It was a wonderful thing to see and hear our campus buzzing with excitement. – Sherry Drader

5. At lunch time, I had a line up of three children at my desk. The first needed help opening a thermos. The second asked politely for an extra spoon because Mom had forgotten to put one in that day. The third boy asked if he could please have a cup for a drink of water and as we walked to get it, he said, “You really do a lot of stuff around here for us all!” – Maureen Schmidt

6.We had a student who was leaving our class and school and the rest of the class decided we must do something big to say goodbye. So, they put together a farewell party for her. They planned the day and had everyone sign up to bring in a different treat to share. This student was allergic to gluten and so students went out of their way to buy treats from gluten-free places or make a separate snack for her to enjoy so she wouldn’t feel left out and there would be something she could eat and enjoy. The students made and signed a card for her with lovely, sweet messages and some even brought her farewell gifts. It was so lovely to see the class come together to show love and support for this one student and to show how strong our classroom community is. – Evangeline Stewart

7.While working in the hallway with one of my students, I observed another student returning to his class making a stop at the bulletin board just outside his classroom. He stopped, looked at it, looked around, leaned in, and kissed the picture that was there. The next morning curiosity got the best of me, and I went to go check out which photo he kissed. I found out it was girl from his class. Love interest in grade 3… – Melissa McLeod

8.Enjoying art one day, my grade 1’s were admiring each other’s work. One student said to his peer, “Wow, yours is so good. You’re going to be famous one day” leaving his peer with a happy smile. This comment not only truly reflects my class this year but also proves how important it is to lift others and celebrate the gifts given when the moment arises. – Melissa Dick

9.One incredible thing that happened this year was when our class together with 1B raised $508.10 for one of our families impacted by the flood. Our student could get a new desk! – Cheryl Mulder

10. I was having a little bit of a rough day when out of the blue a child with learning challenges, who is not in my class, hugged me and said, “Have a good day!” – Maureen Schmidt

11. Everyday, we spend some time talking about prayer requests and praises we’d like to share, and I find this tradition always provides a little window into the tender hearts of my grade 1 students. I learn during this time of the things that are tugging on their hearts and are most important to them. We have prayed for everything under the sun…illnesses or injuries in the family, farm animals that aren’t feeling well, praising God for some much needed sunshine, and for a successful first musical. The kids have even mentioned troubling things they’ve heard on the news. This has led us to set aside time praying for people we’ve never met that live in countries far away. This year has thrown our community so many curveballs, but these kids take these changes in stride and have become so good at doing exactly what God calls us to do when things feel hard and uncertain: turning to prayer. – Kathryn Notley

12. A group of girls in my class decided to become Earth Helpers and form a club/group. They were so disappointed by how much garbage was being dropped outside that they wanted to help and do something about it. At first it was just paper badges taped onto their shirts that they made by hand, but then it soon became t-shirts with a logo and “Earth Helpers” printed onto them made by one of their moms. They wear their shirts to school once a week and take the tongs and buckets out to help tidy up our school grounds by picking up garbage. This group made some “Do not litter” posters that they put up around the school. Our students have big hearts, lots of passion, and great ideas and it’s so great to see them use them for good to help our school and the earth!  – Evangeline Stewart

13. We added 1032 new books to our library collection and visited weekly for book exchange, stories, and activities!  Some of our highlights included the Chocolate Lily Book Club, a club for grade 4 students who met weekly to read and vote on favorite titles by BC authors (treats and prizes included, of course!), Book Talk and Banana Bread for our staff, and the “Who’s the ‘Fairy’ Best Reader” Reading Challenge and Scholastic Book Fair with our very own Fairy Grootmother! – Linda Groot and Kerry Schwenneker