At CHDS, our special events begin with celebrating two festive fall holidays in Halloween and Thanksgiving. During the winter, many parents arrive at school daily to participate in Family Sharing at CHDS. The spring kicks off with a great afternoon of story telling by a popular local author and a great Art Gallery night of displaying the children’s fantastic artwork. The gatherings continue with a fun, worthy fundraising event in May and a joyous June year-end party where we acknowledge all of our children’s efforts throughout the year and distribute diplomas to our graduating children. Don’t forget, birthday parties are sprinkled throughout every season at CHDS.
Halloween is a fun time for the children! Every October, we have a potluck dinner and the children come to school dressed in costumes and sing fun songs for the parents. It is a special night and our way to celebrate the festive Halloween holiday.
Grandfriends’ Thanksgiving Luncheon
Every year, during the week before thanksgiving, the children invite their grandparents or “grandfriends” to a special lunch of homemade soup, bread and muffins. Each family is asked to bring in an ingredient and the children spend a few days with their teachers to wash, cut and add the vegetables to the soup made “full of love.” We believe that the young generation can greatly benefit from spending time with the older generation.
Being that the curriculum at CHDS is literature-based, it is important that the children are exposed to various genres of books throughout the year. To supplement the many stories the children hear on a daily basis, a special event is made for people in the community, including local authors such as Nancy Poydar to visit Happy Day and read one of their books to the children.
During the month of April, the curriculum of all the programs focuses on art and artists. The children experiment with various styles and techniques to create their own masterpieces. At the end of the month, the children create an art gallery, with the help of parent volunteers, to showcase the work they have created. Then, one weeknight, the art gallery is open to the parents. They are able to view and purchase for a small fee their children’s works. All proceeds from this night benefit the CHDS scholarship fund.
In the spring of each year, the families of CHDS come together to raise money for the school’s scholarship fund. The funds are raised by auctioning items donated by the school and by CHDS families. School donations in the past have included quilts, small benches and toy boxes, specially decorated by the children. Family donations have included Red Sox tickets and “A Day at the Spa.” This is a fun day and worthy event!
Every June, we have an end of the year gathering for all classes as the Pre-Kindergarten/Kindergarten children receive their diplomas. Each class prepares a special show singing songs or performing a play. In the past, children have performed “Where is My Mother,” “Hattie and the Fox,” and “The Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly.”
We love celebrating birthdays at Happy Day! Teachers make a special crown and the children decorate it however way they like. Parents can bring in a cake, cupcakes or another special treat for the children to enjoy. Celebrations take place during morning snack time.
