Grenada Upper Elementary School transformed into a winter wonderland last Thursday night as elves wandered the hallways assisting numerous special guests as they treated students and their parents to a night of literacy.
The inaugural Home for the Holidays Family Literacy Event hosted by the fourth- and fifth-grade campus proved to be a magical night for the more than 300 in attendance. The holiday story-themed event lasted more than two hours and concluded with a special surprise — a visit from Santa Claus, who flew his sleigh to Grenada from the North Pole just for the occasion.
Longtime principal Carol Tharpe was amazed at how the night turned out.
“It was very fulfilling to me; almost magical,” she said last Friday morning.
Tharpe said that the literacy event has been a vision of hers since taking over as the school’s administrator 16 years ago.
“It has always been a dream of mine to expose our students to a variety of genres in an intimate setting where they can fall in love with reading,” she said. “While this was a dream of mine, my very talented staff gave it wings. Pam Briscoe, the ELA (English-Language Arts) specialist in my building was paramount in organizing and heading up this monumental event. She definitely brought life to my vision.”
During Home for the Holidays, eight guests read Christmas stories to students and their parents as they moved from room to room, which were decorated in a variety of Christmas themes ranging from an adorned Cajun bayou to the North Pole. Participants were divided into eight groups with each being treated to four stories read by the guests on separate hallways designated as Hall 2 and Hall 3. Students also received story-themed ornaments following each reading. Elves – teachers by day – then escorted the groups to the next story room.
“We were very intentional about our selection of books,” Tharpe said. “With such a diverse selection of literature, it was easy to pair each book with a community leader in mind. These books were a platform for our readers to share their diverse backgrounds and how literacy connects us to our community.”
The Hall 2 group enjoyed “Christmas in Cooperstown” read by Grenada County Sheriff Rolando Fair, “The Christmas Owl” read by Director of the Friends of Chakchiuma Swamp Robin Whitfield, “Cajun Night Before Christmas” read by Grenada School District (GSD) Superintendent Dr. David Daigneault and “The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey” read by Emmanuel Baptist Church Pastor Brent Barker and his wife, Laura. The rooms were sponsored and decorated by The Touchdown Club, Friends of Chakchiuma Swamp, Elizabeth Jones Library and Farm Bureau, respectively.
The Hall 3 group enjoyed “Olive the Other Reindeer” read by GSD Administrative Programs Officer Dr. Tina Herrington, “The Nutcracker” read by local pharmacist and Sav-Mor Drugs & Gifts owner Fair Jones, “The Legend of the Poinsettia” read by No Way Jose Tex-Mex Restaurant co-manager Jesus Martinez and “The Christmas Tree Book” read by Grenada Area Chamber of Commerce Director Damon Tipton. The rooms were sponsored and decorated by the University of Mississippi Medical Center – Grenada, the Junior Auxiliary of Grenada, Mississippi State Extension Service Agent Jan Walton and the Grenada Rotary Club, respectively.
Tharpe also expressed her gratitude to all of the volunteer readers for taking the time to give back.
“We wanted our children to see the readers in our community that are doing great things,” she said. “More than ever, it’s about unity and being intentional to nurture relationships between community, schools and families. We wanted our students to experience reading for the pure joy it brings.”
Daigneault described the night as “absolutely stunning” and “incredible,” adding that he was honored to have been a part of it.
“That’s what real education is all about,” he said after the event. “In all of my years of being in the role of superintendent, I thought that this was one of the most amazing academic programs that our school district has ever done. It was something that was geared toward helping children, it got the parents involved and it got community members involved. When you have the children, the community, the teachers and the parents involved, you’ve got a winning program.”
Reading to the students was also a welcome change for Daigneault.
“The readers all did a wonderful job,” he added. “For me personally, it was a real joy to get to read ‘Cajun Night Before Christmas’ to the students because it brought back so many memories of my life as I was growing up in south Louisiana in the New Orleans area. It was terrific. The children were polite and the parents were engaged. Talk about a win – this program academically and for the community, parents and students, it was absolutely sensational.”
Following its success, Tharpe said that she plans to add the literacy event to the school’s annual calendar.
“We want everyone to feel at home at The Green Top,” she concluded. “We want students, parents and community members to feel vested in our schools. While educating children is our top priority, we know that we can’t do it alone. We need our community leaders walking hand in hand with us as we shape tomorrow’s leaders.”
After both groups finished hearing its fourth story, they visited the school’s library where Santa Claus posed for photos and presented them with one last ornament, each student received a goodie bag with a copy of each of the four stories they heard and refreshments were served.
Another event for students and parents focused on math skills is scheduled for 2022.
