I found out this week, the annual Christmas Concert at St. Francis Elementary School is becoming a Winter Concert. The school has decided this, to be more inclusive to all children and families. I am very disappointed they want to break from tradition, already society has taken the Christ out of Christmas. As a parent of a child in public school, I dont expect this concert to be of a religious nature, however, I do expect a concert on the 18th of December to be a festive one, Christmas-y. I have written a letter to the school principal & my childs teacher, expressing my views and I will be meeting with her to further discuss my concerns. Heres a copy of my letter: I was most disappointed to learn the traditional Christmas Concert at Saint-Francis Elementary School is becoming a Winter Concert. Reviewing the minutes from Mondays PPO meeting (November 10th, 14), The Winter celebration will be aimed more towards celebrating winter instead of Christmas in order to be more inclusive of all children and families. I believe this was stated in the Principals Report and my understanding at the meeting is it was changed because of a few families, 11 of 294 students do not celebrate Christmas (3.7% of the student body). I am discouraged and disheartened by this decision. We accept the beliefs and cultures of others, ours should be accepted as well, everyone is so afraid of offending a non-Christian that were throwing our beliefs and traditions out the window. The majority of students attending St. Francis are Christian (protestant & catholic), why should the minoritys rights be more important than the majoritys? I want my child (and step-children) to be able to celebrate the holidays, traditions and beliefs in school that I celebrated as a child, especially Christmas. I dont want my child to feel ashamed that she celebrates Christmas. A schools Winter concert, with a cold and calculated political correctness freezing out its Christmas spirit. The Christmas concert at school is less about the Christian Christmas and more about the secular elements of the holidays. Any dramatic productions should emphasize the cultural aspects of the holidays. The spirit of Christmas is giving, charity, spending time with friends and family, it has evolved beyond the religious aspect. Christmas is a time for peace on earth and good will toward men. I have discussed this with my daughter, who will be participating in this years concert with her Grade 3 class, if she chooses to do so. I have given her the option of staying home on December 18th. Anna is also saddened the concert has taken on a seasonal theme instead of a holiday one, as are many of her friends. They have months to celebrate Winter, but so little time for the magic of Christmas. (For the record, all St. Francis students have a chance to perform during the school year, theres a Drama Club and Talent Show, if some students have to be excluded from this production, there are other opportunities for them to perform). I understand that these are changing times and this year the school has taken a different approach concerning the annual concert. However, I hope the school reconsiders and will bring back our traditional Christmas concert. I have spoken to a few dozen parents of St. Francis students, all of which are in favor of keeping this a Christmas concert, none seem in favor of a non-denominational Winter concert.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:10:38 +0000
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