St. Marys School
December 2014 Newsletter
Judging from the amount of glitter I have not only found in my room,
but on my person, it must be December and it must be getting close to
Christmas. In fact, when I was leaving my room to go home one day this
week, I noticed that there was a distinct trail of glitter from my room
to the front stairs, and I am sure that if I looked very hard, I would
probably be able to follow the trail to my house!
On December 3, the second graders received the Sacrament of
Reconciliation for the first time. They had been formally preparing for
First Reconciliation since October. On the following day, the students
were honored with a reception. In keeping with tradition, the menu
consisted of donuts with milk or juice. December 8, the following
Monday was a holy day, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. And in
keeping with tradition, we again feasted on donuts! We do have a very
good reason for all of these donut parties. It is important that the
students realize that these are happy occasions that should be
celebrated, and let’s face it, when humans celebrate, they like to eat.
On December 15, the students presented “Christmas around the World”.
Guests could “visit” Ireland, England, France, Germany, Italy, and
Poland. The evening began with a musical presentation by the preschool
through fourth grades. The preschoolers sang the “Twelve Days of
Christmas” that is actually a coded catechism developed in Ireland when
Catholics were not allowed to publically practice the Faith. The third
and fourth graders sang “Stille Nacht” and “O Tannebaum” in German. The
first and second graders sang two French carols, “Les Anges dans Nos
Compagnes” and “Un Flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle”; the kindergarten sang
“What Child is This?” “Deck the Halls” and “Here We Come a Wassailing”.
After each class performed they wished the audience a Merry Christmas
in the various languages. After the performance all were invited to
school to travel around the world. Beginning in Ireland, the preschool
room was decorated with holly and in the middle of the room were two
places set at a table just in case Mary and Joseph stopped by in their
travels. In Ireland, after the meal on Christmas eve, two places are
set, just in case the holy couple stops on their way to Bethlehem.
Among the treats to sample, were fruited Christmas bread and potato
candy. The next stop was England. The kindergartners had decorated
their room with holly wreaths. They made paper gingerbread men to hang
on the Christmas tree. There was wassail and a Yule log to taste. After
leaving England, one needed only to go down the hall to France. In
France, one of the Christmas customs is to add figures called “Santons”
or little saints to the crèche. There are many characters that can be
added and in some places, the santons are made to resemble actual
people living in the area. The first and second graders made santons
representing themselves and made the stable for the crèche. The crèche
was decorated with natural items that the children found in their
yards. Across the hall and just down a few doors was Germany.
The third and fourth graders decorated their tree with paper candles,
in lieu of real lighted one. (Fire code, you know!) There was a pickle
ornament hidden in the tree as is the tradition in Germany. A variety
of German cookies were served. Going south (translate that as going
downstairs) visitors found themselves in Italy. They could visit the
Vatican, Le Bafana, Santa Lucia, and St. Francis and the first
Nativity. Each stop had a narrator from the fifth and sixth grades to
give information. Homemade Italian cookies were served and poster and
quilling art were displayed. The final stop was Poland. One of the
customs in Poland is to serve a twelve course dinner for Christmas. The
seventh and eighth graders decided to serve twelve varieties of cookies
to represent the dinner.
On December 16, the first through fourth graders went to Heartland and
Rest Haven nursing homes to spread some holiday cheer, and of course
couldn’t resist singing their special carols in French and German. One
of the administrators told me that during our visit she saw residents
smile whom she hadn’t seen smile in a long time. That’s what we’re
about here at St. Mary’s. On December 17, Valerie Myers placed third in
the city spelling bee. Congratulations, Valerie.
Students enjoyed Christmas parties on December 19, the last day before
Christmas break. School will resume on January 5. On behalf of the
students and staff of St. Mary’s School, I would like to wish you all
the blessings of a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
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