Thoughts of what’s under the Christmas tree slipped the minds of high school students as they busied themselves with acts of kindness earlier this week.
Oilfields High School students and staff spent Monday morning creating crafts, baking, playing with youngsters, opening doors for strangers, handing out gifts and singing for seniors during the school’s annual Spirit of Giving event on Monday morning.
The decade-old tradition connects staff and students with their community every December in a morning of good will.
“Lots of people look at the materialistic side of it and they forget about the whole community and giving and being nice to the people around you,” said May Bunn, a Grade 12 student at Oilfields High School. “That’s what we do during the Spirit of Giving. We like to help other people be involved in the community.”
Baking cookies and making Christmas cards for seniors were some of her Spirit of Giving tasks.
“Everybody is in good spirits and we don’t usually do activities like that,” she said. “It’s being able to kind of all come together and do something as a group and not just as your own grade. It’s kids from all grades mixing and working together.”
Keifer Biddle has become more aware of his community and how random acts of kindness affect people after shoveling walks and carolling for the Spirit of Giving event.
“You get a lot of thank yous,” said the Grade 12 student. “They are very appreciative of the commitment from the students in the community. It definitely makes you more compassionate for people. It’s too bad it’s only one day a year.”
Jaelynn Varty said she looks forward to the event each year, having made crafts and baked cookies in the past.
“It’s fun because you know that they’re going to be given away, so it’s like you get to cheer someone up,” said the Grade 12 student. “It’s fun this time of year to spread cheer and Christmas spirit.
“I think that Christmas time is a time for everyone to come together and some people don’t always have those opportunities to be with family or feel all joyful.”
Varty said she enjoys putting smiles on the faces of people through the Spirit of Giving.
“It’s nice that we have a chance to help those people feel happy,” she said. “Everyone is really happy when we do the Spirit of Giving.
“Helping to serve others helps you to feel good about yourself, too.”
Paulette Morck, Oilfields High School guidance counselor, said each staff member and student is asked to take part in one of a variety of tasks throughout the morning including spending time with elementary students skating, sledding, playing games in the gym and doing crafts.
Some students stay in the school to make crafts and Christmas cards while others go out into the community to give those gifts and cards away.
Others clear snow off cars and sidewalks, sing Christmas carols, greet shoppers or wish strangers a Merry Christmas.
Some also head to the Oilfields Food Bank in Turner Valley to help sort food into Christmas hampers that go to individuals and families in need this month.
“We try to teach them that Christmas isn’t about your presents and what’s under the tree, it’s about what can you do for other people, what can you give to other people,” she said. “You don’t have to give monetary things, you can give of yourself.”
Morck said the students pick which activity they want to participate in each year.
“If they do it with their parents, sometimes they are doing it because they have to, whereas with the Spirit of Giving day we give the kids lots of choices about what they want to do,” she said.
“They sign up for something that’s meaningful to them.”
The Spirit of Giving was most memorable for Morck last year when staff and students went door to door to businesses and homes impacted by the 2013 flood to give gifts, cards and well wishes.
“We had people giving hugs,” she said. “They had a smile on their face. They said this is the first time I actually smiled in months.”
The staff and students’ acts of kindness often result in phone calls to the school, said Morck.
“The cool thing is when we hear from the community the good things that the kids are doing,” she said. “Those are the best phone calls for our principal to receive.”
The Spirit of Giving helps the community sees what great citizens youth are and dissolves stereotypes and misconceptions some people have of youth, said Morck.
“It’s good because they see our school in a really positive light and they think about our school in a really neat way,” she said.
“Those of us who work with teenagers every day, we know that they are shining stars. Some people in the community don’t necessarily see that.”
Morck said the Spirit of Giving began as a high school social studies assignment called Responsible Citizenship Day.
Staff and students liked it so much they decided the entire school should get involved.
“Every kid needs to learn about responsible citizenship,” she said. “Every kid needs to recognize that they have something to give and then we attached it to Christmas. We encourage kids that don’t celebrate Christmas to still play in the gym or go skating with the elementary kids. They can still give of themselves no matter what religion they practice.”
