Choose Kindness

Epiphany 7th graders spent weeks reading, discussing, and analyzing The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede. The nonfiction text describes countless acts of kindness Newfoundlanders bestowed upon stranded passengers of the 38 jetliners bound for the United States, that were forced to land at Gander International Airport in Canada by the closing of U.S. airspace on September 11, 2001, and remained grounded for 4 days.

The population of this small town on Newfoundland Island swelled from 10,300 to nearly 17,000. The citizens of Gander met the stranded passengers with an overwhelming display of friendship and goodwill.

On March 4, 2020 both 7th and 8th grade students and their teachers attended the matinee of Come From Away, the book’s Broadway adaptation and Tony Award winning musical. A perfect way to reflect on the School’s “40 Days of Lent, 40 Acts of Kindness” program.