Our fifth graders are harnessing their writing skills to help others maintain an eternal perspective. Recently, they created literary works aimed at bringing hope to those in need.

Mrs. Luyk, one of our fifth-grade teachers, reached out to an infusion clinic nurse, who serves patients battling cancer, to visit class and share about her work. She spoke about effective treatments, steps of treatment, and options that cancer patients already have for support. She also relayed one of the greatest needs during a cancer journey: hope. As Christians, we know that patients walking through treatment (and all of us walking through life) have a deep need for eternal hope.

After hearing from the visitor about her career, students set to work crafting stories centered around themes of hope. During the writing process, they focused on using meaningful details, including a dialogue to support their theme, writing engaging expositions, and creating strong visuals, all essential skills in fifth-grade writing. Students also worked collaboratively through the revision process to ensure their final product met learning goals. Their ultimate goal was to use words to share God's perspective. That is something we all need more of!

The work was not easy as learners engaged in the writing process and tackled the difficult topic of cancer. Unfortunately, it is a disease that has touched many of their lives in one way or another. Their completed works were added to the resources in a care cart to be shared with patients undergoing treatment at Lemmen Holton Cancer Pavilion. Ultimately, we know hope can be found by sharing God’s perspective and we want our students to be ambassadors of hope. We do not know the impact of the stories today, but we trust God will use them to bless those who walk a road harder than most!