St. Martha’s spreads love to the city through art

By Lethbridge Herald on February 15, 2023.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Children of St. Martha's Elementary school Kindergarten teacher, Laurie McIntosh and Kindergarten student Pelia Hene, hang heart art for members of the community to take, during their fifth annual Take What You Need event, at the school's bus loop.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman

Lethbridge Herald

The Children of St. Martha’s school students and staff wanted to spread some love to the community of Lethbridge by displaying some art with kind messages, to be taken by people passing by. 

Students of all ages, with the help of staff displayed heart art on the fence in front of the school with the hope of brightening someone’s day and to let everyone know how loved they are. 

Kindergarten teacher Laurie McIntosh said they have huge love for the community and they wanted to show their appreciation. 

“We love coming out here on Valentine’s Day to show our appreciation and our gratitude for the community we live in, so we encourage people to come by and choose some heart art that the students have created, for themselves, for a loved one, to make sure they remember how much they matter to all of us,” said McIntosh. 

She said it is important to teach young children about kindness because they believe everyone is born with some beautiful skills within their hearts.

“But kindness is a skill we can practice and the more practice we get, the better we get at it. We really believe that our kids being able to show kindness to others and not just accept it, allows them to become leaders in our community and allows them to really show their gratitude for people,” said McIntosh. 

She said they have done the “Take What You Need” event for five years and it keeps growing every year as students refuse to only make one art piece at a time. 

“They want to fill the fence. I think they have visions of it going all the way down the bus loop one day. We’ve got over 200 pieces here today,” said McIntosh. 

She said she hopes this helps everyone feel seen and loved. 

Kindergarten student Hazel White said she hung her art on the fence for people to take a little bit of joy for Valentine’s Day. 

“I made hearts on tin foil where I covered the whole thing with Sharpies, and a teacher hot glued it hard and align until there’s two pictures,” said White. 

She said she hoped people keep the art they took from the fence forever so it can bring them joy. 

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