Exploring Advent – A Creative Reflection for Year 5
Our Year 5 students recently took part in a thoughtful and hands-on activity exploring Advent, the season in the Catholic Church that marks the beginning of the Christian year. Advent spans the four weeks leading up to Christmas, beginning on 30 November, and invites Christians to prepare their hearts for the birth of Jesus.
As part of these preparations, a series of candles on the Advent Wreath are lit each week. Each one is a symbol and reminder of the spiritual themes of the season.
Understanding the Advent Candles
- Hope (Purple): The first candle focuses on hope and represents the Patriarchs, such as Abraham and David.
- Love (Purple): The second candle symbolises love, reminding us of John the Baptist who prepared the way for Jesus.
- Joy (Pink): The third candle calls us to joy, as Christians remember Mary and the happiness she felt when the angel Gabriel told her she would have a special baby.
- Peace (Purple): The final candle represents peace and honours the Prophets who foretold the coming of the Messiah.
These themes provided the inspiration for a creative and personal project in Religious Education this week.
The Year 5 Advent Poster Project
Students were tasked with designing their own Advent poster, featuring four doors, each door representing one of the candles from the Advent Wreath. Behind each door, they added their own reflections, memories, and expressions related to the candle’s theme.
They could choose any format they liked:
- Poems
- Images and labels
- Dot points
- Short reflections or personal stories
This choice allowed every student to engage in a way that suited their learning style and creativity.
What Was Behind the Doors?
Hope: Students reflected on what hope means to them and the people they love.
Love: Behind the Love door, the girls explored the meaning of love in their own lives, who they care for, how they show love to others, and the ways love is shown to them.
Joy: For Joy, students recalled times that made them feel truly happy, celebrations, achievements, time with family, or simple moments that brought a smile.
Peace: Behind the Peace door, students reflected on peaceful moments in their lives, whether it was time in nature, a quiet morning, or moments free from conflict.
A Meaningful Start to the Season
This activity offered our Year 5 students a beautiful way to connect personally with the themes of Advent. By combining creativity with reflection, they not only deepened their understanding of the season but also explored what hope, love, joy and peace look like in their own lives.
A wonderful way to begin preparing for Christmas, and a lovely reminder for all of us about the true spirit of the season.
- Advent reflection activity, Advent Wreath candles, Catholic education, Creative Learning, Featured, Hope love joy peace, Preparing for Christmas, Religious Education project, Year 5 creativity
Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
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