On Tues., Dec. 9, the Benjamin School hosted its annual Holiday Assembly. This assembly is highly anticipated by students and faculty alike as it showcases the talents of students, brings the community together, and inspires holiday cheer. This year, there was singing, music, dancing, speeches, and more.
As always, the assembly was opened by the Head of Upper School, Mr. Fletcher Carr. Mr. Carr shared some brief remarks about the importance of the holiday season and then passed the microphone to Student Council President, Liam Duffy, to begin the assembly.
The first performance of the event was a holiday piece by the band, chamber ensemble, and Benjamin dancers. This piece was inspired by The Nutcracker and featured lots of costumes, a variety of music, and var- ious instruments.
“It was great to do a combined performance with the Dazzlers and to learn all of the new music for the assembly,” explained senior and band member Sebastian Scaperotto.
Then, the assembly moved on to a speech by senior Chase Zur, who shared her Hanukkah memories of family dinners, gift exchanges, and board games. In addition to this speech, sophomore Hailey Cischke spoke about her Christmas traditions, including being gifted silver bells and attending mass. The last student speech was done by members of the Diversity Council, junior Nahla Bond and sophomore MarQuis Etienne. These two students explained the traditions, meaning, and significance behind the holiday of Kwanzaa.
Another speech was given by US History Teacher, Mr. Zachary Rubiano. He chose to share an unconventional yet heartwarming Christmas tradition that is shared by him and his mother.
“My story involves how I spend every Christmas morning working at one of my Dunkin locations. It remains a fun and great experience because I get to bring cheer to the local community, as well as getting to work alongside my mom,” said Mr. Rubiano.
The Dazzlers also performed an- other dance to “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey. This performance was upbeat, jolly, and included a classic Dazzler kickline.
Senior and Captain of the Dazzlers, Bryce Seger, shares her thoughts on this performance, “It was really fun, and we got to wear heels, which we don’t get to do a lot. That made it harder, but it made the dance so much better.”
Lastly, the Benjamin choir performed a holiday medley and encouraged the audience to join in and sing along.
“We sang a few Christmas songs, including “Baby Please Come Home,” “Last Christmas,” and “Jin- gle Bell Rock.” We kind of did like a sing along. We practiced for a couple of weeks for the performance and it was so fun. Everyone sang along and clapped and it spread holiday cheer,” explained senior chorus member, Caroline Welke.
One reason this event is so special is that members of the Upper School community get to share more about their personal lives and families.
Mr. Rubiano shares, “It was nice to share my story with the school and display that we all engage in a variety of different traditions, and no one Christmas is the same.”
The Holiday Assembly was closed out with remarks from Head of School Mr. Dave Faus. This assembly brought the same charisma, joy, and excitement as always and was the perfect way to finish out the first semester. A special thank you to Dr. Haley for organising and making this event so amazing!
