Holiday Fest

On Friday, December 8, 2006, 257 3rd, 4th & 5th graders and 24 staff members from Lafayette Street School in Newark visited Cranford High School for a school-wide service learning event called "Holiday-Fest II." All CHS students and staff were involved in this experience. This initiative addresses district goal #2, as well as the eleven principles of effective Character Education. The Newark and Cranford school districts have a cooperative learning agreement, which is designed to promote cross-cultural interactions and new learning opportunities. "Holiday-Fest II" is another element in this collaboration. This celebration was a follow up to the inaugural Holiday-Fest I, held in 2005. The event started with ideas developed by Mr. John Arlotta, Supervisor of Academic Affairs at CHS and Ms. Lourdes Murphy, vice-principal at Lafayette Street School. CHS students, Hannah Brechka, Alexa Niro and Alyssa Frediani led Holiday-Fest II.

The students from Lafayette Street School arrived at 10:30 a.m. Star Shuttle donated 6 of its buses to transport these students. Each Lafayette student had at least two CHS chaperones, called elves, who accompanied them on a schedule of activities during the day. Each elf purchased a personalized gift for their child. Some of these activities were: Constructing a toy wooden boat, face-painting, moon bounce, bingo, a puppet show, Japanese Origami, Mexican luminaries, history mystery, beading, hot plates and musical chairs. Many CHS students and staff spent countless hours preparing for these activities. There were also hundreds of donated gifts for the elementary students to give to family members. CHS students and staff helped in the selection and wrapping of these gifts. Additionally, most students made spin art and participated in a raffle for a portable DVD player. All CHS and Lafayette students and staff were provided lunches of sandwiches, pizza, happy meals and drinks. Our PTA provided salads and desserts for both schools' staffs. The Lafayette students departed at 1:15 p.m. Both Cranford High School and Lafayette Street School students participated in guided reflection and discussion, to culminate this school-wide service learning experience.

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