From the Head of Primary's Desk

Dear Parents/Guardians

What are you grateful for today?

Some of the families and staff at Heatherton recently joined millions around the world to celebrate Thanksgiving; our Office staff even had their own Thanksgiving lunch and Kylie, our American student teacher, treated the staff to traditional apple and pumpkin pies! Thanksgiving Day is an annual national holiday in the United States, Canada, some of the Caribbean islands and Liberia. It began as a day of giving thanks and sacrifice for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Similarly named festivals also occur in Germany and Japan.

Although some of these celebrations might not have their roots in Christianity, being grateful is most certainly a biblical concept. Gratitude is a word used to express thankfulness and praise. A general attitude of thanksgiving in both the trials and blessings of life, distinguishes the Christian. In Ephesians 5:20, Paul encourages us to give thanks for all things, in all circumstances and to do everything in the name of Jesus out of a spirit of gratitude (Colossians 3:17).

And so, with the year drawing to a close, I have been contemplating just how much I have to be thankful for. With this in mind, I decided to ask some of our staff and students what they were grateful for. The following was some of their responses:

Students

• “my parents and family – for always being there and being supportive”
• “the play equipment on the playground”
• “that we have the best teacher in the world”
• “for a great school”
• “for a roof over our head and a plate of food on the table"
• “my sister’s health; that she doesn’t have to go to the hospital all the time”
• “a school to go to”
• “caring teachers”
• “fresh water to drink”
• “ the school – for putting in the effort to support those who need it”
• “that we are free to go to church and aren’t persecuted for our faith”

Staff

• “to be able to work at HCC, where I can share my faith and also see my own kids growing in their faith”
• “the lovely students in my class”
• “to be in a school where we can worship the Lord together”
• “the school is a home; where staff and students can pray together and for each other”
• “that I got to teach Grade 1!”
• “our students and the way that they approach their learning”
• “the unique creativity of each student”

Sometimes we take what we have for granted, but when we start to count our blessings, we are humbled to see how much God has indeed blessed us! Richelle Goodrich once said, “Gratitude doesn’t change the scenery. It merely washes clean the glass you look through so you can clearly see the colours.”

I would also like to wish you and your family a merry Christmas and very blessed 2020.

David Holloway

Head of Primary