Holiday Festivities at Post Oak High School

Rains Browning, sharing why he brought Bumblebee for the toy drive. Pictured (from left) are Brayden Chavis, Rains Browning, Lori Scovill, Megan Rahlfs, Paloma Fernandez and Janet Ott. (Photo: Elisa Schimdt)

My school hosted three big events for the holiday season- a toy drive for the Star of Hope Mission, Secret Santa and a celebration of Las Posadas- all of which were a great relief from finals. 

Ever since the school opened, we have had our annual Star of Hope Toy Drive right before Winter Break. This is an important event, not just because it was started by yours truly, but also because it also allows teachers and students to learn more about each other and to give back to our community. 

The Toy Drive is an event where everyone brings in a toy and/or book in that they loved from their childhood and share stories about why they love it. One great story was from a teacher about the first edition of an Amazing Spiderman comic, in which the header was “With great power comes great responsibility,” he said that he loves Spiderman and his story. He shared the book with his kids, stressing that message. He said he wanted to pass down that message to the new generation. 

Riane’s astonishment at her discovery of Matthew’s position of secret Santa. 

The next event was Secret Santa, the event that everyone loves (probably because they get presents). During our regular community gathering time, everyone brought their gifts wrapped up. We then proceeded to go around the circle and guess who our Santa was. I was first, but I already knew who my Santa was, my English teacher Ms. Harrison. She got me buttons with phrases, a Wonder Woman keychain, and, my favorite gift, a graphic novel called Strong Female Protagonist.

There were a lot of unexpected gifts, but, in my opinion, my friend Matthew Watowich’s was the best. He had our mutual friend Riane Belgau, who always wanted a giant stuffed teddy bear. Riane tried to figure out who her Santa was before the gathering, but Matthew didn’t let himself be caught. At the gathering, Riane was so shocked that he was her Santa, and after a few minutes of trying to open her giant present, she was so happy and excited. 

James Perkins taking a whack at one of the piñatas made by Spanish students.  

The final event was a celebration for Las Posadas, a nine-day celebration in Mexico for the nine months that Mary was pregnant for Jesus. Now we didn’t have a nine-day celebration, but we did a lot. The higher-level Spanish students dressed up as Mary, Joseph and angels, and gave a presentation, in Spanish and English, about the history of Las Posadas and why it is important in Mexican culture. In the weeks before, all the Spanish students had made piñatas and learned Mexican folk songs. We smashed those piñatas and sang some of the songs we learned. We ended the celebration by eating the food that my Spanish class made, which was delicious! 

These holiday festivities are probably some of the most fun experiences that we have here. All of these activities bring us together as a community, we learned more about each other and grow closer together. All of these activities involve giving, whether it be giving someone something you loved, getting someone something they love or sharing your culture with others. Nothing beats the feeling of seeing someone’s face after you give them a present, the gratitude and happiness is probably one of the best gifts one could receive.