By Wren Lee
Staff Writer
@LeeLaurenWren
What do pianos, purses and puppies have in common other than the letter p? They are all wishes first grade teacher Ashley McGown’s class had for Santa.
This year heralded yet another successful Santa letter writing event. Writing letters to Santa has been going on for years. Every year, kindergarteners and first graders from Cottonwood Creek Elementary flood certain English teachers’ classrooms.
“This was my first time doing this,” McGown said. “The event seemed efficient and organized.”
Originally, teachers from Cottonwood Creek contacted Coppell High School English teachers and started the Santa letter writing event years ago.
“It has been going on even before I became department chair 20 years ago,” English department chair Linda Moore said.
Though this event has pushed on through the decades, Senior Parimala Gangaraj has not participated before. Gangaraj said, “I liked bonding with the kids. It was a good experience.”
McGown’s students were all very excited to meet the high schoolers, or ‘high school buddies’ as she put it.
“It was good for [the first graders] to see where [the high schoolers] come from. Some have older brothers and sisters, so they knew what to expect,” McGown said. “The [first graders] could also see that [what they are learning now] translates [later in life].”
The high schoolers in English teacher Amelia Antillon’s second period were cheering when the first graders arrived. They made a bridge with their arms as the younger kids walked through. Students young and old colored grinning reindeer and jolly Santas and munched on frosted cookies and candy canes.
Smiles echoed on every face.
“I used to volunteer, and I would spend time with kids. It was nice to hang out with kids again,” sophomore Aditi Jain said.
The main event was the letter writing, though. High schoolers sat by their younger buddies and advised in their letter writing. “[The high schoolers] helped me with my spelling and where to put my letters,” first grader Joanna Benjamin said.
Sophomore Abbie Hall did not let the first graders off easy. Instead Hall sounded out the words and let first-grader Cole Kettler spell it out himself.
The most exciting part for the elementary school students was a sneak peek of Santa on their way out.
“Being with the younger kids reminds us about the joy of Santa. We forget what it’s like to have that belief [in Santa],” Antillon said.
