Christmas at Saint Cols, a cherished annual tradition at Saint Columbkille, was a virtual series of events in 2020. Even so, the events were a success and we had tremendous participation throughout the school and the community.
Christmas at Saint Cols raised a total of $14,000, including the Grace Givers program, which provided gift cards to school families who needed them for groceries, Christmas presents and other essentials this holiday season. Specifically, $3,700 was donated for the Grace Givers.
With more than 4,500 raffle tickets sold, the school raised $9,000 from the teacher baskets and $1,500 for Christmas wreaths, handmade each year by pre-K paraprofessional Ellen Ward and her sister. This year they made a total of 75 wreaths!
The tree lighting was held as a Facebook live event and voting for the Cookie Contest was held online. The Reason for the Season award was given by Fr. Fitzgerald. The Cookie Contest winners from each category were:
- Most Decadent Description: Orange Honey Spice Cookies (Udo and Ngozi Akukewe, K2 and Grade 4 students)
- Most Festive Confection: Saint Columbkille Partnership School (Lisa Parcell, parent)
- Reason for the Season: Festive Christmas Tree (Jane and Josie Mullins, pre-K and K2 students)
The typical pancake breakfast was held as pancakes for lunch during the school day this year. The event sold out, with not one pancake left in the cafeteria. And even though Santa was a cardboard cutout this year, the students and staff took more than 325 pictures with him.
Our remote learners had a special virtual lunch with Santa during the Christmas season and enjoyed seeing him.
Thank you to all who supported and participated in Christmas at Saint Cols this year – we appreciate your generosity!