The Patriot Report – April 30

“Show us a man who never makes a mistake and we will show a man who never makes anything. The capacity for occasional blundering is inseparable from the capacity to bring things to pass.” Herman Lincoln Wayland

This past week I have had the opportunity to work with Gr. 6 students in creating cedar planter boxes. In leading the students through this project, I was able to reflect on why working with wood is a valuable learning opportunity for students. When a student works with wood, they discover that wood is never perfect. They may observe that wood may have a slight bow to it or have a crack or discoloration. The imperfections in wood are present and must be worked with. 

Imperfections in wood is similar to our own imperfections. We are all very much aware of our own deficiencies but we must not let that be the only thing we see.  We need to work with our imperfections. Some of the imperfections on wood can be sanded away while others may require some wood glue and still others you may just have to accept. With ourselves, there are parts of us we can change to improve and others we must learn to accept. We often dwell on what is wrong about ourselves and many of our children do this as well. However, it is important to note that when you first see the cedar planter box, especially if it has flowers in it, your eyes will not register any errors. You have to look closely to find the mistakes and sometimes it takes the creator of the planter box to actually point it out. Is there a lesson in this? We need to realize that sometimes the imperfections we see in ourselves no one else sees. In fact, one of the more enjoyable experiences of making something out of wood is that the beauty of the creation is able to shine above any of the imperfections. As humans, the beauty of our spirit shines above any of our imperfections. 

Many of our classes are closing in on their classroom goal and some classes have surpassed their goal and have created new goals for their class. A huge thank you to all those who have financially contributed to our walkathon!

A couple of things to address:

1. The pledge sheets need to reflect the online and cash/cheque donors. This is because the pledge sheets will be used for prize entry draws. The pledge sheets also help us to have a better sense of how much we have raised. Please make sure your child records every pledge including the online ones. 
2. We really want 100% participation in the Walkathon including our Option 4 students. We are one school community. We would love to see every child bring in one pledge, no matter the amount. 
3. Please send the money in for the Walkathon no later than May 20th (one week after the walkathon). You can send it in anytime between now and May 20th. We do receipt all money and we make sure we copy the pledge sheets so that we know what has been collected and who is owed tax receipts. 
4. Online donations are easiest due to the Charitable Tax receipt being issued by Charitable Impact. We do encourage online donation. 

Please read the BCCDC guideline for when to get tested for Covid-19. Click here.  

This is a reminder that parents need to take the time to do the Daily Check every day. It is important that we remain committed to taking our COVID-19 procedures seriously. Click here to access the form. You will no longer need to provide the child or parent’s name on the form.