January 2, 2010
This Christmas Eve, I had the pleasure of attending the Christmas Eve service at New HopeChurch, along with all the members of my family.  Although my children moaned and groaned throughout the day about having to go to the service, all three of them (ages 20, 18 and 14) were able to pull themselves away from their friends, their Wii games and their cell phones long enough to attend the hour long service.  As always, I enjoyed the music and message and the fact that we were all sitting side by side, but my favourite part was the candle lighting at the end.  We started with a single flame that Pastor Greg lit and then effortlessly and silently the whole congregation passed the flame from one person to the next.  Anxious parents cautiously assisted their young children, young couples held hands, while others watched their own flame to ensure that it didn’t go out.  Once all candles were lit, the lights dimmed and the whole church was a glow.  

From a single flame, we were able to light an entire room….

 Earlier on that very day, another important flame made its way through London.  Day 56 of the Olympic Torch relay was spent in Victoria Park, where John Davidson lit the community cauldron, in honour of his son Jesse, who was originally going to light the flame, but sadly lost his battle to Muscular Dystrophy in November. The Olympic flame represents many things to many people and not unlike the candle in the church it started with a single flame and is currently being passed from one person to the next.  As the torch makes its way across the country, it will be reminding us about the magic of the Olympics ~ young athletes who have worked tirelessly to earn the opportunity to compete with the best of the best.  

From a single flame, we are able to unite an entire country….

 As educators, we get the opportunity every day to light a candle and pass a torch.  We start with a single flame, a goal for improved student learning and we work together to ensure that all students become part of the torch relay.  We are all in this together ~ working towards creating a caring, positive, productive learning environment.  Our staff works tirelessly to ensure that our students are given every opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of skills. They offer praise, encouragement and constructive feedback which promote a desire to do better. Our staff models life-long learning and pride in our school community. 

From a single flame ….we are able to ignite a passion for learning in our students