WORDS OF GRATITUDE
Three schools produce personal notes as part of Right to Exist Day celebrations
As part of a letter-writing exercise, Shadia Margan and her classmates at St. Michael’s Adult Secondary School pen holiday letters to Canadian Armed Forces members.
Students at three schools in the Windsor-essex Catholic District School Board took some time Tuesday to write holiday notes of thanks to members of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Participants from Assumption, Catholic Central and St. Michael’s Adult Secondary School were aiming to pen 700 letters on a day designated as International Human Rights Day by the United Nations.
By lunchtime, St. Michael’s vice-principal Cynthia Facchinato said the three campuses had produced 766 letters.
The holiday effort was tied to each school’s own celebrations around Right to Exist Day where students recognized the rights they enjoy under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“I want to say thank you for protecting people here in Canada,” said Shadia Margan, who is taking English as a Second Language (ESL) at St. Mike’s. “We feel the safety and peace.”
A mother of five, Margan also wanted to thank the servicemen and -women for their efforts to distribute toys to children in need at the holidays.
“We really appreciate that,” she said.
Cen Shen came to Canada from China three years ago and is also an ESL student at St. Mike’s.
She planned to write a little about how and why she came to Canada and “I would like to say Merry Christmas and thank you for your service.”
Each student was writing on special letterhead designed for the occasion by local artist Terra Koop.
Koop’s artwork featured Christmas ornaments bearing images of the Canadian flag, a poppy, a pair of boots along with the words “Forever grateful,” “Freedom,” and “We appreciate you.” Koop’s talents were enlisted by Anthony Bonanno, one of the St. Michael’s teachers who organized Tuesday’s letter campaign.
“We were looking for a writing activity to do with our ESL classes,” Bonanno explained.
While this marked a first for the St. Mike’s school community, Bonanno said a teacher at Catholic Central started the writing project some 17 years ago.
Bonanno said his Catholic Central colleague was touched by a student’s gratitude at receiving a birthday card.
“So she started the Right to Exist day,” he said.
Facchinato said staff invited family and friends of students to write a letter, as well as former students.
“It’s open to everybody,” she said.