Kelvin continues holiday tradition

Mulvey School students witnessed the joy and spirit of the season as honoured guests at a holiday celebration last Friday on Dec 9. As École Secondaire Kelvin High School doors opened, students from Mulvey School received a warm welcome and well-rehearsed choral music.

Kelvin's vocal students singing well-known choruses elevated everyone's mood with their wonderful performance on the stairwell.

Kelvin volunteers in eighteen teams had lined up with placards of their team names like Snowflakes, Reindeer, Sleds, Snowman, Ornaments, Trees, Santa Hats and others in the gymnasium.

The organizing committee members, dressed in colourful elf costumes, team leaders and Ms. Nancy Morsy, the mathematics teacher, coordinated and guided all the proceedings.

Three hundred and thirty Mulvey students were assigned their teams in advance. Finding their groups and pairing every student with a Kelvin buddy went smoothly.

The "buddies" became their friends for the day, younger students had someone to look up to, and the teachers got a break. The "buddies" led the students to the cafeteria for a holiday breakfast and took care of them.

Colourful ribbons and handmade paper snowflakes had transformed the cafeteria into a lively space. The tables were ready with fresh fruits, paper plates, juice boxes, colouring sheets and crayons for all students.

"I loved the food, the bananas, the hash browns, the sausages and the pancakes. Everything was yummy!" said Giddy, Grade 1 Mulvey student.

A lot of preparation and planning went in for several weeks before the event. Volunteers created paper snowflakes during lunch hour, and many worked after school.

"The track team and everyone helping them arrived at 6:30 a.m. and started cooking. The kitchen was divided into two parts to make gluten-free and normal pancakes. We were serving them as per students' needs," said Mackenzie Klein, Grade 12 team leader.

"We are thankful to our sponsors, Pancake House and Starbucks, for supplying us with the pancake batter, syrup, coffee for guest teachers, pastries and other ingredients."

The feast was followed by many fun activities, including a parachute game, dancing, singing, decorating cookies, art and crafts, improv, a mystery hunt and many more.

"With my new Kelvin friend, we went on a scavenger hunt and found all the clues. We had lots of fun doing that," said Khalid Grade 1 Mulvey student.

Grade 4 and 5 students had a great time in the theatre doing improvs. The parachute game in the gym was also a popular activity that all kids enjoyed.

Next, the students gathered in the gym for a visit from Santa and his elves as they distributed jumbo gift bags to every child.

The kids' faces glowed when they found toys, stuffed animals and books in their presents. They were pumped when Santa walked around them, giving high-fives and hugs.

"The best moments of the day were to watch Mulvey students receive the presents and to see Kelvin students, as well as my classmates, having fun with the young students," said Jessica Greco, Grade 12 team leader.

"The whole school came together to donate everything that went into the gift bags. This event would not be possible without the generous donations, contributions and student-led fundraisers like bake sale and annual toy drive."

All the Kelvinites demonstrated the spirit of sharing as they baked hundreds of cookies, made decorations, cooked meals and worked together to fundraise and buy presents.

"Being at Kelvin and in the River Heights area, our students have many privileges that other students do not. So, by sharing our gifts with the kids, one learns to be more responsible and learn that the things they have should not be taken for granted; it opened the eyes of many Kelvin students," said Loic Lambert, Grade 12 team leader.

"The day worked out very, very well. Hearing the children scream when Santa came on was especially wonderful."