Sachiko sensei’s present / 幸子先生からの贈り物

Every year teachers at our school wear a small Christmas badge. There are two types. One is a knitted wreath with some Christmas charms on it and a ribbon, the other is an acorn with some colored ribbon. We wear them on our lanyard or put them on our Bible bags. These are hand-made by Sachiko sensei. This year I chose one that has yellow and blue ribbon because it reminded me of Ukraine and the hardships that the people there will be going through while we are safe indoors celebrating the end of year with our families.

I was surprised a few weeks ago when I looked at my instagram stories. An acquaintance who lives in Tsukuba shared a picture of one of Sachiko sensei’s Christmas badges. It was only then that I realized that Sachiko sensei makes these badges for her Quaker meeting members too. That means she must make more than 200 of these badges every year.

Sachiko sensei has been a teacher here for many decades and is a graduate of the school. She teaches Quakerism and religion. I think she is a very special person and we are lucky that she works here with us because she is well-travelled, she helps us remember the Quaker values that we teach our students, and she models how to live a life in which you show generosity and compassion towards others.
I have kept the badge that I choose every year, so after I add this year’s one I will have 11 of them. I hope to make a Christmas garland with them all some day.