Syracuse Van Duyn Elementary School announced the winner of their hallway decorations today, in efforts to bring about Christmas Cheer.
Eight-year-old Aislinn Nolan was part of the winning team of the hallway named the Winter Express.
"I'm shocked we won," Nolan said.
She mentioned the other hallways (Champsville, Snow Brilliant, Be the Light, Be Unique) were equally as beautiful and that decorating together meant more than winning when it comes to Christmas.
“Christmas is all about love and affection and being together,” said Nolan.
The Principal, Eva Williams mentioned that for some students being together or having Christmas cheer is not possible this time of year, especially in Van Duyn Elementary School where most of the kids have 85% reduced lunch.
“For many,” Williams remarked, “This [decorating hallways at school] is going to be their holiday-their only holiday.”
Not only is this giving a holiday to those that don’t have means to celebrate, this hallway decorating competition provides stress relief. One of the teachers of the winning team “Winter Express” shared her opinion.
“In general this has been a really stressful month. Kids come to school with a lot of baggage…we wanted to bring joy to them outside of the classroom,” said Williams. “She added that the kind of joy means more than memorizing, textbooks and texts.
Principal Williams agreed and is a firm believer of taking care of the student emotionally first, so that they can be successful academically.
“We have to meet children at the heart level before we go to the brain level,” she said.
She says that she has seen this type of social understanding of children be helpful to them once they reach adulthood.
“I’ve had kids come back to see me when they are in college, they thank me and tell me they are doing well.”
When Williams first started working at Van Duyn Elementary School, she said the school was at failing level and now seven years later it became a turnaround school where the kids are doing well. She attributes it to infusing emotional care with academic care for students, since those elements go hand in hand. She suggests our society start helping people when they are young.
“As Fredrick Douglass said, ‘it is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men’,” Williams expressed.
Still, it’s not too late to try to build up our older college student Williams thinks. For the time being, she concludes, the school is going to continue focusing on doing fun types of activities all year round for the kids and hopes other higher education establishments will take some notes and do the same.
“It doesn’t have to be hallway decorating,” said Williams, “But anything that makes things less stressful and adds holiday cheer will help in the long run.”
