With snow on the mountains — and more and more the ground — we’re moving quickly toward one of the finest holidays of the American year: Thanksgiving. 

The opportunity to give thanks is one we ought to seize constantly, but a day dedicated to it is still a custom worth celebrating.

Part of the American Thanksgiving custom is, when possible, a feast. However you celebrate, here’s hoping you’re able to do it with family.

The value of a family meal is hard to overstate, almost as hard as it is to overstate the value of family involvement in a child’s schooling. They go hand in hand, really, in that both are critical components to raising a healthy, happy, successful, thriving young person.

That’s part of why we’re doing something new this year. Parents of students at the elementary, middle and high schools have been invited to join their children for a Thanksgiving lunch prepared by our stellar nutrition team.

This is an opportunity for a parent or guardian and a student to connect one more time. It’s also a moment for the parent or guardian to be with their student in his or her school environment, to see them interact with staff and classmates, and to help remind the student of the parent’s or guardian’s buy-in to his or her schooling.

We hope most of all that it’s a time to connect. In many world cultures, including ours, sharing food is a kind of sacred experience. We hope that, combined with the spirit of thanks that characterizes this season, this becomes a tradition for parents and children that makes memories and increases connection.

Thank you, Moffat County, for all you do and all you are.