St Theresa Prep gets festive at Christmas Jubilee

The grounds of St Theresa Preparatory School in Kingston were transformed into a scene of merriment Thursday evening as students, staff and parents gathered to celebrate their annual Christmas Jubilee.

While Christmas was the central theme, the evening was deeply rooted in Jamaican folklore, even featuring a Jonkonnu performance.

The night’s performances also included a mix of dance, song, and nativity scene, punctuated by festive trivia to involve parents, and spread holiday cheer.

Chief coordinator and dance teacher, Antoinette Morris Harris, told The Gleaner that the Christmas Jubilee is a major calendar event at the school, which epitomises the vibrant Christmas culture that it has developed over the years.

“Christmas is really important and we don’t want them to miss the true meaning of Christmas. Everyone of the items surrounds either the birth of Jesus or the preparations for the birth of Jesus, and after the birth, the celebration, and that is the reason for this season,” she said.

Leading up to the jubilee, she said parents are also engaged in an informal competition to decorate the classrooms of their children, which she said invited the Christmas spirit.

She said the performances culminated weeks of rehearsals, a process she believed helped to foster discipline among the students.

“It is a wonderful feeling to see when they just start, and then to see the product now, it is just awesome. The costume is just 10 per cent of what it is,” she said.

“Every year, it gets better and better”, declared Renee McLeod Henry, who was eagerly waiting to see her son, a grade-one student onstage.

“I am so nervous,” she told The Gleaner. “I can see they put everything in their performances, they are pouring out their heart in it.”

McLeod Henry stressed the importance of hosting events like these, not just for to welcome the holiday season, but as a psychological escape for children in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.

“I think it’s important to have events like these for the children because it promotes good mental health, we need a break, we need to sit back and relax, and by doing this they get to learn more about the religion, the culture and the meaning of Christmas,” she said.

Another parent, Anna-Lisa Norman shared similar sentiments.

SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

“It is very important for the kids, it makes them feel as though they are a part of something, giving them a little purpose, getting them in the spirit towards everything happening in Christmas,” she said. “At the end of the day, it really for them.”

Stacy-Ann Stewart could not contain the joy she felt watching her daughter, K3 student, Valencia Wellington, perform in song and dance onstage.

“I was speechless,” she said. “It was amazing”

Fresh from the thrill of being onstage, Wellington said she was looking forward to the other joys of the holiday season.

“I like Santa, presents, and Jesus,” she said.

Meanwhile Matthew Ebanks, another parent, applauded the organisation of the event, highlighting especially the decision to include aspects of Jamaican folklore.

“Getting the students involved in all of that, it’s very good, so they know where we are coming from and trends that we used to do back in the day,” he said.

“In the scene where everybody is involved from toddlers go straight up to grade six.”

Principal Althea Palmer told The Gleaner that the push to make the event inclusive was a deliberate decision by the school.

“A part of our school songs says ‘we’re a family, a school with a soul, and we believe that there is greatness in everybody, and it is for us, as not only teachers, but as parents, to recognise that our children, no matter at whatever level, they can perform,” she said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com