How Will Pacifica's Schools Give Back During the Holidays?

Because I've been a teacher for so long and because my significant other is also a teacher, I'm used to living my life around a school calendar, preparing for conferences, gearing up for the holidays, pushing kids to hold on until Spring break, and finally graduation. 

And though I am enjoying my new career as a writer/columnist, I do miss being in the classroom, especially during this time of year.

Most schools inherently give back to their immediate communities, and in these types of services, I felt totally at home. The holidays bring with them book fairs and food drives, secret Santas and community service opportunities, and I participated in all of them. I loved seeing students giving back to their communities, the Kindergartners who lug small backpacks filled with Mom's pantry overflow of cans to gangly eighth grade boys who bring in their old stuffed animals, looking at them with a hint of melancholy before wrapping them for a younger someone.

Best of all: watching the students see the fruits of their hard work wrapping gifts, compiling clothing, gathering food items, and actually placing them in the hands of someone else; that glint of understanding that they are actually touching the lives of others is indescribable.

During those last days before holiday break in December, a sense of anticipation hangs in the air, smiles are wider, and in general, there is a greater awareness, a time of actually "living in the moment." Everyone wants the break to come sooner and for presents to arrive (obviously), but there is that stillness in wanting the season to stay that I wouldn't see at any other time during the year.

So, for the next few weeks, I will focus on what Pacifica's school are doing to give back to the community—their neighborhoods, places in need across the United States, and finally, those suffering around the world. 

Sometimes, the best presents are the ones we give to others.