St. Mary School (SMS) students & families are marking the season of Advent this year by loving and serving others. The annual St. Agnes Project gift drive has become a SMS tradition & makes a big impact on the lives of many local families each Christmas season.
Our 8th grade class once again organized the St. Agnes Project to help families in Buffalo's East Side who are served by the Franciscan Sisters of St. Agnes’ Convent. The project began many years ago with a simple conversation between the late SMS principal, Sister Sheila Ann Burke & one of her fellow Sisters in Christ serving the East Side community. When Sister Sheila learned that there would be families who might not be able to purchase any gifts for their children for Christmas, she offered to ask the families at St. Mary School to help out.
What began as a casual conversation between two nuns has grown into a beautiful tradition of service. The project brings our St. Mary School community together & provides needed clothing & gift items for, this year over 20 local children! The service project provides Christmas gifts and gift cards to families who would have no other gifts without the generosity of our students and school families.
8th graders prepared a letter that went home with students from all grade levels a few weeks ago requesting donations of gifts or gift cards. The gifts were collected, organized & wrapped at school this week & will be delivered to the St. Agnes Convent for the families in need before Christmas by the 8th grade students.
The St. Agnes Project, like all SMS Grade 8 Service Projects, is organized, planned & executed by the 8th grade as part of their religion class. Mrs. Julie Leong guides the 8th graders on developing the projects, but once a project is chosen it is entirely student led. Students are required to identify a need, make all necessary contacts, clear dates with the school, determine participants, manage volunteers, and tap into many other skills needed for successful project management. Some projects they have developed are school-wide, while others involve just the 8th grade or another class or small group.
We can't wait to see what our 8th grade has planned for the rest of the school year, and are so proud of all of our students who exemplify our Catholic values of SERVICE & TRADITION for others. Merry Christmas!
