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Christmas Memories 1

As we approach Christmas once again, my thoughts turn to happy memories of Christmases in school, as both a teacher and head teacher. I am a little sad that I won't get to add to my experiences this year, but I am also quite excited about having enough time to properly prepare for the big day.

One of my favourite parts of the build up to the Christmas in school was always the Christingle Service. It's ironic, as I don't have a religious bone in my body, but there is something magical about a Christingle in a proper old stone church. It is a tradition that I started in my school after experiencing it for the first time as a class teacher. For the uninitiated, a Christingle Service is pretty much a traditional carol service, but it includes a section at the beginning where the children process into the Church with a lit candle stuck in the top of an orange. There are also cocktail sticks with sweets stuck into the orange and a red ribbon stuck around the middle of it. As you would imagine, there is a religious significance to each part of the Christingle, but as far as the children are concerned there are sweets to be eaten so its a good thing!

One aspect of Christingles that I found immensely frustrating was the annual hand-wringing of some of the staff and the suggestion that we shouldn't be doing it as it was too dangerous! This is despite the fact that there were over 5000 school Christingles last year and not a single burn related injury, as far as I am aware. I used to have to respond to teachers with concerns patiently and understandingly, whilst inside thinking 'come on, let's give the kids a bit of credit!' It got so bad that I ended up having to buy battery operated candles one year in order to placate the staff, or I fear the service would not have gone ahead. As you can imagine, as soon as I had left the school the tradition we had built up over more than a decade was cancelled. There is a lesson there for all head teachers about your legacy, or lack of one.

This seems to have turned into a bit of a moan, which is not really in the Christmas spirit, so lets move on to a completely positive memory. About half a dozen years ago, maybe more, we started the last day of term with extra excitement in the air. There was a chance that it was going to snow, and do so before the end of the school day! If there is one thing that helps us all reconnect with our childhoods, it is the chance of snow. Very little work happens on the last day of term, as it is usual for children to be allowed to bring in games whilst the teachers take down the Christmas decorations, but even less happened on this day was we were all pretty much starting out of the window waiting for the forecast to come true.

On a tangent, there is something very weird about taking your decorations down before Christmas, and it is something I think might be unique to schools. I guess it is better than waiting until the start of the new term in January, but you definitely feel like you might be offending Santa by doing it on December 20th.

Anyway, back to the last day of term. I believe that it started to snow around 11:30, and by lunchtime it was clear that this wasn't going to be the usual ten flakes of snow we saw most years, so we started to plan to shut down early before things got too bad. Anyone who has worked in a school will know the logistics involved in closing early, but the fact that this was the last day of term made it into a real Christmas treat for us, and for the children. I am pleased to say that we all got away safely, and before the usual end of the school day, and the drive back for me at least was a magical and memorable experience that set me up for a wonderful Christmas!

More Christmas memories tomorrow...

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