The final few school days in 2016 were busy. Monday morning began with dress rehearsal for the Christmas concert, which was held that evening. It was a chance to make sure everyone had their costume pieces and last minute changes were made.
The concert began at 7:15 p.m. with the singing of O Canada. Grade 1 students, Keller Nickell and Dexter Stotz, welcomed everyone. Jean Anne Jackson was the MC for the evening. The kindergarten through Grade 7 classes performed On With The Show to prepare everyone for the concert.
The Grade 4 class performed a skit entitled, Santa's Missing Bells. Santa cannot remember where he stored his bells last Christmas and goes to the music store to try out different sounds to replace the missing bells. Luckily, he finds the bells safely hidden in the toy sack.
The Grade 2 and 3 class performed two poems. One was a Christmas acrostic where every letter in Christmas meant something special. The other was about making Christmas cookies. They had all the ingredients and bowls to mix the cookies. They also performed a song to tell the audience exactly how to make the cookies for Christmas Day.
The kindergarten and Grade 1 class was next on the program. Grade 1 students recited a poem about reindeer and the Kindergarten class performed a reindeer rap.
Grade 5 presented a humorous skit, Why We Celebrate Christmas. A group of girls from a famous television show interview some of the famous Christmas characters to learn the meaning of Christmas. In a twist, the characters are nothing like they are portrayed. The Grinch is kind and giving, the elves are on strike, and the tree angel wears sunglasses because the lights are so bright. The girls finally get annoyed with their interviews until the true meaning of Christmas comes to light.
The Grade 6 and 7 class took a traditional look at Christmas and had a lovely nativity scene in their production.
While the students were setting up for the final songs, a slide show was shown with pictures from the concert preparations and some pictures of past concerts. A special thanks to Mrs. Brehon for putting together the pictures.
The final item was a group song entitled The Balls on the Tree. Each grade raised a row of items that would be found on a decorated Christmas tree. The Grade 1s held up bells, the Grade 4 class had green and red balls and Karista Stotz, Grade 6, proudly held up the star for the top. The students lined up in the shape of a Christmas tree to sing the song. They ended the concert with the singing of We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
Mrs. Jackson thanked the sponsors for donating towards the evening's treat bags and Jackie Caldwell for organizing the treat bags again this year.
Finally, there was great excitement in the air as Santa Claus arrived to hand out treats to all the children.
The school community council presented the kindergarten and Grade 1 class along with the Grade 6/7 class ice cream cakes for winning the door decorating contest. All students received an ice cream sandwich for participating in the contest.
The final day of classes was Wednesday. It was a day to relax, have fun and wish each other a merry Christmas. The elementary students watched a movie, played games and ate all day. Many classrooms had a special lunch that day. The high school did similar activities. The Grade 12 class was treated to Mrs. Brehon's annual lasagna, Caesar salad and garlic toast lunch.
From the staff and students of Maymont Central School, we would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year!
