December is always very festive here at Nativity Worcester, and this year was no different. We have a few traditions that we follow that have been around for as long as the school has!
One of those traditions is taking the fifth grade class to see the Nutcracker at the Boston Opera House. We were so excited that all of the fifth graders signed up to join us for this annual event! We were so impressed with how well-behaved they were on our weekend field trip
and also excited to hear that so many of them enjoyed it! Ms. Cook took the time the week before the play to read The Nutcracker story aloud to the class so that they had an understanding
of what would go on during the play. It can definitely be challenging to follow a play when there’s no talking! We were lucky to have this donation from the Hanover Insurance Company for the tickets, the bus to and from the trip, and a treat to enjoy before going into the play! Thank you, Hanover!
Another tradition here at Nativity Worcester is our Christmas Decorating Day! We spend an entire morning getting into the Christmas spirit. The day starts off with a delicious breakfast cooked by Mr. Dillon and Mr. Maloney for all of the students to enjoy. Following that, each grade comes together to decorate their classroom door with a Christmas theme. This year, our class created a very creative door that included putting all of our classmates’ faces on elf bodies, turning Engelbert Mveng into Santa Claus, and giant igloo. Our class didn’t win the overall prize, but we were so impressed with the teamwork during this part of the celebration! The rest of the morning, the students spent time baking Christmas cookies, watching holiday movies, and decorating the school for the holiday season! In the afternoon, the students had the option to pay a small fee to participate in a 3 on 3 basketball tournament hosted by the Student Council. Even if the students weren’t participating in the tournament, they did a good job providing support in their cheers! It was definitely a fun day all around!
Along with the school-wide celebration, we also celebrated the holiday season as a class. The Friday before the holiday break, we took some time during the morning to make ornaments to bring home and share with their family. Hopefully they shared these with you! We also participated in a Book Raffle. The students were each given five raffle tickets to be placed in a raffle bag that matched up with a book that interested them. We raffled them off later in the morning and whoever won the raffle was welcome to take the book home to read during the holiday break. We always encourage students to take the time to read over these extended times away from school! The students also took the time during this last day before the holiday break to decorate their own sugar cookies! They all looked great!
Before leaving for our winter break, the students were able to participate in Winter Arts Night. They had the opportunity to show off some of the projects they’ve completed in their Renaissance class during the first two quarters. We were so impressed to see their artistic abilities shine during these presentations! We’ll have a similar celebration at the end of the year (Spring Arts Night) that we hope you can all join us for!
As we made the transition to winter, the students’ after school schedule also changed to accommodate our winter sports. We have two very active basketball teams at the school – the 5th & 6th grade team and the 7th & 8th grade team. A few of our fifth graders were able to make this team and have already started competing in some games! The students who aren’t playing on the basketball team will continue to participate in our Intramural schedule where they are introduced to a variety of sports. Feel free to ask your student what they’re playing right now!
We appreciate everyone’s support for the change in schedule to accommodate for the Quarter Two Conferences. It was great to be able to sit down as a team – student, teachers, and families – to highlight the strengths of each student during the first two quarters, as well as discuss areas of improvement. Please reach out if you have any questions regarding their portfolio and be mindful of their goals as they transition to the second two quarters of the school year. Additionally, if you have any feedback about the structure of this conference schedule compared to the previous schedule, we would love to hear it!
Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns!
Best,
Mrs. McCormick, Mr. Perry, & Ms. Cook