My Dear Friends,

If you’ve ever attended a Friday morning school liturgy at St. Joan of Arc, you have seen one of our favorite liturgical traditions! The students and faculty all gather around the altar for the Eucharistic Prayer and Fr. Mike asks, “Why do we gather around the table?” The children all respond loudly, “to give thanks!” Fr. Mike then gives the students the opportunity to share what is on their hearts, what they would like to pray for and what they are thankful for. Hands shoot up all around the altar of eager students to share. Students in our school range in age from 3 to 14, so these prayers run the gamut and they would absolutely warm your heart to hear when is in the hearts of our children, from the youngest to the oldest. This week, we wanted to continue this tradition so we asked our students via email to share what they are thankful for. Lord, we are thankful for the gratitude in the hearts of our children!

I AM THANKFUL FOR...

• My home and my family – Lyla
• My family and good friends - Dylan
• LOVE – Noah M.
• Everything! – Miles
• Life – Mason
• My parents and family – Lily
• Family – Kane
• Good health – Sullivan
• Family, friends, and books – Alaina
• Doctors – Finley
• Our amazing teachers at SJOA. They are doing a marvelous job putting together new ways of learning. They are patient and understanding. —Graham
• That I get to eat dinner at the table every night with my family and for all the time we spend playing games—Lizzie
• A healthy family – Boston
• Health – Olive
• The world and my family – Ellie B.
• The cornerstone that is Jesus – Jenna
• That I have loving friends and family – Charlie
• Earth, Jesus, and God – Louella
• Mommy and Daddy - Genevieve
• Daddy and Mama and sleeping in my bed last night – Lottie
• The life I have – Sarah
• My Nanna because she knows how to French braid – Hailey
• Trees that help us breathe fresh air! – Rowen
• That I don’t have to wear a school uniform –Anne
• That our family is safe together in our home –Liam
• Food, my pets, and family – Sammie
• Our family, Jesus, that our family is healthy, and our house – Carlie and Ellie M.
• That my friends and school family are safe and for civilization – Morgan
• The house I have to stay safe in, the laptop to be able to do homework and play games with my classmates, and my family that I love-Owen K

And children, I am thankful for YOU!

Blessings,

Holly