Students from Sacred Heart School in Washington clad in festive red and green outfits, Santa hats, and bells that could be heard jingling made their way around the school auditorium as they prepared to begin their Christmas Show dress rehearsal.

Students in pre-K3 to eighth grade performed on Dec. 16 at the bilingual school’s annual Christmas Show, featuring singing and dancing to classic songs in both English and Spanish. Although some songs included students playing instruments, music teacher Jayson Suggs accompanied many performances on piano. 

Suggs has been at Sacred Heart School for eight years and teaches P.E. and music, and he has been involved with the Christmas Show since he was hired.

“We’ve just been getting better with it each year, it’s kind of a cheat code for me because I went to a Catholic school, so we did these every year when I was younger, so I kind of knew the formula that we needed,” Suggs said.

Suggs is a graduate of St. Ann’s School in Washington which is no longer open, and St. John’s College High School. 

The event served as a reintroduction to the school’s theater, after a new roof, new lights and new curtains were installed there over the summer, and the ceiling was repaired. 

The Christmas Show started with the two school bands; beginner and advanced. The event began with the beginner band’s rendition of “Jingle Bells,” then “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” and “Hot Cross Buns.” 

Then the advanced band played “Good King Wenceslas,” followed by a saxophone soloist playing “The Little Drummer Boy,” and “The Crusaders” marching song. 

Prior to the all-school performance of “Sleigh Ride,” Sacred Heart principal Elise Heil took some time to discuss longtime alumni who were present and have maintained a relationship with the school.

“To be together and have a moment to really acknowledge the true meaning of Christmas and why we’re here, why we’re in Catholic schools, is really important,” Heil said. 

First and second graders were accompanied by students playing xylophones and ukuleles for an instrumental lead-in to “Mi Burrito Sabanero,” (“Little Donkey of the Savannah”) complete with synchronized gestures to the song. They ended with the classic song, “All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth).”

Eighth graders started a sketch between students discussing how they'd fallen out of the Christmas spirit with “more important” things to do, like getting ready for high school. Cut to a very distressed Santa Claus overhearing this lack of spirit.

After the performance, Sacred Heart eighth graders Jetson Bonilla, Ellie Malloy and Marley Ross said they feel sentimental about their last Christmas Show at the school.

Bonilla, who played Santa, said he enjoyed his role, despite the “itchy” beard.

Malloy and Ross served as producers of the show, and Malloy explained the sketch in between songs.

“It’s about how the eighth graders have all grown up and are starting to not believe in Christmas anymore, and Santa sees that so he goes away. It’s throughout a bunch of songs, so the songs help them remember Christmas and the true meaning,” Malloy said. “So Santa comes back and it’s a whole party.”

Ross choreographed most of the dances that her grade performed and plays the baritone horn in the band. 

“I have a lot of memories of ‘Los Peces en el Rio,’ (‘The Fish in the River’)… that’s probably one of my favorites,” Ross said.  

Fifth and sixth graders came out with glittery, colorful cutouts of waves and fish for their performance of “Los Peces en el Rio.” In the song, the fish are Jesus’ followers.The students then sang “Winter Wonderland.”

Eighth graders took the stage again with a dance to a bilingual version of “Last Christmas” by Rodrigo Ace. At one point, an older student took a kindergartener in the middle of the stage and they danced together.

The eighth grade sketch made its return. The overwhelmed children who had “forgotten the real meaning of Christmas” were visited by elves tasked with helping the students remember what Christmas was about. 

Third and fourth graders took the stage, played drums during “Little “Drummer Boy” and then sang “Alegría” (“Happiness”).

Seventh and eighth graders then sang “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

The sketch returned. It was up to the students now to convince St. Nicholas to return to celebrate Christmas.

The Sacred Heart Choir sang “Silent Night” as part of a live Nativity scene, complete with students dressed as Mary and Joseph, the Magi, and even the Star of Bethlehem. The part of baby Jesus was portrayed by a teacher’s nine-month-old baby. 

The student sketch ended with Santa hearing the students come to terms with the true meaning of Christmas, and that it was time to celebrate.

Pre-K3 and 4 danced to “Jesus es Navidad,” and were joined by kindergarten teaching assistant Edgar Castro on guitar for “Happy Birthday, Jesus.”

Students from all grades gently carried lit, real candles toward the stage for the grand finale “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and encore performance “Feliz Navidad” (“Merry Christmas”).