A group of students from a St. James school are spreading cheer through ornaments. 

It's an initiative that started at Bruce Middle School during the pandemic. Since then, it has grown into something much larger. 

"We have a little tradition around here," says Erin Acorn, a teacher at Bruce Middle School. "It started in 2020. Our grade 7 students paint and decorate ornaments to put up in the community."

A lot of thought goes into each ornament, with students planning their designs before painting them on round wood pieces. 

ornament

Some of the ornaments had one word, such as believe or hope. Others had quotes like, 'You're a star!' and 'Keep Smiling."

"The images and messages are inspired by our exploration of mental health and the seven natural ways of healing," said Acorn in a post on Facebook.

On Thursday afternoon, the students went on a walk and hung their ornaments in the green space in front of Grace Hospital along Sturgeon Creek. 

"Our ornaments are up and ready for you! Please come and enjoy the work of the grade seven students at Bruce Middle School," said Acorn. "It brought us a lot of joy to be able to share this with our community."

Area residents took to Facebook to share their thoughts. "We saw these on our walk this afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed looking at them!!" Great work!!" said one resident. "Thank you for sharing! May these ornaments make someone’s day!" said another. 

The ornaments are up for grabs, and Erin encourages anyone who takes one to share a photo of it on social media. 

Erin says this initiative is something she will continue for years to come.