Thank you to all the families who joined YHS students and staff for our annual Celebration of Community on Wednesday, December 14. Each year, we begin the holiday season with this festive event, which invites our community to share in the gifts and talents of our students. We were thrilled to bring this event back to the Chan Centre at UBC this year.
The afternoon featured performances from Grades 1-12 and included traditional carols, “The Night Before Christmas”, “The Winter Solstice Song”, “The Nutcracker”, “The Polar Express”, a Chinese folk song, as well as a performance that incorporated a traditional Middle Eastern song. All students joined together to sing Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” for the finale. Interspersed throughout the afternoon of performances were sing-along carols as well as reading from our Poet Laureate, Emma, of her poem “The Light We Share” (read the poem below).
Thank you to the very hard work and dedication of our wonderful music teachers Benila Ninan, Jacqueline Mirtic, and Jenna Baumgartner. This event was a manifestation of the great love and passion they have for our students, for music, and for our school.
A very big note of gratitude to all faculty, staff, and volunteers who extended their support in so many ways with rehearsals, logistics, communication, back-stage prep, decorations, set up, and all the last-minute details. A special thanks to RBC PH&N Investment Counsel, our sponsor for this event.
The impressive venue, carol singing, and festive atmosphere continue to make for a wonderful holiday tradition. This was truly a celebration of community! We have so much to be grateful for. Thank you, everyone, for making this year’s Celebration of Community so amazing!
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The Light We Share
Time passes–
Days become years
Centuries dissolve into millenia
And the world changes…
Letters to laptops
Steam engines to spaceships
Telegraph to texts
In times when change challenges–
Sometimes threatens and unmoors us
We hold fast to our traditions:
Our lighthouses guiding us through the raging storm
They link us to our family past, our communities, and cultures,
Bind us together so we are something more than just ourselves,
Assure us we are not alone,
Illuminate the way into the future…
The shining star of Bethlehem
The flickering flames of the Menorah
The glowing lamps of Diwali
This season,
Let us tend the lights of our own traditions
For we need each one, and each other, to overcome the world’s darkness with
Brilliance
Emma, Grade 12
YHS Poet Laureae
