Polar Express: Elves Invade HHS
Hobart Theatre Department’s annual Polar Express event brought Santa and his elves to Hobart High School on Friday, December 9th. The children of the Hobart community heavily await the excitement that comes to Hobart High’s auditorium when the Polar Express event approaches each year.
Student volunteers from HHS’ theatre dress in their best elf attire to assist Santa Claus in his meet and greet and picture for all children who attend the event. The Polar Express plays and the young attendees find fun in a Christmas favorites sing-along. In the theme of the song “Hot Chocolate,” the volunteers make and sell the most coveted part of this event: the peppermint hot chocolate.
Madison Camacho, one of Santa’s volunteer elves, said, “I’ve been involved in this program for two years and it seems every year the attendance grows and the kids get more excited.”
She added, “The children’s reactions to meeting Santa vary by age, but this year in specific the children had the most excitement than seen before. They went up to him, gave him a hug or a high five, and would tell him what they wanted this year. They were adorable. My favorite part of being here is seeing the positive impact the elves and santa are making on not only the kids, but the parents also. They always seem to have a blast and leave in the holiday spirit.”
Another elf helper, Corbin Barrassis, said, “My favorite part of being an elf is watching all the kids laugh and have a good time. When the sing-along starts, all of their faces light up because they get to sing some Christmas songs with Santa. The best part of the event as a whole was being an elf and getting the little ones to have a wonderful time, especially during the sing-along when the kids got up and formed a train with the elfs and danced around the theatre.”
Key Club and the Spirit of Giving
Hobart High School’s charitable Key Club is bringing the spirit of giving back to the community to the halls of HHS. Key Club is an organization that has been available to the leaders of HHS for years. The club is a student led organization that focuses on leadership, service, and planning opportunities for its members to be involved with in their community. The leading and planning of this organization is spread along a committee of HHS students who are willing to step up to the plate of responsibility and take charge of planning food drives, charitable events and community service.
In the cold month of December, Key Club put focus on giving back to the community in the ways of warmth and cheer. The concept of starting a “Mitten Tree” was put in place during the first week of December.
Key Club webmaster junior Amie Gresham said, “The mitten tree is a Christmas tree that is set up by our media center and is decorated with new hats, gloves, scarves, and other winter items. The mitten tree is ideally supposed to help those who cannot afford to buy any necessities needed to keep them warm, and it does a successful job. Currently the tree is full of items and hopefully will continue to have items added to it as we reach winter break.”
Gresham continued, “The spirit of holiday giving to me is experiencing the appreciativeness people have after something nice has been done for them. It is the positive affirmation and the new exceptional aura they give off that makes the spirit of giving such a satisfying time of year.”
The items collected are being donated to Hearts for the Homeless, started by Hobart High School’s very own Elena Polizzotto. The organization works to provide everyday needs and supplies to the homeless throughout Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. The winter items will be distributed to homeless shelters in the Chicagoland area.
Another way in which Key Club is bringing positivity to the Hobart community was the caroling event that took place December 7th and 8th. Select Key Club members visited two local nursing homes: Miller’s Merry Manor and Brentwood’s Nursing Home.
Key club treasurer Aleena Popp said, “In order to spread Christmas cheer this holiday season, Key Club caroled to two local nursing homes. Caroling was an excellent opportunity to show love to those who don’t always have much this time of year, and it was overall a lovely bonding experience for those members that went. Seeing the smiles of those that we sang to, even if it wasn’t the best singing, made it all worth it in the end.”
Denim with a Deeper Purpose
Beginning the first week of December, Hobart High School’s chapter of National Honor Society held a Jean Drive to provide shoes to third world countries. As incentive to get the donations flowing, the classroom to collect the highest count of pairs of jeans was awarded with Dunkin Donuts for the whole class.
NHS President Hailey Jenkins said, “National Honor Society is beneficial because it is a nationally recognized program, instilling values of service, leadership, scholarship, and character within students. Service, such as a the jean drive, is especially beneficial for students who are looking to make an impact on their community. A local organization approached our NHS chapter about hosting a jean drive. They have the manpower to put the jeans to good use, so we offered to collect jeans throughout the high school.”
Jenkins also added “The purpose of the jean drive is to create shoes for third world countries, such as Uganda. By collecting jeans and plastic folders, durable shoes can be created for those who otherwise cannot afford the simple luxury.”
For more information on the purpose behind this organization, and the importance of jean drives, visit http://solehope.org/.