Today was the first day of school and we had a chilly start to it! When the elementary students arrived in the morning, they were greeted with our “Welcome Home” banner and beautiful messages written in colourful chalk.
The first group of students outside on the playground were those in our Before School Care Program. By 8:20 AM, our regular students started to arrive and a general sense of excitement filled the air as old friends and new ones connected. At 8:30 AM, the students started to line up by grade when the teachers waved their signs. Mrs. Ma welcomed everyone back and prayed for the start of the school year.
Before the students entered the building to be divided up into their homeroom classes, Mrs. Ma asked all the students to wave to the parents who were watching the procession from their cars or the edge of the parking lot.
This year, we are happy to welcome 22 new students to our elementary division and 50 in our ELC. We are also very blessed to have new teachers join us and some returning from leave.
Welcome (or welcome back) to:
- Mrs. J. Chen (Elementary – Various Roles & Grade 2 Art)
- Mrs. Laird (Grade 5A)
- Mrs. Liu (Grade 3A)
- Mr. Pun (Grade 6A)
- Ms. Romeo (Grade 4B)
- Ms. Saha (Toddler 1)
- Ms. Tariq (ELC/ After School Care)
- Ms. J. Wong (ELC / After School Care)
After the students arrived in their classrooms and settled in, they started their day in typical Wesley fashion with morning announcements and the playing of O Canada. This was followed by the recitation of the pledges in their classrooms.
At 10:00 AM, there was a morning assembly in which Mrs. Vant Erve introduced the schoolwide focus this year – being CRISP leaders. CRISP is an acronym for the following character traits:
- Compassion
- Respect
- Integrity
- Servant Heart
- Perseverance
Throughout the assembly, Mrs. V introduced each trait with a short video that showed how a specific character trait could be demonstrated. She then led the students in singing a worship song that supported the trait.
Next, everyone read the information on the slides about how the trait could be demonstrated. This was followed by the joint reading of a corresponding Bible verse.
By the end of the presentation, students and staff were quite well versed in the expectations of being a CRISP leader!
At Wesley Christian Academy, we are so thankful to start a new school year. We pray that it will be a fruitful one with God’s blessings and guidance. Just as Mrs. V prayed to end the assembly, may we look to Christ to model CRISP behaviour and become people of good character, eager to follow and be like Christ.