VISIONS OF SUGAR PLUMS

Anticipation associated with Christmas takes on a whole new energy level when the fire is lit with the contagious enthusiasm of children.  

If we had a giant thermometer to measure Penn View holiday spirit in the weeks leading up to Christmas break, we would be registering a significant Christmas fever by early December. 

The littlest Penn View people are bedecked in reindeer headbands and sporting festive bells on their shoelaces.  

Wonderfully adorable shepherds, kings, angels, Josephs and Marys adorn hallway bulletin boards. 

Small enthusiastic voices rang out like joyous bells during Penn View’s annual Christmas benefit concert in early December. 

But seasonal excitement is alive and well in the Middle School too. 


(Not that anyone is counting down to Christmas break or anything….)   

There are small groups working to retell the Christmas story in cartoon-form in Mrs. Kotecki’s 6^th grade homeroom.  

Ryan knew immediately that his story would be written from the perspective of the donkey carrying Mary.

Ashlann and Emily write from the little-known perspective of chickens (feathered friends of Bethlehem, heretofore cast as only minor characters in the Nativity story)! 

Mrs. Kotecki shared her favorite slice of the Christmas story.  She loves the part when the ragtag shepherds are just “chilling in the field” and along comes a great company of angels lighting up the sky.  Loving words as much as I do, she can visualize what it meant for those unsuspecting shepherds to feel “sore afraid.”

Makayla and Melissa will almost certainly draw
their cartoon with the Wise Guys in mind.... Hannah is still thinking.

Devon has so many great ideas.
Makes it hard to choose just one.

    

Music teacher Mrs. Landes is a serious decorator, her room festive with garland and Christmas balls!

On to 7th grade!  Though they weren’t convincingly awake when we visited with them first thing in the morning, Mrs. Kennel’s seventh graders started work on a different kind of group project last week.  Each student received a tiny paper square which they would attempt to enlarge.  

Each square has a different design and a designated number so that when the individual 5x5 inch papers are drawn, the squares can be placed in precise order on a large wall grid.

The final product remained a mystery until all the drawings were complete. 

Almost done! 

Middle School student council representatives took part in the Souderton Christmas parade on December 5^th.  




It was a new experience for 7th grader Cassidy Williams.  In her words, "The parade was tiring but the home stretch was awesome and there was hot chocolate at the end!"

"The best way to spread Penn View cheer is driving a float for all to see!"
- quote by 8th grader Carlie Cocco
(seen in photo above squinting in the Saturday sunshine).
She adds, "It doesn't rhyme, but OH WELL!!" 

8th grade student Miguel Santiago thought it was great to see all the people watching from the curb.  He enjoyed how excited they got when the Penn View float came cruising by. Some of our smaller students and teachers were float riders. 

Libbie Derstine’s favorite part of the day was seeing the faces of the happy children when they received the mints dispensed by Penn View students.

Math can be used for all sorts of interesting things, not the least of which is calculating the approximate costs involved for someone who actually follows through with the kind of extravagant gifting described in one of the world’s most annoying holiday tunes, 

The Twelve Days of Christmas.  

Add to the mix, one Middle School social studies teacher.  Our dear Mr. Long.  We wonder if he knows Mrs. Kennel is using his name and romantic leanings as fodder for a math assignment….  

Mrs. Kennel decided that the gifts should be counted again for each day they are mentioned in the song.  That's a whole lot of partridges in pear trees (and sounds too much like math to me). With the repetitive nature of the verses, the approximate cost for those 364 gifts in today's market would fall somewhere in the neighborhood of $116,272.72.  Nope.

Ten lords-a-leaping alone could run someone’s “true love” well over $5,000.00 per day (and good luck finding eight maids with time enough for milking with all the other tasks that need doing at this time of year)! 

With Christmas sugar cookies from the cafeteria on our collective breath and visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads, our learning community is humming in eager anticipation of our favorite holiday of the year. 

We remember God’s amazing gift to mankind and feel blessed to freely and enthusiastically celebrate the birth of our redeemer, Jesus Christ. 

GYM CLASS...NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE

My recollection of physical education class can be summed up in one cringe-worthy compound word. Sit-ups. Based on the evidence I see when passing our Penn View PE classes, rising generations of students will have MUCH fonder memories to cherish.

PVCS is thrilled to welcome two fresh faces to our athletic department this school year.  Mrs. Jayne Longacre and Mr. Nathaniel Freed are wonderful additions to our faculty. 

Energy is palpable when Jayne is in the house! Engaging our youngest PE students, Jayne works with children ages four through six.  Mrs. Longacre was leading her group through four fun stations during a recent kindergarten PE class. 

(Ball rolling skills demonstrated in the background)

I admit to enjoying the rolling station perhaps a little more than necessary.  One student was to roll a ball along the floor in an attempt to get the ball into the hula-hoop which was being held in position by another student. 

The serious concentration on the face of the roller ended up being unnecessary when Colton was the hoop-holder.  No matter how far from the target the ball rolled, he generously re-positioned the hoop to accommodate a successful roll.  

Everyone needs a friend like Colton!

   
I have met a lot of energetic people in my life but none can compare to the delightfully expressive likes of Mrs. Longacre.  Just watching her for five minutes makes me tired! This exercise in observation convinced me I had chosen well when I did not become a PE teacher. Imagine the phrases below shouted with a combination of genuine glee and tender encouragement and you will have a snapshot of gym class with Mrs. Longacre. 

"Good try!" (spoken with great sincerity after a failed kick attempt into the goal...)



"They're coming in hot!" (when several students attempted to simultaneously shimmy below the jump-rope limbo obstacle)

"WOW!  You lost your shoe!" 
(after another wild kick which sent a ball flying)

"I LOVE the sound of bowling pins!" 
(after one of the small bowlers knocked down the carefully placed pins for the umpteenth time)

"KEEP WORKING HARD!"  
(cheering her tiny charges toward physical fitness)




(and amidst shouting and organized chaos, she says and truly means....)

"THIS IS GREAT!"  

Sweet Sarai taking a break

One of our own, Nathaniel was a 2006 graduate of Penn View.  He is back on campus serving our 1^st and 2^nd graders as well as the Middle School students.  He has also accepted the Athletic Director role for this school year!

The day we stopped by to take some photos, Mr. Freed was reviewing the rules for a game called Octopus.

Before the game could begin, Mr. Freed needed to complete important tasks such as answering philosophical second-grade inquiries about what constitutes a cheater. 

He also accomplished some focused shoelace surveillance, scrutinizing sneakers and generously tying several.

Karis was the designated octopus, as evidenced by the purple foam “octopus leg” she was granted and with which she began tagging her screaming classmates.  

Sea and barnyard collide in this game because in some strange twist of logic, the octopus propagates her squad by collecting allies who then wield rubber chickens as they attempt to grow the team even further.   How I’ve lived for half a century and never knew one could purchase color-coded rubber chickens is a mystery.

It didn’t take long to notice that the intense energy in the room made it a difficult zone for passing along instructions.  When not holding his fluorescent orange whistle between his lips, Mr. Freed’s resting face repeatedly returned to the universal signal for shhhhhhhhh! He is a very patient man.

Apparently, second-graders cannot run from one side of the gymnasium to the other while dodging a purple foam octopus leg and multiple rubber chickens without squealing at the top of their lungs.  The movement portions of the game were positively deafening.  And when the students reached the black lines of the safe zone, they threw themselves into the wall mats with an intensity which would likely knock me unconscious if I attempted the same.

Captured for all of time.  We may have to pull out this photo when these two
animated friends are graduating from Penn View in 8th grade....

Some trash talk began to stir up some dust near the red rubber chicken corner.  



“I don’t want to hear any taunting!” Mr. Freed kindly reminded his charges.  










One gleeful student briskly crossed the room, evading capture to the rhythmic pattern of his own new and triumphantly whispered chant: “Taunt…taunt…taunt….”  (Resident Photographer Kathy Gordon and I are pretty sure the jubilant chanter could not define the word "taunt" for us- even if cash prizes were involved).

When only three untagged students remained, Madison was clearly overjoyed with how impressively she had evaded assimilation.  “This is so fantastic!” 

I have to say, it truly was.