Advent service projects bring meaning of Christmas to students
SALT LAKE CITY — The Catholic school students in the Diocese of Salt Lake City participated in various Advent service projects and touched the lives of those in need and those devastated by natural disaster.
Students collected money for people in the Philippines still recovering from Super Typhoon Haiyan and for children in the Make-a-Wish Program and Toys for Tots. They also held food drives for the Utah Food Bank and Catholic Community Services Joyce Hansen Hall Northern Utah Food Bank, gathered warm clothing and coats and purchased Christmas presents for families in need. In the end, they honored the birth of Christ by re-enacting the Nativity during school performances.
The Blessed Sacrament student council headed a food drive that collected 965 cans of food for the pantry. Also, a second-grader received help from her sixth-grade buddy and they collected more than 100 coats for CCS. In the meantime, the students also participated in Candy Cane Corner by collecting warm clothing, hats, socks and gloves for the homeless at the Road Home.
J.E. Cosgriff Memorial School students were involved in many service projects in the classroom and as a student body. Cosgriff students and families partnered with St. Patrick Parish to package and deliver 40 turkey dinners and grocery gift cards to St. Patrick parishioners in need. In December, the students gathered a truckload of warm clothing and coats for St. Patrick parishioners.
Cosgriff students also gathered $1,200 for the Huntsman Cancer Institute Research & Medical Care through student donations and a bake sale. They also made a Rope of Hope, which will be displayed in the new hospital addition.
Kearns-Saint Ann School students collected about 800 cans of food for the Utah Food Bank, and two truck-loads of food for the Ladies of Charity food pantry. They also purchased gifts for Sub-for-Santa, collected requested items for residents at St. Joseph Villa, and sold wrapping paper, said Lydia Green, advancement director.
The students concluded the Advent season with This is Christmas, a play co-written by Father Michael Sciumbato, St. Ann Parish pastor; and John VanWagoner, the school’s music teacher.
"I wrote the modern-day part and Fr. Sciumbato wrote the Biblical part," said VanWagoner. "The play is about a contemporary family, who have a skewed vision of what Christmas is about until the father reads the Christmas story to the family and they experience a conversion."
The play incorporated some contemporary Christmas songs as well as traditional holiday music, VanWagoner said. "In the beginning the family starts out being kind of worldly, asking for elaborate gifts, but by the end they realize they don’t need these things. The play ends with the family realizing Christmas is about giving rather than receiving."
The students learned a lot from performing the play, said VanWagoner. "They got to perform solos as well as get a sense of performing live. We also had some theatrical special effects, so they experienced the entire gamut of a real theater production – lights, sound and special effects. But most of all what the students learned is that Christmas isn’t what it necessarily looks like from the outside: If they rely on the scriptural meanings, they learn it’s about the birth of Christ."
Contemplating the play and his experience, VanWagoner concluded that he felt pretty good knowing that the many hours he put in paid off, he said, adding that the Kearns-Saint Ann staff put in an "amazing effort" to help sew costumes, gather props, assist with the music and other behind-the-scenes work.
The Madeleine Choir School students collected cans of food for the Utah Food Bank and raised $2,300 for Catholic Relief Services for the disaster in the Philippines. The children donated money they would have otherwise used to buy treats.
Our Lady of Lourdes students in Salt Lake City bought gifts for two families in the diocesan Special Needs Sub-for-Santa Program. Each grade purchased gifts, and "the kids really learned a lot from this," said Christina Bergquist, principal. "Every morning we talked about how many gifts God has given us, and the fact that there are some families who don’t have very much; that really makes the students think about ways they can give."
The students also chose to do something special for someone else, but kept it secret, giving the credit to Jesus, said Bergquist. "This was a way for them to give and feel the joy of helping others out without being rewarded," she said. "We also put on the Christmas program The Christmas Carol, in which a boy wants a bike, but decides to give his money to those in need instead and in the end he wins a bicycle."
The buddy groups at Saint Andrew School in Riverton bought gifts for families in the Special Needs Sub-for-Santa Program and put on the play Christmas Carol.
"The moral of the story was a way to teach the students how to better follow the teachings of Jesus," said Louise Herman, principal. "Each morning we prayed for a different spiritual gift throughout the day such as peace, hope, or forgiveness."
Students from Saint Francis Xavier School in Kearns shopped for gifts for their family members at the St. Francis Xavier Christmas Store full of donated items.
"There was enough to fulfill wish lists for every student," said Lisa Rose, advancement director. "For many students, this was the first time they were able to give a gift to their parents, brothers, sisters and grandparents. They also wrapped and personalized the gifts with a name tag."
The students in Ogden at Saint Joseph Elementary School focused on helping victims of crime by stringing a "Clothesline of Caring," and hung on it approximately 400 gloves, hats, mittens, scarves and coats that they collected to send to Your Community Connection in Ogden, a program that assists with crime victim reparations.
In addition, St. Joseph elementary and middle schools collected 1,200 pounds of turkeys and hams to donate to more than 120 families. Both schools raised $1518.20 for the CCS Joyce Hansen Hall Northern Utah Food Bank, said Carole Burbridge Layman, advancement director.
The St. Joseph middle school classes also supplied gifts for approximately 20 families from an angel tree and they visited residents in a nursing home.
Saint John the Baptist Middle School students in Draper concentrated their efforts on the survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan, said Jim Markosian, principal. They participated in the service project "Fast for the Philippines" by donating snack money each Wednesday during Advent.
"Students had the option of sitting at tables designated for fasting instead of buying treats," said Markosian. "The donations will be sent to Catholic Relief Services." The students also collected baby items and infant clothing for Saint Martha’s Baby Project and the Pregnancy Resource Center. The home room classes also put together hygiene kits for the homeless at the Road Home and were featured on Fox 13 News.
St. John the Baptist Elementary School put on a Nativity play and held a blessing of the baby Jesus on the last day of school before the Christmas break.
At Saint Marguerite School in Tooele, students processed the wait for Christmas in a different way, said Lorena Needham, principal. "Our virtue for the month of December was patience and the students were rewarded for demonstrating it," she said. "Saint Nicholas also visited them on his feast day, and when they returned to class from Mass, they found their shoes filled with gold coins, oranges and holy cards. St. Nicholas told them the real meaning of Christmas ‘was that God wants us to give of ourselves.’
"I think their waiting for Christmas has been transformed by them thinking about the journey to Bethlehem," said Needham.
The entire St. Marguerite student body was involved in the musical drama Journey to Bethlehem, which was led by the drama club. The final performance will include the birth of Jesus at the Christmas Eve Mass.
The Saint Olaf fourth-grade students collected coins totaling $316 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The pre-kindergarten students were inspired by a video they watched about Toys for Tots. In turn, they encouraged all their fellow students to bring in a new toy for those in need. The students had a variety of reasons for giving and for choosing the gifts they donated. In all, the 17 pre-K students were responsible for donating 112 toys valued at more than $700.
Saint Vincent de Paul School students made Advent wreaths in their family units and wrote notes that were connected together to form a paper chain that was strung through the hallways. The school’s Christmas program was centered on their recent 50th jubilee and the history of the school with the students talking about, for example, when the Presentation Sisters staffed the school and when Father [Mark] Benvegnu drove the school bus, said Carol Barman, advancement director.
The St. Vincent students are also involved in an ongoing Hearts for Peace anti-bullying program. During Advent they participated in a project about giving from the heart and talked about what they could do, and made coupon books redeemable by family members.
Juan Diego Catholic High School participated in CCS’ Gift of the Drummer Program by providing new clothing and toys for 67 children. Each homeroom sponsored two children, and staff and faculty members also provide donations.
A group of 12 senior Peer Ministers delivered the gifts to the CCS Emergency Services office Dec. 11.
"On that afternoon we were able to pass out the gifts directly to the families," said Amee Garcia, campus minister. "The students were excited to help and to meet some of the families because we got to see some of the faces of the children who will receive these gifts. The children didn’t know what was in the large black plastic bags, but it was a good feeling to know that they would be very happy children on Christmas morning."
Judge Memorial Catholic High School observed Advent in a variety of ways. "As we celebrate the holidays of November and December, these observances and projects are a meaningful way for all of us to show our appreciation and gratitude, and to reflect on the true meaning of the season," said Luke Stager, campus minister and director of activities.
The Judge Memorial students, faculty and staff began the season with the annual Thanksgiving Food Drive, followed by an annual blood drive. The peer ministers then coordinated students, faculty, staff and alumni to participate in CCS’ Gift of the Drummer Program to provide Christmas gifts for those in need.
The annual Winter Music Concert was held with performances by the Show Choir, Concert Choir, Jazz Band, Concert Band, Percussion Ensemble and Orchestra, as was the Winter Dance Concert. The year-end liturgy marked the season of Advent in anticipation of Christmas Day.
Saint Joseph Catholic High School’s finale to its Advent service project was a beard-growing contest among five teachers that started Nov. 8 and ended with an assembly Dec. 20. The contest losers received new haircuts – a Mohawk, a reverse Mohawk, a monk’s cut and a shaved head, while the winner got to keep all his hair.
The purpose was to raise contributions for the Saint Ann Homeless Shelter.
During the assembly, a representative from Saint Ann Homeless Shelter "put it into perspective by talking about families in Utah that are in need, where donations go and how important it is for people in the community to donate," said Patrick Lambert, SJCHS principal. "They use 280 cans of fruits and vegetables combined every day; and that is just one portion of what is given out."
The five teachers involved in the beard-growing contest approached Lambert with their plan to get involved in the school’s service project, he said. "They started clean-shaven and let their beards grow until Christmas. The kids voted on whose beard they liked best by bringing in cans of food; we brought in close to 1,000 cans."
As the end of the contest neared, the teachers – Kevin Fendrick, Corbin Johnson, Shane Reinhart, Aaron Ulle and Cameron Wood – wanted to emphasize the plight of the homeless population, so they camped overnight on the school grounds Dec. 19, sleeping in two pup tents and an igloo during the snowfall.
"We wanted to raise awareness that there are plenty of people sleeping outside this time of year," said Lambert, who joined the teachers that night. "It helped us recognize how tense it can be when you are in the situation of sleeping in a public area. We had a snow plow come through from 3 to 4 a.m. and there was absolutely no way any of us were able to sleep during that time. We realized how much it takes out of you when you are on edge. There was also some snow that fell and I thought that it may have come down on the igloo and it made me really nervous; in the middle of the night I called over to make sure my buddy was OK. Sleeping outside, you have to sleep on guard and then that carries over into the next day; we take for granted our places of safety."
The campers spent the next day at school feeling cold, with soaking wet shoes. "We all felt a little of the experience and uneasiness that comes with being homeless," said Lambert. "The students donated cans of food for every hour we slept outside."
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