The winter holiday assembly is a staple in the boys’ and girls’ history here at SCH, returning to when SCH was two separate schools, Chestnut Hill Academy and Springside. Despite combining, the two schools’ holiday traditions have continued with separate winter holiday assemblies. These assemblies are full of joyful memories and long-lasting traditions passed down from generation to generation. Over the years, some traditions have changed, yet the holiday spirit has stayed.
SCH holiday assemblies have been split into girls and boys. Girls in the middle school, previously Springside School for girls, and boys celebrate in the Kingsley gym. The girls’ holiday assembly consists of each grade singing a different song, lighting the Menorah and Kinara, as well as arts and crafts between seniors and their buddies.
The boys’ assembly consists of the lower schoolers singing Kwanzaa songs. Speakers going up to talk about the different holidays. The seniors perform the Grinch. The Hilltones singing O’Holy Nights. And finally everyone sings the 12 days of Christmas.
Mrs. Cortes, a Springside alumnus, attended the school from sixth grade to graduation. She reflected on her memories of the holiday assembly. Her favorite part was everyone coming together and the joy that was spread. “The fact we all got to come together into one space and sing songs,” said Mrs. Cortes, “You got to continue the traditions on and then pass it to the younger kids, I think was really special.”
Pete Capano, a photography teacher at SCH since 1984, discussed the development of the holiday traditions, from his viewpoint as an educator. Initially, the holiday assembly was mainly Christmas-themed, but over time became more inclusive to all religions, “To my memory, there was a Christmas tree and they sang Christmas songs,” Capano said. Capano took us back to his favorite part every year: “The dismissal, when we would be able to leave and go home to our families, to spend the rest of our winter break with them.”
Mrs. Schade, an SCH alumnus who graduated in 1989, reminisced on her time at the Springside School. “My favorite thing that we would do is when Mrs. Weinstone would line all of the walls in the middle school with big sheets of paper that always told some sort of holiday story,” said Schade.
Roland Woehr has been helping with the boy’s tradition since 2002. Mr. Woehr playing the Piano for the Grinch, which is an unforgettable piece of the assembly. Senior Alex Topping stated, “I look forward to the Grinch every year. I have loved it since pre-k and it is the highlight of the assembly for me every time.”
The boys’ assembly is full of long-lasting traditions. Mr. Woehr said, “Oh, Lord, it brings back a lot of memories, because we started it in the Rec with all the little kids sitting on the floor, and then the senior class would sit on the stage with the kindergarteners on their shoulders. It means a lot of memories of faces. I look forward to seeing when we are doing the Grinch, I think of the people who have either retired or sadly, many of whom have died, and who are part of a legacy of the past that was beautiful and wonderful that we had for the boys.”
Every year we get the opportunity to keep these traditions alive and make new memories for the younger generations. Senior Patrick Gaghan said, “well, because it has been around since my first year at SCH, 14 years ago. It’s sort of like that one thing that’s unified every year at SCH for me, that I always know that we’re going to do a holiday assembly and have the Grinch and everybody’s going to come out and sing, and I think it’s fun. As a young kid when you see the older kids getting really into it, and as an older kid when you see the young kids early enjoying it.”
SCH values the traditions and memories that each of these assemblies holds. Having them separate allows for the boys and girls to bond with the younger generations, and be able to pass down these unforgettable memories.
