RUMSON —
This Christmas season, the students of Holy Cross Preschool are learning a little about the Christmas wishes of children a world away.
Their teachers, Jill Fulton, Jeanne-Marie Donahue, Mary Sue O’Brien and Jennifer Tracy, have been reading books and sharing information about life in Africa with the 3- to 5-year-old children.
The preschool teachers were inspired to educate their students about life in Africa by the example of their colleague, Holy Cross School eighth-grade teacher Maryjane Gallo of Little Silver. Sponsored by the Catholic Medical Mission, Gallo took a leap of faith this year and traveled to Mwanza, Tanzania to teach in a Jesuit-run boarding school. She has been blogging daily about her journey and experiences, and students throughout the school follow her reports.
Each year the Holy Cross Preschool has a “Giving Tree,” in which the children bring in items, usually hats and mittens, for the less fortunate and decorate the tree with the items before the teachers distribute them as needed. When preschool director Fulton asked Gallo what her students most needed, she said shoes, so the preschool teachers dedicated their 2011 Giving Trees to this cause.
Each child’s family received an envelope with an ornament inside. The family donated the cost of one pair of shoes, and the child decorated the ornament and placed it on the tree as a sign of their family’s giving. The money collected will be provided to Gallo, who will then purchase the necessary shoes for her students in Mwanza.
In this way, the educators of these young, impressionable children hope to encourage them to see and understand the world outside and to respect the Christmas season as a time of loving and giving.
