Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),
I hope this message finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy. Catholic Education Week this year takes place from May 3 to May 8. During this week, our Catholic community celebrates the unique and distinctive contribution that Catholic schools make to our students, our community and our province. Catholic Education Week is a welcomed opportunity to celebrate the Mission of our Catholic schools as they strive to integrate the Gospel Values of Jesus Christ in every aspect of the school’s life and curriculum. This year’s theme is “Igniting Hope”
Each day, we can do simple activities, individually or as a family, to act on the hope that dwells within us. These are suggestions for simple activities to reinforce hope for ourselves and others.
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Create a message of hope in chalk on your driveway or sidewalk for those passing by to read, or create a poster to put in a window.
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Write a postcard or note of thanks to frontline healthcare workers and drop this in the mailbox for a local hospital.
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Make cards or draw pictures for seniors in your community.
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Music makes us happy. Create a playlist of happy music. Play this in your backyard, or if you are able, send it to a family member who you miss.
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Look in your Bible or go online to make a list of Psalms that give hope.
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Write an acrostic poem about HOPE; H is for Happiness, O is for Ongoing, P is for … etc.
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Write words of hope on index cards or paper and hang them from a tree in your yard for others to read.
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Go for a walk past your local parish. Stop in front of your church and say a prayer for your faith community.
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Look through a newspaper for stories of hope and talk about the stories during a family meal.
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Put messages of hope on social media.
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Plant some seeds in the ground. When they bloom, they will give hope.
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Phone a loved one and tell them you love them.
We are encouraging families to take pictures of their activities of Hope throughout the week and send them to smd@ycdsb.ca. Pictures will be posted to Twitter and will be included in the school yearbook.
While we cannot be together in body we are pleased to announce that His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins will be celebrating a province-wide Catholic Education Week Mass scheduled for Wednesday, May 6, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.
All students, families, board staff, trustees and the broader Catholic community are invited to participate “virtually” in this celebration of the Eucharist by clicking on the link (https://www.
With the start of Catholic Education Week commencing, let us pray:
Loving God,
You sent your Son, Jesus, to be our hope.
We feel his promised Spirit at work within us;
We recognize his risen presence among us as we gather in his name in prayer, and celebrate the Eucharist.
He is the hope which inspires us to share as members of the Catholic educational community,
In your church’s mission to announce the Good News to the whole world.
We thank you for the gift of Catholic education.
May it continue to be a place where Christ ignites within us, an abiding confidence, in a future filled with hope.
We make this prayer through the same Christ, our Lord.
Amen.