“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” according to Staples, and many families are squeezing in as many memory-making moments as possible before the summer break comes to a screeching halt and we return to our regular scheduling.
I’m already looking ahead to the upcoming school year, scheduling around one child entering first-year post-secondary, and one child switching from private to public schooling mid-way through high school. Each year, on the first day of school, the kids come home with a truckload of papers to be read, signed, returned, saved, recorded, etc. One of those very important pieces of paper is the Waterloo Region District School Board School Year Information which lists the holidays, PD days, etc.
In planning the church calendar for the year, this WRDSB list of dates is very important to us as planners and keepers of the Westheights Church schedule. Since I already had it in my hands, I thought I might as well share it with those of you who may want to start looking ahead at the upcoming school year. Click on the button below to see the WRDSB school year dates.
And for those of you who want another laugh at that famous Staples back-to-school commercial, turn up the volume, and click on the image below!
And one word to all those who work in the teaching field in any capacity – teachers; support workers; ECE; public; administration; custodians; Catholic or private system; in the church; arts or athletic instructors; etc. – thank you for your patience, vision, and commitment to your calling. I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am without the influence and impact of people like you.
A Call to Pray for our Teachers
Let us keep our teachers in prayer as they are now in the thick of back-to-school planning.
Pray for the teachers as they look at their summer to do list; they might not have had a vacation or success in taking care of needs. Pray for the teachers as they need to be refreshed and healthy; their summer may have included loss, grief, disappointment, or trial. Pray for the teachers as they have concerns about how their relationships will change with the school year starting: daycare, marriage, family, needy children. Pray for the teachers as they get their classrooms ready; they may have to move rooms, may not have supplies yet, or might have issues to address. Pray for the teachers as they attend staff development and meetings; they may have requirements to meet or assignments to finish.
Pray for the teacher as they re-connect with fellow staff and faculty; some working relationships might be challenging. Pray for the teachers as they sort through curriculum; a change in grade level, publisher, or requirements can be difficult. Pray for the teachers as they begin to do their planning; teachers have so much to pack in, and the unexpected will enter in. Pray for the teachers as they receive information about their students; they needs openness, insight, wisdom, and compassion. Pray for the teachers as they meet a whole new group of parents; parent relationships are crucial to the success of students & teachers.
Every teacher is a real person who goes to the grocery store, does laundry, has dinner with friends, cries, hurts, and worries. They need the Kleenex and the hand sanitizer, but most of all, they need your prayers.
(Call to Prayer adapted from http://www.teacherswhopray.org/)