A Story of Gratitude and Healing

December 17, 2012

A new spin has been given to the tradition of decorating a “giving tree” at Lincoln Middle School, thanks to a beautifully written children’s tale called The Wishing Tree by Roseanne Thong.  In this story a young boy and his grandmother have a tradition of writing their wishes on paper, tying them to oranges and throwing their wishes up into this special tree. I don’t want to give away the story for those of you who would like to read it, but it is a tale with a touching message about gratitude and healing.

After reading this inspiring story, Lincoln students and all of the faculty and staff made their own wishes and wrote them on glass ornaments to adorn the wishing tree that decorates the WOW space of Lincoln during the holiday season.  Ms. Stavrou and Mr. Amsler invited the district office to help decorate the tree with our own wishes.  I was filled with happiness and pride to see that so many of our students had written thoughtful and selfless wishes that came straight from their hearts.  It was a wonderful experience for me, and I hope you find the story of the wishing tree as heartwarming as I did!