FERGUS – Students at JD Hogarth Public School were in celebratory moods on the last day of school prior to the holidays.
Slick, snowy roads meant school buses were cancelled on Dec. 19, but that didn’t stop hundreds of kids from showing up to school, many wearing Christmas-themed sweaters, Santa hats, elf caps, reindeer antlers or sparkling tinsel.
They started the day with a high-energy assembly to celebrate another successful food drive.
The school collects for the Centre Wellington Food Bank every year, and this year set a goal of donating 5,000 items. It blew that goal out of the water, collecting about 6,500 items.
The kids had an idea of what to expect for the assembly, as they held one every time they reached a 1,000-item milestone during the drive.
The excitement in the air was palpable as they flooded into the gymnasium, sitting cross-legged in rows.
The chatter quieted quickly when student emcees Brooklyn Vermunt and Reagan Rogers got the assembly going.
When they announced the number of items raised for the food bank, the room erupted, with students screaming, hollering and throwing their arms in the air to rejoice.
“It has been amazing watching our pile for the food drive grow every day,” Rogers said.
Students watched a video emphasizing the joy of giving and student Daniel Small, also known as “Paper Shredder,” made his way onto the stage with a mic in hand and Santa hat atop his head to perform an original rap song about the students’ generosity.
Before long, his peers were all clapping along to the beat.
The emcees were then joined by the school’s dance group, which lead the students in a chicken dance.
Students who made top contributions to the drive were honoured with very messy pies in the face, which had students laughing loudly.
Gia Brodie looks shocked at the mess she made throwing a pie in Lily Tunney’s face. Photo by Robin George
Skyla Ramsy brought more than 300 items to school for the drive, and emcee Vermunt brought more than 500.
Also receiving a pie in the face was vice principal Nathan Adams.
It was his last day working at JD Hogarth, as he will serve as principal of James McQueen Public School next year.
Principal Jim Newton kept the energy going at the end of the assembly by leading the school in a call and response, chanting “When I say food, you say drive – food!”
“Drive!” the kids yelled back, many grinning from ear to ear.
The work wasn’t over once the assembly finished.
While most students headed back to their classrooms, members of the food drive team stuck around.
A volunteer from the food bank had parked a trailer outside the school’s main doors, and the students quickly got to work loading it up with box after box of donated food.
