Van Allen celebrates the beginning of winter break with first pancake day

MT. PLEASANT - It was a day of celebration and holiday cheer for those at Van Allen Elementary School as faculty and students prepared to head into their winter break.

What better way to start the day than with some pancakes and bacon? That's what the school staff kept in mind as they organized the school's first pancake breakfast event for their students, held on Friday, Dec. 20.

'It's just something that makes an enjoyable last day for kids and faculty to come together. It's something we've never done for them and it's just to show them that we're here for them and that we love having them here,” Van Allen principal Don LeBlanc said.

It was all-hands-on-deck in order to pull off the pancake breakfast, which included cooking enough pancakes and bacon for the school's nearly 300 students. Teachers, staff and parents all pitched in to make it possible.

'We just joined together as a team and decided to do something fun for the kids … I think school spirit will be very high today and the kids will be really excited and they just love coming on the party day … so I think they'll be a lot of excited kids this morning … we're hoping to make it an annual event,” Chris Snyder, a kindergarten teacher said.

'I love pancakes,” Jade Crawford, a third-grader, proclaimed, as she stood in the school's gymnasium.

Jade's entire family came out for pancake day. Her mother, Ashely Keever, works as a paraeducator at the school and was dressed in a matching ugly Christmas sweater with Jade. The third-grader's father, Breon Crawford, signed up to help cook breakfast.

'I'm excited for winter break but I won't be able to see my friends, so I'm upset about that,” Jade said of preparing to leave for winter break.

'I get to see grandpa again,” she continued about what she was most looking forward to during the break.

As more students began to file in, entire platters of pancakes began to disappear. A slew of teachers were hard at work getting pancakes onto griddles while others helped serve the students. Older students were also drafted into the effort to dispense the food, including Lorena Ramirez, a fifth-grader who helped seat students and bring pancakes to eager and hungry kintergarteners.

Ramirez noted that she was most excited to watch 'Home Alone 2” with her class later in the day and was excited for winter break and Christmas, much like her peers.

Heather Smith, a special-education teacher and Barb Helmick, a paraeducator both explained they felt the pancake breakfast would leave students with 'happy memories.”

'Some of them are not happy about break,” Helmick explained.

'They don't like that it's so long … for some of them, school is where they get a regular meal,” Smith added, explaining that not all students would be excited for Christmas or break.

To close out the day, the school also hosted its ninth annual Christmas singalong, during which parents and families of students were invited to sing a selection of holiday songs alongside their children. Pieces included 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” and 'Jingle Bells.” Following the group singing, several teachers performed a special rendition of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas,” which swapped the song's usual 'my true love gave to me” lyrics to, 'my student said to me.”

'On the first day of Christmas, my student said to me: When is the class party?” Synder sang, to the laughter of students.