Share the Love

Dear Parents,
We are coming to the end of our collection and wrapping of our special gifts for children in need in other countries. As you may recall, our decision to participate in this form of community service was so that the children could be directly involved. On Wednesday Mrs Susan Lock, ably assisted by Justin Commons and Christine McCauley assisted children to pack the covered box they had prepared at home. I was able to pop in and out and observe the packing. It truly was a great process to observe, I listened as children began to think about the special someone they were going to send their box to and watched as they chose items for the box with care, love and thoughtfulness. Like others who had an opportunity watch the process, I felt quite emotional as I saw firsthand the amazing capacity some of our young children have to think about the needs of others, no easy task when presented with an art room decked out like a toy shop! For some of our younger children, moving away from the natural egocentricity of being two and three was quite tricky but as I watched them grapple with this concept I was reminded of the real benefits of involving our young students in some form of community service.

Hugo gently pushed down on the bristles of a toothbrush, “I just need to check that it’s right, this one’s not soft enough for my little girl. I need a soft one for her” he added

“Oh! It’s just like a toy shop, I wish the poor children could see it!” exclaimed Jesse thoughtfully as he entered the art room

“I’ve got a little sister at home so I’m doing one so little girls can have one too” said Zach

“I like the car but my person is a little girl so I’ve got a necklace in a bag for her instead” said Aadi

It was such a worthwhile experience we would like to continue our packing for another week to include some of the children who did not participate.

*If your child has not packed a shoebox of love and you would like your child to participate you may like to purchase an item from every area and send them to Kindergarten next week. We will add them to the tables of goods for the children to choose from and then you can send in your covered box with completed $9 donation form and tag for the front of the box (Mrs Porter has photocopied donation slips at the front desk now).

*If you have sent in your items but not covered your shoebox please complete your form and send in your covered shoebox next week.

Shoeboxes of Love will be finalised by the end of next week (Friday the 22nd of October) as they must be finished to make it onto the ship in time to be sent.
If, like me, the enthusiasm of our young children has filled you with the giving spirit we are desperate for exercise books, pencil cases, small soft toys and cakes of soap to complete the boxes.
I can only imagine that the joy and enthusiasm on the faces of the children who will open the boxes will mirror those expressions that were observed in the faces of our children as they packed them.
Kind Regards
Mel Bishop