School’s alternative Christmas
STAFF and pupils at a village school have dreamed up a host of creative and innovative ways to celebrate Christmas amid the pandemic this year.
Events at Chilton Foliat Primary School will involve a Virtual Christmas Fair, Letter from Santa and a Christmas Sparkle Day.
Members of the fundraising group Friends of Chilton Foliat School have been thinking outside the box to organise festive events to keep the children working hard while still having fun, retaining a sense of normality and adhering to Covid-19 restrictions.
The school’s festive events kicked off with its Virtual Christmas Fair, which ran during late November and raised £314 for the school.
The event supported small local businesses, while retaining some of the fun and excitement normally generated by the annual Christmas Fair.
Additional online festive activities included storytime with Santa, guess the number of chocolate coins in the jar, name the reindeer doorstop competition and participation in a Christmas bake-off.
In the absence of a visiting Father Christmas this year, the Letter from Santa activity will ensure that children don’t miss out by receiving a letter from Santa – including a North Pole postmark to guarantee authenticity.
The Christmas Sparkle Day,
which takes place next Thursday, will be a non-uniform day in exchange for bringing in a festive gift which will be put into hampers and raffled at the end of term.
All funds raised during the 2020/2021 academic year will go towards transforming the school’s Early Years’ garden and play area into a fun, safe and interactive learning environment.
In addition to the Friends group’s festive fundraising activity, the catering staff have raised more than £200 in a raffle to provide an extra-special Christmas lunch.
The sum will also enable them to give each child a small gift, and will also go towards awards for
good behaviour during the lunch period throughout the year.
Also planned for the festive season are online pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk and a visit from the National Elf Service – a virtual elf visit funded by the Friends’ group which gives children a tour of Santa’s workshop and the opportunity to see where their letters go and where the toys are made.
A recording of the school’s Christmas Service and Nativity which would normally have taken place at St Mary’s Church, Chilton Foliat, will also be available on the school website for parents to experience the magic of a whole school Christmas collective worship.