A Christmas tree will be filled with wishes for a while longer at a Foothills County school.
“It was almost like New Year’s resolutions,” said Nancy Bowlby, learning commons co-ordinator at the K to Grade 9 Heritage Heights School in Davisburg. “I thought let’s talk about our wishes for the year, because it’s been such an unprecedented year.
“I thought it would be nice for the students to look at some of the things they are hoping for this year. What are your wishes? What are your hopes for the new year and what do you want to see change?
“It was great to see how the kids responded — where their hearts were with everything.”
The school left the Christmas tree from the holiday season standing, took off all the decorations and its boughs were soon covered with wishes as if Jiminy Cricket was gazing at a clear Alberta night sky.
“They were very excited,” Bowlby said, who estimates there are close to 300 wishes on the tree. “Of course, the first ones were: ‘We want COVID to go away,’ then we asked them for more specifics.”
The majority of the wishes are from K to Grade 6 students.
The responses went beyond wishing for a trip to Disneyland. Some of them practically had Bowlby wishing she had a box of Kleenex.
“For sure it was emotional. You see how the kids are struggling, how they are hoping things will change so they can see their friends, their grandparents or their cousins,” Bowlby said.
“Important things to them like going back to play hockey.”
Some of the children talked of how it impacted family and of people that they knew who had lost jobs, Bowlby said.
The Wishing Tree fulfilled one important wish for any educator — helping students cope with tough times. Bowlby said she feels the Wishing Tree is therapeutic.
“Absolutely,” she said. “It gave the students the chance to reflect on what is important to them and what they want to see happen to them – and hoping for those changes.
“I felt it was a great lesson for the students to look at themselves ‘what do I really miss, what did I take for granted?'”
Heritage Heights administration didn’t take the Wishing Tree for granted.
Principal Glenn Gibson mentioned the tree when presenting Heritage Heights’ education plan at the Foothills School Division board meeting on Feb. 10.
The students weren’t the only ones who made a wish on the tree.
“My wish was to be able to be with mom like I had before,” Bowlby said.
There are no plans to bring the tree down soon.
“We are going to leave it up so the kids can read it and see the other wishes,” Bowlby said. “We want to leave it up a little longer to provide inspiration and see how people are feeling.”
Following are some of the messages on the Wishing tree (original spelling used).
- “I kant wet itil the Koved gus away.”
- “I wish that people can get there jobs back.”
- “I wish to pla with my friend.”
- “I wish for people to be kind to the and for the vires to go away because we feel more free whith out it.”
- “covid to be over because I want to travel and no more people to die. For the Calgary Flame’s to win the Stanley cup.”
- “I want to play hockey with friends.”
- “I wish for everee one to be happy.”
- “I wish for coide to be over so I can see my grandparent’s. I wish to be able to go in my friends hose and backyard. My third wish is to be able to have a play date and sleep over at my friend.”
- “I wish I could go back to school.”
