Deck the Halls and get ready for the holidays. Valley Heights High School will be getting a festive face-lift and it is all thanks to the KAY organization and their officers. Alexis Miller, Audra Steinfort, Tessa Miller and Anne Toerber. These Santas helpers have organized a team of elf volunteers to work their magic throughout the high school paying particular attention to the one area of the High School where the entire student body finds themselves at one time or the other during the day – the commons.
“The school is very gray and we wanted to do something different and spice it up for the holidays,” said Alexis. The 8 Days of Christmas Committee will put the Christmas spirit around the school starting December 3rd. Last month the four officers attended a KAY’s conference and came back with fun ideas to celebrate the holidays. According to Tessa, “At our conference we were all pitching new ideas to each other and coming up with things we could do to bring Christmas to the school and that is how we came up with the idea. The main areas of our school doesn’t get much décor but this year the high school will be all decked out.” Students should expect to see garnish, lights, ornaments, trees and everything Christmas.
Audra said, “We are going to start in the commons and if we have extra decorations then we will ask the teachers if we can decorate their rooms as well. Our officers wanted to donate to give back to the families in our community. “We wanted to do a Christmas party, but this year when you come you have to bring a decoration to get in. We really wanted to implement giving back to the community by donating surplus decorations to the families in our community.”
Volunteering increases by 50% during the holiday season. Many factors play a role in people's desire to give back to their community which could include religious reasons, values or personal fulfillment according to UT Dallas Magazine. At Valley Heights High School, the 8 Days of Christmas Committee is giving back to not only the school, but the community.