Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

First grade has had an eventful week at school with our Christmas party, Christmas games in gym, and our visit from Santa.

I wanted to take a moment, though, to say how very proud I am of these wonderful first graders! They worked very hard on our Advent project. During Advent, we prepared ourselves for Jesus' birthday! To truly prepare our hearts, we did a service project for each of the four main communities to which we belong: Church, school, family, and town.

The first week our first graders worked very diligently at preparing heartfelt cards for our military members overseas and our veterans at home in hospitals. We invited the rest of the school to join us and together we prepared 98 cards to give to the Red Cross to distribute to our military and veterans! The Red Cross representative was truly grateful!

The second week we collected craft items for an angel from the tree at the church. Thanks to all who sent something in! The gift was amazing and will truly brighten some little child's Christmas!

For the third week of Advent, we put on a show for the preschool telling and illustrating the story of Jesus' birth. They did a beautiful job and then enjoyed some Christmas cookies with the preschoolers. What a way to serve our school community - share the glory of God with those younger than us!

And finally, for the fourth week of Advent, the kids made a special service gift for their family - planning a family fun day to celebrate God's gift of family!

The kids worked so hard this Advent to prepare their hearts for Jesus and I could not have been prouder! Enjoy your loved ones this Christmas and know that I pray for all of you! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

---