Steven Levy found his spirit-mates in TfT after some 40 years of classroom teaching and school designing for EL Education. He thrills in the growing network of TfT schools and the opportunities to learn from each other as we “equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12). Steven shares this 3rd Grade Storyline from Peggy Green's class at New Covenant School.

Peggy says, "My Deep Hope is that my students would be overflowing with Loving Kindness and Compassion.  We often say to children love your neighbor, love yourself.  I wanted to help define acts of love for third graders so I chose Loving Kindness.  I wanted to help my students understand that to show love is to act with kindness.  Acting with kindness requires a thought of gentleness and seeing the needs of others. And deeper still is the idea of compassion…to recognize the suffering of others and to feel compelled to do something about it just as Christ did."

There’s lots to love about Peggy’s storyboard! She doesn’t consider herself very artistic, so she collaborated with art teacher Angela Mastandrea to express the heart of her deep hope: overflowing, with the 3 dimensional waterfall. Student paintings of New Covenant School’s core values (they call the Six Words of Servanthood) are at the foundation.

Students unpack the definition of courage, and what it would like in their work together.

Parents wrote their deep hope for their child on Back-to-School night.