Did you know...St. Thomas Aquinas is officially a Development in Peace School?
We are excited to announce that St. Thomas Aquinas has been officially registered as a Development and Peace School. The D&P Schools Program was created by Development and Peace - Caritas Canada to help Catholic schools engage in Social and Global Justice issues through the lens of their faith.
Each month, the students and staff will explore various ways they can live their faith and continue to "Grow in the PEACE of Christ" through acts of Prayer, Solidarity, and Service!
By completing specific challenges, our school can also earn special badges. These display these "badges of honour" will then be displayed in our school as a celebration of our commitment to helping others!
Each month a new school-wide challenge will be issued...we have already earned our “Prayer Power" and "CTS Promoter" Badges! This month's challenge: Major Mustard
Badge: Major Mustard
Challenge: Plant a mustard seed (literally)! Then, start collecting loonie and toonie figurative
“mustard seeds” that you will “harvest” to support Development and Peace partners in the Global
South.
Badge Instructions: Collect Loonies and Toonies: Once your seed is planted, find a creative way to tell your school about the parable of the mustard seed – where Jesus showed us how the Kingdom of God is like the smallest of seeds that becomes the largest of shrubs. For example, you could use the Mustard Seed Planting
prayer. Challenge your school to help your plant “grow” toonie and loonie “Mustard Seeds” to support
our work in the Global South! Be as creative as you like in how you choose to grow them!
In combination with our Development & Peace Major Mustard Project, we are asking all St. Thomas Aquinas students and staff to help others “Grow in the Peace of Christ”. Throughout Lent, for each loonie or toonie donated, students will be given a “paper seed” to write their name on and show their commitment to helping others. These seeds will then be added to our tree in the atrium. The loonies and toonies we collect, like mustard seeds, will help Development and Peace grow justice in the global south and help forward our District partnership with Edmonton Catholic Social Services in support of The “Ever” Green Light Project.
Additional fundraising initiatives have also been completed and are underway including earmarking the proceeds from our school store to Catholic Social Services.
In addition to our “Ever” Green Light Project, we will be collecting donations for the YEG Free Store for newcomers. The Free Store for Ukrainian Newcomers is located in downtown Edmonton and is the first of its kind in the city. The store provides clothing and essentials at no charge to Ukrainian newcomers to Canada displaced by the war in Ukraine. More information can be found on their website at YEG Free Store