“Hold fast to stars. Hold fast to the elusive, the intangible, the never-to-be-had. For stars fall from heaven sometimes, and kings are born in barns, and miracles rise up out of little things.” – ANONYMOUS – Catholic Teacher
In October, Mrs. T. Pianezza began reading stories about the virtue of Compassion to her class of Kindergarteners. She has always believed that, regardless of age, all students are capable of achieving remarkable things through the direction and guidance of Jesus our Saviour. She started off with reading a picture book called, “Lily and the Paper Man” by Rebecca Upjohn, which was about a little girl who donated clothes to a homeless man living outside her apartment building. Upon asking her students about how they can show Compassion to others, one student suggested that they can give “hats to the poor people”.
This became the catalyst of the promise that Mrs. Pianezza would teach them to knit hats to give to homeless people. The students had a daily opportunity to come knit a row on a knitting loom. During Advent they started talking about the virtue of Hope. The students were asked to write a message of Hope on the outside of every envelope holding a hat. Next, Mrs. Pianezza’s FDK class needed to find a way to distribute the hats to the intended recipients. The Youth Group of St. Jane Frances Church in Toronto was called, and they graciously agreed to distribute the kindergarteners’ hats. Youth Group Leader Marina DiPasquale and 6 others came from St. Jane Frances Church to Our Lady of the Annunciation http://ola.ycdsb.ca to be presented with the hats during a special and inspiring presentation in front of the entire school on Friday December 21st, 2018.
“The Christ-centred mission of each school contains a call to service in the greater community. Catholic schools form disciples with a social conscience who put their faith into action. “ – Renewing The Promise: A Pastoral Letter for Catholic Education