New Myrnam Schools Countdown to Christmas

by Sydney Chanasyk

Christmas can be seen as a very stressful time of year. Between hosting Christmas dinner, and trying to cram in last minute shopping, it can be difficult to find time to just sit back and enjoy the spirit of the holiday. Luckily for us at New Myrnam School, we have found a way to make sure everyone can enjoy the holidays. Every year we have been known to put on a unique and exciting Christmas Concert, performed by our elementary classes. Mrs. Godzuik teaches grades 1 and 2 and elementary music classes, and has been the magic maker behind our Christmas concerts for the past 24 years. This year we were very happy to be able to invite families to come watch our concert in person once again, after having to hold it virtually the past few years. Everyone in the community was very pleased to be able to come watch once again. It is always something to look forward to for everyone involved. This year, the concert was called ‘Countdown to Christmas’ and was focused on the most exciting parts of Christmas time. The story was presented in a “TV-countdown style performance,” as according to Mrs. Godzuik. It was led by two ‘co-hosts’ ‘Mary Mistletoe’ and ‘Ryan Christmas,’ and included specific songs and performances by different groups of students, and songs sung by everyone to tie everything together. All this is followed up by a special visitor and candy bags made up for all the students by our parent council. In order to be ready for the big night of the per- formance, students have daily practices during the school day. Starting just after Remembrance Day, the entire elementary meets up in the gym to practice singing their songs, performing their skits, and reading their lines. I believe that our Christmas concert is unique to our school, given that we are able to incorporate each and every student from grades kindergarten to six into it. According to Mrs. Godziuk, “our in-person concerts aim to seamlessly include all grade levels simultaneously into one cohesive performance,” and you can definitely tell this is true if you have ever been to one of our concerts. Additionally to this, we also hosted our annual raffle draw the night of the concert. Local businesses and families donate items, and anyone who attends can purchase tickets to be entered in the raffle. All the proceeds from the raffle go directly back into our concert, and are used to purchase costume pieces, props, and decorations for future performances. The Christmas concert always creates so much Christmas spirit throughout the school, and this directly translates into more school spirit from everyone. Without this, Christmas time wouldn't be the same in our small community, and we are incredibly grateful for Mrs. Godzuik who manages to bring everyone together each and every year! We would like to give a huge thank you to everyone who helps to make this happen year after year, and to everyone who supports our school. Thank you to all, and to all a goodnight!