It’s an indescribable feeling: a slight chill in the air, quiet laughter echoing the halls, an element of childish joy in every word.
It’s the week before winter break.
To celebrate the upcoming holiday season, Fieldston’s Fun Times Team – the Supervisors of Fun Times Reanna Bilbao (Form VI) and Lily Burnside (Form VI) and Fieldston’s Dean of Student Engagement Ruth Taveras – organized a week jam-packed with holiday cheer.
The festivities kicked off on Tuesday, December 7, as students sang Mariah Carey’s – “It’s TIIIIIIIIIme,” throughout the halls.
During the advisory, the juniors and freshmen participated in a gift exchange and hot chocolate party, organized by the Peer Leadership Program (PLoP).
However, the events that took the cake (or rather the icing) were the cookie decorating and gingerbread house-building competitions during Activities.
In a 500s classroom, different groups of students crowded around hastily combined desks. The smartboard blasted holiday favorites, and some obscure others (“Do They Know It’s Christmas,” from “Daddy’s Home 2”), while the competition began. Some groups chose an “all hands on deck” approach, with multiple people working on the houses together. Others took the “solo, but supported route,” as one group member took the lead, and the others, well, enjoyed the candy additions.
Farah Salem (Form IV) began explaining her love for gingerbread houses – “they’re yummy” – as her gingerbread building partner Olivia Roman (Form IV) exclaimed, “Wait, we did it!” Sure enough, they had four walls standing, a roof in place, and candy scattered delicately around. The two exchanged a messy, icing-stained, high-five.
Some gingerbread groups weren’t so successful.
“It’s getting very dramatic,” said Ellie Usdin (Form VI) as she watched her gingerbread foundations crumble for the third time. “The liquidity of the frosting makes the gingerbread very unsturdy. As a member of a robotics team, I think it’s really important to build strong structures.” She looked sadly at her heap of crumbs, “Unfortunately, our gingerbread house is not one of those strong structures.”
For some students, the holiday cheer provided a perfect opportunity to relax. “I’ve been working hard all day,” said Keira Price (Form III). “This was a great stress reliever.”
While the gingerbread house competition heated up in the 500s, students from all grades gathered in the Commons, at large circular tables for karaoke and a cookie decorating competition. The tables displayed a medley of materials: icing, candy, sprinkles etc. At one table, the centerpiece was an overflowing box of peppermint bark, homemade by Samantha Gold (Form V).
“Today we’re making cookies and feeling the festive spirit of the holidays,” said Ava Clark (Form VI), who utilized a lot of blue icing to decorate her gingerbread cookie.
Next to Clark, Hannah Greenfield (Form VI), inspired by the newest hit movie “Wicked,” decorated two cookies as Elphaba and Glinda, the movie’s main characters.
To keep the cookie decorators focused (or unfocused depending on the song), students came up to the screen at the front and sang karaoke songs. For the classics – like “Last Christmas,” by Wham! – the entire Commons sang along, waving their hands and icing packets in the air.
India Haberkern (Form IV) saw the cookie decorating as an opportunity to connect. “It was a great way to see people from school that I don’t see throughout the day and to bond with people from other grades.”
Taveras added, “I just appreciate the way everyone came together, especially this year. I’ve loved seeing so much joy.” Taveras declared the eventful day an “absolute success,” and only the first in a festivity-filled week.
