MOOSE JAW — Westmount School’s gym was filled with the voices of excited students on Dec. 10 and 11 as they browsed for those perfect gifts for their families during the annual “Christmas Store” event.
It was also likely a melancholy time for some students and staff, as this was the last such event the school held in its current building before everyone moved to the new Coteau Hills Elementary School next year.
The Christmas Store was mainly aimed at students in pre-kindergarten to Grade 5, giving them an opportunity to shop for their immediate family members. Items ranged from 25 cents to $1, while volunteers wrapped the gifts and sent them home with the students to open at Christmastime.
Students in grades 6 to 8 also shopped on the last day since there were enough leftover items.
Some gifts the more than 350 students could choose from included toys, games, household items, home décor, jewelry, tools, stationary items, watches, clocks and other new or gently used products.
“It’s our favourite tradition,” said Dawn Anne Darroch, school community council chairwoman. “It’s been a tradition at Westmount for many years and it just brings so much smile and joy and Christmas spirit to our school and students.”
With a laugh, Darroch said it takes plenty of time and effort to organize the two-day event, with SCC members and volunteers beginning their preparations in mid-November and then dedicating evenings and weekends to accumulate items. It then takes several more days to set up the tables in the gym and lay out the Christmas gifts.
The Christmas Store is usually busy, especially with more than 300 youths attending the school, while each student is likely taking home gifts for at least four people, the SCC chairwoman continued.
“So it’s a lot of stuff and it’s a lot of kids coming through, but it’s a lot of fun,” Darroch remarked. “… the kids are more than happy to take (items) home to their family.”
The money collected usually supports activities throughout the year and the event the following year, although sometimes the SCC uses the funds to purchase gifts for dads or teens ahead of time if members know they’ll be short of items for those groups.
Moving to the new joint-use school will be sad but also exciting, with the hope that this tradition can be carried on with participation from Empire School, said Darroch.
“There’s lots of change and there’s good things happening. Joining with Empire is going to be great,” she added. “We’ve already been meeting with them and getting to know them, so the students and teachers have been coming together already and we just can’t wait for September.”
Principal Trish Alexander said the Christmas Store allows students to purchase gifts for their families “in a really exciting way” since they can shop secretly and not face pressure after school or on the weekends to find gifts while with their parents.
“I think the highlight for me this year was a brand-new student from a different country ran up and gave me a hug and said, ‘Thank you so much for doing this. This is the best day ever,’” Alexander recalled. “So just hearing words like that, you know this is a really, really, really good event.”
Alexander also hoped that they could keep this tradition going at Coteau Hills and turn it into an even bigger event.
