As South Windsor High School students and staff come back from their Thanksgiving break, they will find that their school has been adorned with decorations to honor the upcoming season.
Students who are members of the National Honor Society have been hard at work decorating the school for the upcoming holidays.
Members of the National Honor Society volunteer their time after school by decorating the pendulum and the lobby with a variety of decorations.
“I’d say that each individual who was decorating was the inspiration for the theme this year. We had full creative range in this and every person’s ideas and personality shines through in the final product,” junior representative Olivia Stoner explained.
The NHS team was provided with boxes of decorations bursting with festivity. Tables were set up for each holiday and members created the background to be this festive winter wonderland scene.
“On hooks we found on the walls, we hung wreaths and snowflakes, and then on the left side we put up trees and a gingerbread house. We also decided it would be nice to decorate the large columns, and so we strung lights around them,” Stoner said.
The columns in the lobby are decorated with red ribbons as well as being covered and wrapped around with gold paper to get into the holiday spirit.
Students have set up a Christmas tree with ornaments and presents underneath, as well as a gingerbread house with its own mini Christmas tree in the pendulum. The columns are also decorated with lights and ribbons spun around them.
“I think the most enjoyable part of the decorating process was that everyone’s creative instincts were brought together and we all worked collaboratively. We accomplished a lot in a short time and each person who was there can find a place and be able to say that it was their idea and they decorated it. I think it’s important to make everyone feel included and like they had a large role in the process because it definitely could not have been done without them,” Stoner stated.
National Honor Society members also painted the windows with a variety of winter decorations. Such as Christmas trees, snowflakes, snowmen, and along with Happy Holidays written big and bold in the center.
It was a bit of a struggle as they had to use finger-paint in order to paint their designs in addition to using paint markers in order to make the color pop, as students are walking by.
“There were definitely some challenges; we had to figure out where everything was going to go and how to build it. I will say the gingerbread house was a bit more difficult to put together than you might think. We also didn’t have any pictures to go off from previous years, so there was some brainstorming new ideas involved,” Stoner said.
Along with the Christmas tree and gingerbread house, all the other holidays each got their own table that is piled with decorations to celebrate.
The Hanukkah table has a menorah in the center along with dreidels, lights and other decorations filled on the table. Kwanzaa has a Kinara, a candleholder used in Kwanzaa celebrations, in addition to cups to symbolize the unity cup with candles adorned across the table. There is a table for Three Kings Day with the three kings set up and a poster that explains the story of the day.
Senior, Eshal Irfan an National Honor Society member was able to share her thoughts on the decorations
“Decorating for the holidays is super fun because it helps us recognize the differences amongst us while celebrating them at the same time. It always feels nice to help friends celebrate,” Irfan said.
NHS hopes that the decorations bring some joy to students and staff during the holiday season as a bright and festive spot in the school.
“I hope students take the time to look at everything set up, and it gives them a hopeful moment in what may be a rough day,” Stoner said. I’m honored I was able to participate in this project because this is one of my favorite things the school does during the holiday season. I love walking past the decorations in the morning and seeing all the fun lights. I think it is so cool to be able to say that I was one of many who set it up.”
Overall, South Windsor High School looks amazing for the holiday season coming up, and the students and staff can’t wait to get into the holiday spirit!
