Traditional treats
Christmas tea brings generations together at Kinkora High
Ralph MacDonald and Geraldine McConnon watched as their tea was poured and finger foods made their rounds.
“It’s a very unique experience,” said MacDonald, of the Christmas tea he, McConnon and other seniors from the Borden-Carleton Seniors Club attended at Kinkora Regional High School.
In recent weeks, students from the Grade 10 foods class at KRHS invited community members into the school to teach the students tips and tricks of cooking and baking tasty Christmas treats.
On Monday they put their skills to the test.
“It’s very elegant. It gives the students the chance to make the meal and socialize, while serving and learning other skills,” said McConnon.
Ethan Lawless, a student who took on the role of host, said the weeks leading up have been full of hard work.
“We’ve been prepping for the past few weeks. We also had to send out handwritten invitations to the seniors, which I’ve never done, so that was pretty cool. But making and eating the food has been my favourite part.”
Betty Payne attended the Christmas tea.
She said it was very heartwarming.
“When I got that letter in the mail I just wanted to cry. It didn’t help that my grandson wrote it.
“It’s really wonderful of the children to get involved with the seniors like this. It keeps us socializing and it builds connections between the generations and community.”
Jessica Reeves, the food and culinary teacher at KRHS, described it as a very special event.
At KRHS, December is a month of caring. So with that in mind, this was their project around that theme, she explained.
“It’s so wonderful. The seniors think they’re getting something out of it, but I think it’s a winwin. The students are building social skills, empathy, kindness. They’re looking beyond themselves, which is important, especially at Christmas.”