Christmas has always been my favourite time of the school year, a season where joy dances through the hallways and love fills every corner of the classroom. It\u2019s a time to celebrate our Saviour\u2019s birth and spread His light to those around us.<\/p>\n
My fondest Christmas memories aren\u2019t about the decorations or the festive tunes. They\u2019re about cookies, presents, and shopping trips with students\u2014moments that shape not just their hearts, but mine as well.<\/p>\n
For several years, our secondary learning support services (LSS) department partnered with the Christmas Bureau to support a family in need, usually a family with children or teenagers.<\/p>\n
Our plan began with a purpose: to raise funds to buy gifts and food for this family. Students used their measurement skills to bake cookies, then interacted with their peers (and practiced their math) when selling the baking.<\/p>\n
Their learning was real and outside of the regular classroom. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Our students learned skills in a practical way, with a real purpose. They counted coins, made change, communicated with peers, and planned budgets. They discovered the value of money and the importance of stewarding it wisely.<\/p>\n And when the time came to shop for the family, they put their lessons into action.<\/p>\n Shopping day was always an adventure.<\/p>\n Armed with lists and limited budgets, we\u2019d head to a bustling mall, often in Langley or Surrey. Students were tasked with checking their lists twice and making sure that their purchases met the needs of the family.<\/p>\n After returning to school, they checked their receipts and budgets and celebrated the many items on the family\u2019s wish lists that they purchased. Students wrapped the gifts with care, and often wrote a special card to give to the family. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The most touching moment came when we delivered the gifts.<\/p>\n Standing at the doorstep of the family\u2019s home with boxes of food and colourfully wrapped gifts, our students had the opportunity to speak with the family and share in their excitement. It was a humbling experience for the me as I saw how our small efforts could reflect God\u2019s love in big ways<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n And for my students, this wasn\u2019t just a school project; it was a glimpse into the heart of Christmas.<\/p>\n They learned through doing that Christmas is about giving, not just things, but love. It\u2019s about sharing God\u2019s blessings and making a real impact in His world.<\/p>\n Even now, as interim secondary principal, these memories remind me of why we do what we do; we equip our students to not only learn but also to live out God\u2019s love. And as we celebrate this Christmas season, my prayer is that we all embrace that same spirit of giving, spreading joy and kindness to everyone we meet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Christmas has always been my favourite time of the school year, a season where joy dances through the hallways and love fills every corner of the classroom. It\u2019s a time to celebrate our Saviour\u2019s birth and spread His light to those around us. My fondest Christmas memories aren\u2019t about the decorations or the festive tunes. […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":7309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,35],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-7308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-school-vision","category-secondary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7308"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=7308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Wish Lists<\/h2>\n
The Big Moment<\/h2>\n