Catholic Schools throughout the 19-county Archdiocese of Cincinnati spend Advent festively preparing their students for the birth of Christ at Christmas.

Last week at St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic school in Kenwood, students in Kindergarten through third grade gathered in the chapel and heard the story of The Sparkle Box, by Jill Hardie.

Released in 2012, The Sparkle Box is a story about a boy named Sam who does small acts of kindness in the weeks before Christmas. On Christmas morning, he finds that his parents have been writing down these acts of kindness, and placing the slips of paper in a Sparkle Box. They explain that this Sparkle Box is a birthday gift for Jesus because when we show kindness to others, it is a gift to Jesus.

The students were given their own Sparkle Boxes and were told to add their acts of kindness during the Advent season as a birthday gift to Jesus.