Written by Jane Scupham 
It’s been so interesting to be on the receiving end of all the e-mails that have been sent to me answering the question I posed earlier this month, “What are your grateful for?” The ideas have ranged from funny to emotional, from every day to extraordinary, but there has been an overriding theme. When I asked parents, students, and teachers for ideas for the school’s Gratitude Journal, the first thing that most said was family.
Family--that entity that makes the world go round and from which we all have blossomed. Family--that can comfort and confound you all in the same day. I found it heartwarming to hear kindergartners to grandparents talk about their families with such love in their voices and smiles on their faces.
It’s little wonder that here at Saint Paul Catholic School we’ve chosen the “family” theme to be used as a way to build fellowship and belonging in our school with our Family Friday groups. My Family Friday kids are very special to me and I happily clear my desk and we all crowd into my office once a month to be members of a very special family, “Troop.” The activities that are done in our Family Friday groups are meant to mirror things that families do together—playing, praying, celebrating, and doing service for others. We seek to bring that wonderful feeling into our school that made so many people answer “family” to our school’s Gratitude Journal.
As you gather around your family’s Thanksgiving table next Thursday, please offer a prayer of thanks for all Saint Paul Catholic School’s families as I will be doing as I gather with my family.
Happy Thanksgiving!