Students and staff gathered to worship and celebrate the birth of Jesus at an all-school Christmas Chapel on December 23. Students from preschool to the 12th grade participated in the chapel program with drama, vocal, and instrumental presentations. Event Coordinator and high school Bible teacher Christian Delacruz encouraged everyone in his chapel message to be thankful for the best Christmas gift of all — the gift of grace, love, and eternal life made possible through the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ.
Gail Alford, the Elementary Principal and Early Education Director, opened the chapel with prayer and then introduced Mrs. Meza’s 2nd grade class, who presented a dramatic skit about four words that embodied the Christmas story — sacrifice, seek, shout, and share. Mrs. Meza challenged everyone to take the opportunity during this Christmas season to share the salvation message rooted in the Christmas story with family and friends.
The PreK3 and PreK4 classes then took to the stage to joyously sing and dance to “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
An Upper School Instrumental Worship Ensemble performed two Christmas songs, featuring 12th grade brothers Hyeonjin (Isaac) Choi and Hyeonbin (Joseph) Choi on violin, 8th grader Rowlee Murphy on cello, and 12th grader Haley Whedbee on flute.
CLICK HERE to view a video of the Upper School Instrumental Worship Ensemble’s performance.
The 5th grade Worship Team got everyone on their feet to sing and dance along with them as they performed “Feeling Like Christmas” and “Born is the King.” The Middle School and High School Worship Teams followed suit, as they encouraged the students and staff to sing along as they performed “Carol of the Bells” and several other Christmas carols.
CLICK HERE to view a video of the Middle School and High School Worship Teams performing one of their carols during the Christmas Chapel.
There were several light-hearted moments during the chapel. The winners of the 6th-12th grade Christmas Door Decorating Contest and the K-5th grade Christmas Tree Decorating Contest were announced. Mrs. Flath’s 9th grade class won the Christmas Door Decorating contest, that included decorating several doors and adjacent walls with a Charlie Brown theme. The elementary Christmas Tree Decorating Contest focused on a Christmas Around the World theme and Mrs. McCarthy’s 3rd grade class won with a tree decorated as Christmastime in the tropics.
The audience also participated in an Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest, cheering loudly as they voted for their favorite students to win first place. The winner from the 6th to 12th grade classes was 12th grader Mia Liggins and the K-5th grade winner was kindergartner Felicity Macpherson. The chapel concluded with a surprise — a song-and-dance routine performed by an energetic group of faculty and staff.