WMES Grade 2 students pen Christmas letters for Armed Forces members
WAVERLEY: Grade 2 students at Waverley Memorial School want to ensure Canadian Armed Forces personnel who are away from family during the holidays feel the Christmas spirit.
The 22 students in Dana Johnson’s class took it upon themselves in late November to write letters that they would send to members serving around the world. The gesture came after the Armed Forces issued a friendly request on their CAF in the United States twitter account.
”Many of us will spend the holidays with our families. Many of us will not,” the message said before sharing the Canadian Armed Forces mailing address.
“It would mean a lot if you did.”
And so Johnson thought it would be a good thing for her class to participate in. Each student did a draft version and then a final copy of their letters on Nov. 26, before they were to be sent off on Nov. 27.
“Rather than write letters to Santa, we felt it was really important this year to write letters to Armed Forces members,” said Johnson. “We spent a lot of time speaking about our veterans who are home and overseas, both men and women.
“It’s really exciting to see how all the kids write how they feel to the veterans.”
Three of the students, Mila Langford; Violet Manley; and Claire Connolly all volunteered to speak about why they wrote the letter to the CAF members.
Claire, 7, said they wrote to give Christmas cheer to those in the wars who can’t be with their families. She told her hero all about her family, how she has a sister, and that she does highland dancing, among other things.
“We’re writing letters so they have some thing that will bring them joy,” said Claire.
Mila wanted to make a veteran feel they were loved and missed at this time of the year.
“I thought it would be nice for the people who don’t get to see their family for Christmas and it would bring a bit of Christmas spirit to their soul,” said Mila.
She told the hero she wrote to all about herself, that she likes the colour orange, yellow, red, and blue, and has a brother in Grade Primary and that she is good at dance.
“I hope you have a very good Christmas,” she ended her letter with. “Thank you for your courage.”
Mila thinks the Forces member will enjoy her letter.
“I think they will feel happy getting it,” she said.
Violet wanted them to feel like it was Christmas with her letter.
“I wanted to make them feel good,” she said. “I wanted to make them feel close to their family.
Violet told them how she plays basketball and ringette, thanking them for saving the world and peacekeeping.
“I love that you care so much for our world,” she read from her letter.
