ASSINIBOIA — ‘Tis the season to be jolly, and that’s exactly the theme enlisted at Assiniboia’s Elementary School. Students in Grades 5-8 are experiencing several festive-themed activities to share Christmas joy and fun.
Teacher, Laurie Hawkins, said the door decorating competition is taking place again this year, and the annual tradition has been part of the school as long as she has been teaching here.
The theme for door decorating this year is Christmas carols with each classroom’s students decorating their doors, with photos to be placed on the school’s Facebook page for voting. The winning classroom wins VIP seating for the school’s Christmas movie on Dec. 20 and after the movie, students get a cookie and hot chocolate. The movie takes place in the gym and VIP seating entails students enjoying the comfort of gym mates for soft seating as opposed to sitting on the floor.
Staff and students will also enjoy a week of Christmas theme spirit days, which include Christmas socks, ugly Christmas sweaters, Christmas hat day, Santa vs Elves vs Reindeer, Christmas Tree Day, and Christmas Character and the week will end with pyjama day.
Students will also get to enjoy playing bingo and an annual Christmas Kahoot, where classrooms answer a series of Christmas-themed questions and the winning class earns a prize.
The Student Representative Council is also selling candy canes, with proceeds going to their sponsorship of a World Vision child every year. Students always have great fun purchasing the festive treats for their friends.
Celebrating the holiday season in schools has many advantages as it allows students to connect with one another and build an inclusive environment. Celebrating the holidays together helps create a sense of community amongst students and often involves engaging with their local community too.
Staff work at creating engaging and fun holiday activities for students both within the school and outside in their home community.
Hawkins adds her classroom is involved in the adopt-a resident initiative at the long-term care centre, stating, “Connection with our seniors is a school focus. Our staff values the connection between generations. As well, there are students who don’t have grandparents and there are elderly that don’t have family to visit, so this participation is a win-win situation.”
“To start the year, we toured the facilities with their Halloween costumes. To continue the connection, a variety of classes will head over to the LTC centre to sing Christmas carols, deliver presents along with helping with a multi-generational craft. One class is also participating in a pen pal project throughout the year, writing letters to the residents,” added Hawkins.
Hawkins says teachers use their art classes to connect singing and crafts, or their PE classes to schedule their visits as students walk to the locations to get exercise.
These seasonal activities provide opportunities for youth that may otherwise be lost as they grow older themselves. Equally, the elders involved will find joy and personal rejuvenation in these defined meetings and visits. Many studies have shown that these intergenerational interactions have a positive impact, especially on the mental and emotional health of seniors, reducing feelings of loneliness and depression. It allows all generations involved to feel the spirit and magic of Christmas.
