Maleny High students send festive message across generations

Maleny High P&C reached out to a local aged care facility to see how students and the school might connect with the residents this Christmas.

SENDING CHRISTMAS CHEER: Maleny State High School students have been enthusiastic about creating Christmas cards for elderly folk at an aged-care facility. Picture: Contributed

THIS year, one of our focuses has been on ways we could help support our Maleny State High School students with their community engagement and have found the exercise extremely rewarding - not just for the students but for the P&C as well.

Our P&C reached out to a local aged care facility to see how our students and school might connect with the residents this Christmas.

We offered to provide each resident with a Christmas card from our wonderful students and the aged-care staff thought that was a lovely idea.

A P&C member's family donated 100 Christmas cards to sponsor this cause and we were off from there. The number of students who wanted to take part in this was extraordinary.

SIMPLE ACT OF KINDNESS: Students fill out the Christmas cards in the school library, which has been decked out like a Christmas village. Picture: Contributed

The Christmas cards were filled out over several days by so many different students, we were honestly overwhelmed.

It's a magical time of year which you could see in the faces of the students as they "played Santa” and filled out Christmas cards. This was made all the more festive because we were in the school library which has been transformed into "Libraryland Village”. It's impossible to step inside those doors and not feel overwhelmed with the sense of joy, merriness and cheer.

As a parent and a member of the P&C, it warms my heart to see our students helping to bridge the gap between youth and residents of aged care. We only hope that the residents enjoy receiving the cards nearly as much as our students had in providing them. I'm proud to say our students want to continue doing this, year after year.

Our principal Deborah Stewart is such a positive and dedicated leader who has been so supportive of all of the students' projects within the community. The Christmas cards are being delivered to the aged care facility today, December 14, which also coincides with the Maleny Christmas Festival.

We are very proud of our students and hope they inspire others to do nice things for others. I have always believed that each of us has the potential to make someone's day and put a huge smile on their face and that all it takes is one act of kindness.

In this case, it was a Christmas card.