The pandemic has prompted our NCS community to do things differently … and amazing blessings have resulted.
As Thanksgiving draws near, God is turning our hearts toward gratitude. We’re thinking less about our COVID fatigue and more about the silver linings and blessings of COVID.
We’re thinking about all the ways the pandemic has prompted our NCS community to do things differently … and the amazing encouragement, generosity, creativity and kindness that have resulted. Here are some of our favourites:
A new podcast -- Mr. Hossini and Mrs. Gillespie helped us stay connected and kept us laughing with personal stories of illegal activity, pranks, gross smells and more on their “In The Middle Of” podcast.
Long-distance Grandparents’ Week -- Thanks to Zoom, grandparents and grandfriends from as far away as England participated for the first time ever and felt the love.
Cool new technology -- A $25,000 technology investment now allows high school students learning remotely to join classes live-streamed from NCS with their classmates in real time.
$10,000+ donated -- Donors gave more than $10,000 toward tuition relief to help support our families struggling financially. The school designated another $500,000 from the budget. More than 110 families are receiving tuition assistance in 2020-21.
Lots of dancing and singing -- Several students and their families inspired us with their creativity during Mr. Sijpheer’s weekly challenges last spring. We also saw Mr. Sijpheer singing “Little Mermaid” tune and keeping up with a “Blinding Lights” dance routine.
Contagious kindness -- NCS families generously spread the love with encouraging cards and phone calls or deliveries of flowers, cookies, meals, Timbits, and food bank donations. You blessed other families with $600 in grocery gift cards, organized online meet-ups, mowed yards of single parents and more.
Worshipping & praying together virtually -- During months of self-isolation the NCS community came together for online chapel and praised God for His goodness. Parents encouraged and prayed for a different group of essential service workers each week.
Fantastic drive-by parades -- School families decorated their cars, honked and waved in a parking lot drive-by parade to show appreciation to staff and again to celebrate our 2020 grads. Grads also woke up to a Class of 2020 yard sign with their individual photo on it.
Reimagined activities & events -- A Grade 6/7 class came up with the idea of using toilet paper for a virtual game of catch. Preschoolers cheered for more virtual Storytime with Mr Eli. Kindergarteners learned about measurement on their teacher’s farm. And parents met NCS teachers at a car rally, which replaced the usual fun fair.
Welcoming new families in a new way -- More than 30 new NCS families were matched with volunteer ambassador families who connected via phone or in person during the summer to answer questions and make new friends before the school year began.
What's one small, surprising blessing you have experienced in spite of (or because of!) the pandemic?
Share your story of a COVID-19 blessing. It could be one sentence or one paragraph. We’d love to pass it along and encourage our NCS community. Contact us at 250-754-4512 ext. 120, email development@ncsnanaimo.com or comment below.