In January, we were honored to have Bishop Malloy come to St. Patrick’s School.

His words at the assembly made us realize how fortunate we are.

He told us stories about how he traveled to different countries and saw the lifestyles that the people were living there. 

In some countries, girls were not given the opportunity to go to school. The boys that were educated had to gather under a tree and read off a small chalkboard to learn their lessons for the day. 

Also, their homes were small and didn’t provide much protection. Bishop Malloy explained to us that we live a great life. We are blessed to live in a community with a new school, a great principal, caring teachers, janitors, bus drivers, and friends who all help make our lives special everyday. 

Most importantly, he said we should be thankful for our parents. Because of their love for us, we have all these special gifts.

His message to us was simple. We should be grateful for all the gifts we have and tell the people around us “Thank You.”

Everyday we should say thank you to our mom’s and dad’s for feeding us breakfast, taking us to school, driving us where we need to be, etc. ... .

Also, he reminded us to always say “I Love You” to our parents. 

It makes our parents feel good inside knowing they are making us happy. 

So, I guess there is just one more thing to say, “Thank You Bishop Malloy for coming to our school.”

• Cole DePaul is a seventh-grade student at St. Patrick’s School in St. Charles.