With Thanksgiving a fading memory, Charles Wright is headed full speed into the holiday season. At a school known for both its academic focus and quirky sense of humor, the holidays seem to bring out the best of both traditions. In the Upper School, students are clearly studying hard for finals, but today you are just as likely to see someone skipping across the commons wearing a piece of silver garland like a feather boa and humming the tune to the Fruitcake Song.

The Upper School is preparing the annual Christmas Dinner for families served by Catholic Community Service’s Phoenix Housing Network and Charles Wright’s own Chapel Home program. The students have already gone shopping for groceries and gifts and today they started decorating the commons.

Each class has put up a Christmas tree on their stage. The sophomore tree leans a bit, the freshmen could use some garland, and we’re not sure why the seniors decided empty chip bags and rolls of packing tape were ornaments… but the junior tree looks fantastic. Actually, both of the junior trees look fantastic — the traditional evergreen and a very large deciduous branch in a five gallon bucket. They’ve also hung a Hanukkah banner. Nice job, class of 2009.

Meanwhile, Charles Wright’s vocalists are busy rehearsing the Fruitcake Song for the all-school holiday assembly on December 17. The assembly will be the forth and final performance in the winter concert series. The choirs, bands and orchestra prepared some beautiful pieces of music this fall.

Come get into the holiday spirit and support all the students studying performing arts by attending one of these events:

Upper School Winter Concert
Thursday, December 6, 7:30pm
Middle School Commons

Middle School Winter Concert
Thursday, December 13, 7:30pm
Middle School Commons

Lower School Holiday Concert
Sunday, December 16, 2:00pm
Wight Gym

If all goes according to plan, this will be the second-to-last holiday concert series before the performing arts department moves into the new Language and Performing Arts Center. If you aren’t sure yet why these programs need a real performance space with good acoustics, you really need to come to one of these concerts. Bring a friend!