By Pam Dudding Contributing writer
The holiday season brings much joy, and the teachers at McCleary Elementary have
multiplied that feeling by “decking their halls” with beautiful and creative decorations.
Upon entering McCleary, the front office windows are each painted in pictures of
gingerbread houses with candy cane lanes.
Also, almost every single door at McCleary was decorated by individual teachers, their
assistants and the students, to bring on the holiday cheer for everyone.
The hallway classroom boards display imaginations at an all-time high.
Mrs. Sarver’s Pre-K’s Little Helpers had their picture in a reindeer with a red nose on
each and Rudolph’s picture in the middle.
Ms. McPherson decorated her board with a “Groovy Christmas” theme.
Mrs. Carper, who teaches kindergarten through second grade, had “Oh deer” on her
board with her students’ hand-made creative deer heads, with their hand-prints as the antlers.
Ms. Flinchum explained on her board, “Oh Deer, let’s spread some cheer!”
Mrs. Persinger had Santa and his eight reindeer above a Christmas tree that each child
decorated with their names on them.
Mrs. Taylor’s and Mrs. Mary’s board was a beautiful sight, with Santa peeking through
the classroom door window and Santa’s list of every kid in the class on it. “Taylors Workshop”
was covered with snow atop and snowmen made by each child decorated the tree. In the window
of Santa’s shop were toys designed and cut out individually by Ms. Mary and Santa’s mailbox was
ready for the letters from all the little girls and boys.
Mrs. Thomas had the “Let is Snow” theme with snowmen waving.
Mrs. Roark’s fifth-grade class had written the story of “There was an old lady who
swallowed a bell” on their board.
It read as follows:
There was an old lady who swallowed a bell. I don’t know why she swallowed a bell, but she
didn’t feel well.
There was an old lady who swallowed a string. She swallowed the string and started to
sing. She swallowed the string to tie to the bell. I don’t know why she swallowed the bell, but
she didn’t feel well.
There was an old lady who swallowed some hooks. She swallowed some hooks that she
found in a book. She swallowed the hooks to hang on the string. She swallowed the string to tie
to the bell. I don’t know why she swallowed the bell, but she didn’t feel well.
There was an old lady who swallowed ornaments in a box. She swallowed the ornaments in
a box and said they tasted like rocks. She swallowed the ornaments to place on the hooks. She
swallowed the hooks to hang on the string. She swallowed the string to tie to the bell. I don’t
know why she swallowed the bell, but she didn’t feel well.
There was an old lady who swallowed a tree. When she swallowed the tree, it was a sight
to see. She swallowed the tree to be covered in ornaments. She swallowed the ornaments to
place on the hooks. She swallowed the hooks to hang on the string. She swallowed the string to
tie to the bell. I don’t know why she swallowed the bell, but she didn’t feel well.
There was an old lady who swallowed some lights. She swallowed some lights that were
very bright. She swallowed some lights to light up the tree. She swallowed the tree to be
covered in ornaments. She swallowed the ornaments to place on the hooks. She swallowed the
hooks to hang on the string. She swallowed the string to tie to the bell. I don’t know why she
swallowed the bell, but she didn’t feel well.
There was an old lady who swallowed a star. Well, she tried to swallow the star, but she
didn’t get too far. I told you when she swallowed the bell that she didn’t feel well. When she
swallowed more and more, she coughed it out onto the floor! It was the coolest Christmas tree
anyone had ever seen!
…The End.
Mrs. MacDonald’s kids had their picture on an elf and colored them beautifully. Each
wrote what they would do if they were an elf. Their answers ranged from having pink and black
hair to letting the reindeer go free, even traveling around the world. One added that it would be
fun to make cardigans to help Santa and go with him around the world. Then after they were
done, they would take the reindeer back where they belong, and when the night was over, say
“Have a good Christmas!”
There was so much joy shared at the school as the decorations lifted so many spirits.
