Joanne McQuarrie, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
Clad in cozy pajamas - it was Pajama Day after all at Jasper Elementary School - about 180 staff members and students shared Christmas cheer with Jasperites on a walkabout on Dec. 18.
Grade 1 teacher, Becky Koss, organized the festive event, called the Holiday Spirit Parade.
Carrying bags and pulling wagons stuffed with food items, Christmas-themed placards, candy canes and gingerbread people, the cohorts, with their respective teachers, strolled past the Alpine Summit Seniors Lodge, down the street past the hospital, around the corner to Pine Grove Manor and up to the Anglican Church.
An abundance of food items the groups carried or pulled from school were left at the door of the church for the Jasper Food Bank before the festive crew returned to school.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a school-wide activity to provide positivity and community connection, and Christmas joy,鈥� Koss said.
鈥淪ome classes carried signs to brighten their day. It鈥檚 valuable for the students too.鈥�
The event has been taking place for the last few years. This year it was a COVID-protocol-style walk, compared to last year, when, Koss said, a combined total of about 200 staff and students stood shoulder-to-shoulder from the school entrance to the Jasper Food Bank at the St. Mary and St. George Anglican Church about a block and a half away.
Food items were passed from hand to hand down the long line until they reached their destination at the church.
