There is, perhaps, nothing more exciting than the last days of school before Summer Break. At our Junior School, that excitement was palpable all week as students celebrated the end of the 2020-21 school year in a variety of fun and reflective ways.
Below, you can watch our Junior School Closing Ceremonies, featuring thoughtful reflections from our Grade 5 students, and you can read the beautiful gratitude message, written by students Baani and Jonah, with support from Chaplain Keven Fletcher.
Keep an eye out for the June 25 SMUS Weekly, the last of the 2020-21 school year, when we will share links to all the photos from our year-end celebrations and festivities.
Gratitude Message
by Baani and Jonah
Let’s begin with the fact that we’re in school while there are places in the world where others aren’t, either because of COVID or because they didn’t have schools in the first place. We need to remember that we’re lucky to even have schools. Our facilities are safe and clean. We get to see each other's artwork on the walls. People have put in time and effort to make a good playground for us.
We’re grateful that when we arrive in the morning, we are met by teachers who greet us, give us a squirt of hand sanitizer and ask how we’re doing. Through the day they teach us fun and awesome stuff that we haven’t learned before. They don’t yell and they respect our ideas, making our learning easier. Some of them are known for making us smile and laugh. Others are good at encouraging us to do our best. Still others are really nice and kind. Some even give us rewards for hard work.
We’re thankful for all the other staff as well. Things would be a mess if the caretakers weren’t here. The front office staff put on bandages and give us ice packs and tell cheesy jokes during announcements. We should also mention our parents. We know that going here costs quite a bit of money and it’s our parents that make it happen.
We’re grateful that our friends are there for us. It’s good to have someone to talk to while riding the bus, rather than sitting alone. They make us laugh and they have our back if something goes wrong. They cheer us up when we need it. Outside of class, we get to play really loud games of four square together or simply walk around the playground, talking with each other.
We’re thankful for all the activities this year, even in the midst of the pandemic. It was really special to make clay teapots in art club and we had a lot of fun with friends out on the field for sports club. There are so many opportunities.
Finally, most of all, we’re grateful that when we walk down the hallways of our school, it feels happy and joyful.
So we pray. Amen.
