Students from sixth grade wrapping presents for their adopted family from My Brother's Keeper. Front, from left to right: Ryan Nasrah and Anthony Pazini. Back, from left to right: K'von Daly and Nathan Parillon. Photo courtesy/Christine Bowers
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To live in the footsteps of Christ truly, one must first embrace the key pillars by which he lived his life. Service in our communities is perhaps one of the most important pillars that there is, and St. John the Evangelist School in Canton stresses that both inside and outside of school. St. John's mission statement is, "Follow Jesus, Strive for Excellence." While excellence and kindness in the classroom are stressed, following Jesus in our community also stands as a strong foundation for the school. By modeling Jesus' example for our students, they are better equipped to bring his teachings to environments outside of our school, both now and in the future.
Each grade at St. John the Evangelist School is tasked with creating unique community service projects to which students can dedicate their time during the school year. On top of those projects, other departments in the school also create service opportunities. During the month of October, the student council raises money for a breast cancer foundation by selling bracelets in support of breast cancer victims. This past October, the student council was able to raise $470 for the Ellie Fund, a local breast cancer foundation that supports patients by covering the everyday stresses for patients, allowing them to focus on healing and recovery.
In December of 2024, the Fine Arts department led each class in the school, from preschool through eighth grade, in creating nativity scenes that were later raffled off to raise money for the St. Mary's Women and Children's Center in Dorchester. By working as a class to create something for a cause larger than themselves, students were able to use their artistic skills to serve the community. Furthermore, through this creative class collaboration, students were able to grasp the importance of creativity in an environment of service. St. John School was able to raise $1000 for St. Mary's Women and Children's Center.
Sixth-grade students have created a tradition over the last three years after student Taelyn Harney suggested to homeroom teacher, Mrs. Christine Bowers, that the class wrap presents for My Brother's Keeper's Adopt a Family Program, a tradition that she and her family has every Christmas. Ever since, the sixth-grade class has continued this tradition. Each year, the class chooses a family, and each student is assigned a family member to buy gifts for, usually amounting to about six gifts per member. The students then wrap the gifts, allowing families to have gifts to open at Christmas.
Seventh- and eighth-grade students at SJS have had a tradition of visiting the local assisted living facility Cornerstone. The students are split into three groups, each visiting once a month. They visit the memory care program, Compass, and traditional living center. Students spend time with the people living there, often playing games, making crafts, serving food, and sharing stories. Through these visits, students bond with residents and create relationships that they will carry with them past their time at St. John School.
St. John School students work every day to continue to live out service to their fellow classmates and continue to follow in the footsteps of Jesus in serving their school and greater community.
BETH KEOUGH IS THE MARKETING SPECIALIST, PERFORMING ARTS TEACHER, AND FINE ARTS TEACHER (BETH.KEOUGH@SJSCANTON.ORG) AT ST. JOHN SCHOOL IN CANTON, MA, A SCHOOL SERVING 260 PRESCHOOL THROUGH EIGHTH-GRADE STUDENTS.