Crockett ISD Celebrates 12 Days of Christmas

By Crockett ISD Student Journalists Tristen McGraw and Lilly Wilson

Special to theMessenger

This article was prepared and written by the student journalists from Crockett High School in collaboration with The Messenger. We would like to thank the students who participate in this program and a special thanks to their English teacher Tori Stallones who worked so hard to make it possible.

CROCKETT – Roughly 30 years ago, stores began selling matching family pajama sets. This idea took off and is now very popular. It’s clear that Christmas traditions are held close to people’s hearts.

Another one of these traditions is the “12 Days of Christmas” Idea. This can take form in an advent calendar or a gift each day leading up to Christmas, but this December, in Crockett ISD, we celebrate this tradition with different themed dress-up days. Starting the month off, we have “grinch day” where students and staff wear something with the grinches’ face printed on it. On the second day of Christmas, we wore holiday t-shirts (most people wore red). Then, on the third day of Christmas we dressed up as Christmas characters. Looking around the school, people could be seen dressed up as Rudolph, Santa, or even as an elf. Rounding out the first week of the 12 Days of Christmas Event, we all wore red and green, getting more into the holiday spirit!

While it may be difficult for some to go all out and dress as characters, red and green clothing is much more accessible. The days that require less complex designs ensure that everyone has a chance to get in on the Christmas spirit, as they are inclusive of all. While this dress-up calendar is a cute idea, what makes Crockett so special? Perhaps it’s the Christmas tree when you first walk in. Or maybe it’s the luminous lights in the common area. It could also be the staff. For us, it’s all of those things, along with friends and family. Dressing up isn’t just an excuse to wear pajamas or other clothing items usually not allowed; it’s a celebration of joy. Students get to pick what they wear and show it off to others. This entire event allows everyone to express themselves and their creativity in ways that they usually can’t at school.

While the first week of the Christmas calendar is exciting, the second week includes the day the majority of students (and faculty) look forward to: pajama day. This day happens to take place on a testing day and makes students feel more comfortable during their exams. A study from 2009, published in the journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, titled “Relationship Between Perceived Clothing Comfort and Exam Performance,” finds that when students are more comfortable during exams, they tend to score better. The less comfortable a student is, the worse they do on their tests. Comfortability is especially important during the holiday time, since families face added financial stress and students feel the pressure of finishing out their first semester with good grades. Overall, the holiday season can be harsh on some and this event calendar gives both pupils and teachers the ability to escape from their outside worries and just have fun with the different themes.

Bibliography

Rick Bell, Armand V Cardello, Howard G Schutz. “Relationship Between Perceived Clothing Comfort and Exam Performance” in Family and Consumer Sciences, 2009. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1077727X04274115