Fete Noel

Friday was the big day that both the students and teachers have been looking forward to and preparing for......THE CHRISTMAS PARTY!

The students were unaware that Friday would be the big Christmas party at the school.  That is, until they arrived and saw over 200 gifts under the Christmas tree!  Their excitement was contagious and brought back memories of all my childhood Christmases.  As you can imagine, it was very difficult for the kids to contain their excitement enough to sit down and eat breakfast.

After breakfast, the kids all gathered for flag, prayer, worship, and Christmas carols.



While the kids were still singing, I sliped away to put on the SANTA SUIT, complete with a pillow for a belly and an itchy white beard.  When the kids were finished singing, the teachers walked them back to the other side of the school where they found me, Tonton Noel, sitting beside the Christmas tree.  (Notice the fan beside me...Santa suits are NOT meant to be worn in the Caribbean!)

The kids called me Papa Noel, Pen Noel, and Tonton Noel, all Haitian names for Santa.



Starting with pre-k and working our way to 8th grade, each student came to the Christmas tree to open his or her gifts and pose for a picture.

After the students received their gifts, they returned to their classrooms to try on their new clothes and play with their toys.  Needless to say it was a little crazy here!

pre-k

kindergarten

Kindergarten and Pre-K students 

After lunch, the students all came together again for the talent show performance.  Each class has been practicing their songs and dances for the past month.  Mr. Nickson and I were the judges.  The winning class (TBA) will receive a prize on Monday.



After the performances, all the students lined up for a "fashion show" so that they could show off their new clothes!  The show was started off by Mr. Nickson and then each of the teachers followed.  The kids chanted my name until I "strutted my stuff" for them.  Thankfully it did not get photographed or filmed!

None of our students were shy while walking down the runway.  Even the pre-k showed off their moves. I have not laughed that hard in a long time.  Unfortunately, both my camera and video camera batteries died before the fashion show so I was only able to get a few seconds on film.



Despite being completely exhuasted by the end of the day, Mr. Nickson and I had a great time with the students.