{"id":4563,"date":"2015-12-21T17:00:13","date_gmt":"2015-12-21T21:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=4563"},"modified":"2015-12-22T18:27:21","modified_gmt":"2015-12-22T22:27:21","slug":"fchs-honor-society-continues-annual-holiday-tradition-and-brings-cheer-to-seatack-elementary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/fchs-honor-society-continues-annual-holiday-tradition-and-brings-cheer-to-seatack-elementary\/","title":{"rendered":"FCHS Honor Society continues annual holiday tradition and brings cheer to Seatack Elementary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s not every day that 85 singing, clapping and high-fiving elves greet Seatack Elementary An Achievable Dream Academy students in the bus loop.<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\" align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/G1HS1plHv4k?rel=0\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s also not every day that Seatack students find Santa Claus in the school\u2019s main foyer welcoming them with a hearty \u201cHo, Ho, Ho!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re real?\u201d one kindergartener asked Claus as she cautiously touched the fur lining of his red jacket.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, I\u2019m real!\u201d exclaimed Claus. \u201cI\u2019m standing right here, aren\u2019t I?\u201d he asked and chuckled as more students arrived and gathered around him, prompting a group bear hug.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5908-Santa-hug.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4571 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5908-Santa-hug.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_5908 Santa hug\" width=\"2191\" height=\"1461\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5908-Santa-hug.jpg 2191w, http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5908-Santa-hug-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5908-Santa-hug-1024x683.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5908-Santa-hug-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2191px) 100vw, 2191px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere\u2019s your sleigh?\u201d asked another student.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had to park it waaaay over there,\u201d said Claus gesturing to a distant place far beyond the school. He had an answer for every question.<\/p>\n<p>And every Seatack student also received gifts thanks to the collaborative efforts of students in First Colonial High School\u2019s (FCHS) National Honor Society (NHS).<\/p>\n<p>The school\u2019s NHS has supported the annual holiday event since its inception, sending just 10 student elves the first year to help distribute gifts bought by a generous local businessman.<\/p>\n<p>Today, the FCHS NHS hosts the annual holiday event on their own, organizing fundraisers throughout the year to be able to buy gifts and treats for all Seatack students. Each child receives gloves or socks, a small toy, a larger toy and a goodie bag filled with school supplies and snacks.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4570\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4570\" style=\"width: 2544px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5854-Spruill-Dye-Hilfiger-Spruill.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4570 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5854-Spruill-Dye-Hilfiger-Spruill.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_5854 Spruill Dye Hilfiger Spruill\" width=\"2544\" height=\"1696\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5854-Spruill-Dye-Hilfiger-Spruill.jpg 2544w, http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5854-Spruill-Dye-Hilfiger-Spruill-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5854-Spruill-Dye-Hilfiger-Spruill-1024x683.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5854-Spruill-Dye-Hilfiger-Spruill-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2544px) 100vw, 2544px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4570\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">NHS advisers Heather and Larry Spruill with students Caitlin Dye and Collan Hilfiger.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cWe had a dodgeball tournament in October that was really successful. We do a lot of cashola nights and socials, so we can all get together and celebrate the holiday season and know that all the money we\u2019re giving is going to this amazing cause and helping out the kids,\u201d said Caitlin Dye, FCHS NHS community service committee co-chair.<\/p>\n<p>Dye\u2019s co-chair Collan Hilfiger and NHS adviser Heather Spruill noted additional contributions from a FCHS staff jeans day, a $500 donation from a former student\u2019s parents and a successful GoFundMe online campaign that raised more than $1,500.<\/p>\n<p>The co-chairs used another online tool to ask for material donations for goodie bags. \u201cWe budgeted so we could buy them, but then we had an idea to set up a SignUpGenius online,\u201d said Hilfiger. \u201cWe sent it our through our Facebook page for NHS and within a week, our goodie bags were filled.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5886.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4568 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5886.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_5886\" width=\"2545\" height=\"1697\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5886.jpg 2545w, http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5886-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5886-1024x683.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5886-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2545px) 100vw, 2545px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In addition to generous support from their school community, the co-chairs highlighted assistance from their local Target store on Laskin Road.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had 16 carts of toys,\u201d said Dye, recalling the thousands of dollars spent on the shopping adventure. \u201cThey gave us a 10 percent gift card, and we were able to put that money toward buying new toys. Target was super awesome about helping us give back to our community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joining the 85 elves from NHS later that morning and throughout the school day, would be members of the high school\u2019s girls\u2019 basketball team, boys\u2019 basketball team, football team, cheerleading squad and art honor society. They visited classrooms to make holiday crafts, sing songs and participate in activities with Seatack students.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5923.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4569 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5923.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_5923\" width=\"2375\" height=\"1583\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5923.jpg 2375w, http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5923-300x200.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5923-1024x683.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/IMG_5923-450x300.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2375px) 100vw, 2375px\" \/><\/a>\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to see how many people really need our help in our own backyards and how many people in our own community need us,\u201d reflected Dye. \u201cThat\u2019s what it\u2019s all about \u2013 giving, not receiving. It\u2019s just amazing to see the impact you can have on a child just by giving them a Christmas present. It\u2019s something that\u2019s so little but it makes them so happy, and it benefits us, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an indescribable feeling,\u201d added Hilfiger. \u201cYou get that feeling in your heart and you can\u2019t really describe it. It sounds so clich\u00e9 but it\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It also reminds the co-chairs of the true meaning of the holiday season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like around Christmastime, everyone, especially high schoolers, we take everything for granted. So around Christmastime, we kind of lose the meaning of Christmas,\u201d Hilfiger said. \u201cFor us to come here and give back to these kids, it makes us feel so blessed and fortunate for what we have. We just always forget that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dye agreed, \u201cIt brings us back to earth.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s not every day that 85 singing, clapping and high-fiving elves greet Seatack Elementary An Achievable Dream Academy students in the bus loop. It\u2019s also not every day that Seatack [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[59,85],"class_list":["post-4563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-first-colonial-high","tag-seatack-elementary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4563"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4575,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4563\/revisions\/4575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}