Hosted by the Associated Student Body (ASB), Holiday Village Week gave students and staff an opportunity to embrace the holiday season and de-stress before the chaos of finals kicks in.
Running from Dec. 2 to Dec. 6, Holiday Village Week featured themed dress days and lunch activities in the quad. From festive movies to cookie decorating, students were able to participate in a variety of holiday activities to get into the winter spirit.
Each day, the quad filled with laughter and conversation as students came to enjoy the activities, including watching “The Grinch” in the ASB room, building mini graham cracker houses, and listening to instrumental holiday music performed by the Carlmont Symphonic Band.
Callie Hernandez, a freshman, dressed up every day and participated in the quad activities. She especially enjoyed the pictures with Santa on Friday, as well as the free hot cocoa bar.
“So far this week, I think my favorite theme day has probably been yesterday with the blue and white or pajama day,” Hernandez said.
Taking place the week before finals review, this event allowed students to relax and have fun before they started stressing about tests and grades. The activities helped people enjoy themselves, as well as develop a sense of school spirit.
Students who participated in the themed dress days were able to experience a sense of camaraderie as they connected with others through their matching outfits. Teachers could also bond with students this way, along with other staff members. Dressing up allowed students and teachers alike to get out of their everyday routines and have a different approach.
Kelly Redmon teaches English at Carlmont and loves participating in spirit weeks. She sent out emails reminding staff to dress up and made class announcements to encourage students to participate as well.
“It’s fun. It gets you thinking in a different way and being in a different space. I also think, as a teacher, it kind of helps me connect to my kids that are involved,” Redmon said.
Hernandez explains her reasoning for participating in the activities.
“I think it’s cool to show spirit, and also, it makes everybody smile, and I like that,” Hernandez said.
Making people smile is a big part of this event for Redmon too. She often stands outside her classroom and compliments the outfits of students walking by.
“When someone’s dressed all ‘Grinchy,’ like on Tuesday, it makes people smile. Even if you don’t know the person, you smile. I would say, not only this week but anytime there’s a spirit week, it just makes people giggle and smile and feel silly. And that’s a wonderful thing to do,” Redmon said.
There are also other factors that contribute to the timing of this event, such as academic focus.
Mahika Reddy, a co-facilitator for ASB’s Lunchtime Commission, reflects on the timing of Holiday Village Week.
“You can’t really have anything going on during review week, and it’s also hard for the ASB kids to focus on their academics because it really does take a lot of time, especially during school. And then, obviously, it can’t happen on finals week, so this is just the latest it can be to still be holiday-themed,” Reddy said.
ASB tries to have this event every year with certain things that stay the same, such as pictures with Santa. However, they worked hard to make this year as special as possible.
“We decided to start planning right after Halloween because last year there was kind of a situation where we didn’t do much for this week, and we wanted to do better this year,” Reddy said.
As Carlmont moves toward finals in the next couple of weeks, things will likely become more stressful — that’s why this week was so important for so many people.
“I think a lot of people are stressing about about taking their finals. They’re thinking, ‘Oh my God, I need to start worrying about this, I need to start stressing.’ And so I think this is a good reminder that, hey, we’re having fun. We’re in the spirit. Just have fun,” Hernandez said.
