Advent

This Sunday, December 3 will mark the beginning of Advent. Encompassing the four Sundays and the weekdays leading up to Christmas, Advent is the season of the liturgical calendar we observe as a time to prepare our hearts and minds for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. In the Atrium with Sr. Theresa Josephine, our Lower School students are preparing for this special time of year in a variety of ways. 

The Primary and Lower Elementary children are making Advent wreaths from wood, construction paper, and candles. The green paper pieces represent leaves, and each piece signifies a good deed that the child has performed during the day. Before each classroom begins work on their wreaths, students from Ms. Meg’s Upper Elementary class visit to give the younger children a presentation on Advent and the meaning and symbolism of the wreath. The Primary and Lower Elementary children will bring their wreaths home on Friday so they can light the Advent candles each Sunday and pray with their families.

The students in Ms. Meg’s class have been researching Advent. They have used their understanding to not only share its significance with the Primary and Lower Elementary children, but also to prepare prayers and create an Advent service pamphlet. This pamphlet will be included with the wreaths the younger students will take home this week, and Ms. Meg’s students also will take copies home to use as a guide for their families’ prayerful Christmas preparations. Additionally, the class is making fresh Advent wreaths. The project involved contacting local businesses to request materials and making order forms so that other St. Catherine’s classes can request a wreath to use throughout Advent as part of their classroom services.

Finally, Mr. Snow’s Upper Elementary students are conducting spiritual exercise meditations on the figures present at the birth of Christ. Each student selected a character and reflected on their place in the Nativity story. The class will create a booklet about their meditation writings that will be placed next to the school’s Nativity scene, which our Upper Elementary students created last year with Sr. Theresa Josephine, Coach Sam, and Mr. Tom. The Nativity will be displayed throughout the hallways and outside the Welcome Center during Advent. All are invited to visit the Nativity and share the richness of the students’ meditations.