Living across the back alley from Bonnyville Centralized High School for the last seven years, our family has seen the worst of high school behaviour. Bad language, tons of garbage, and destruction of property top the list. But Tuesday, May 4, we saw the best of high school behaviour.
The previous day some bored youth had created a lean-to on our property using items from our yard and left a mess. Early Tuesday morning I cleaned up the mess and was greeted by Ms. Benoit, a teacher from the school. She apologized on behalf of the students who were responsible. Later that morning, I was overwhelmed to see Ms. Benoit and her Social Studies 30 class in my yard with rakes in hand. They proceeded to clean up my yard and bag and dispose of my leaves. We have a large lot with many trees, and the leaves were damp and heavy. I watched the students do this service with laughter and joyful hearts.
Ms. Benoit has taken the time to instruct her students about the importance of a social conscience as well as being a role model for acts of kindness. Because of this act we will be leaving Bonnyville with a very positive memory of BCHS. Hats off to Ms. Benoit and her Social Studies 30 class!
Brenda
Hasselbohm-Mercier
