Schools set to celebrate holiday with multiple activities

Thanksgiving can be an exciting time for everyone. It’s a time to help those in need, a time to eat different foods and a time to make fun arts and crafts at school.

Mountain Brook schools have a number of activities planned for the Thanksgiving season. These don’t apply to just the students. Multiple schools involve parents as well. 

Brookwood Forest Elementary School

Brookwood Forest has food drives throughout the year. It doesn’t do any Thanksgiving-themed fundraisers, but it does have an annual Ranger Run that serves as their largest fundraiser.

The students have the opportunity to make a Thanksgiving art project, something that can adorn the refrigerator for years.

Cherokee Bend Elementary School

At Cherokee Bend, students in each of the four kindergarten classes dress up as either Pilgrims or Native Americans. Then they have a feast together in the kindergarten hallway, according to kindergarten teacher Stephanie Humphries.

“We have butcher paper laid out in the hall as their table and the children decorate symbols used by the Native Americans all over the paper,” Humphries said.

She added parents send in the food and serve the children lunch. 

Additionally, each child is able to say what they are thankful for, and they make a video to send to the families in the class. 

Crestline Elementary School

Crestline will have a canned food drive for its partner school, Brookville Elementary in Graysville. Brookville also is in need of socks, shoes and cleaning supplies. 

Josh Watkins, assistant principal of Crestline, said the student council has a close relationship with Brookville.

The kindergarten teachers will do a unit on Pilgrims and Native Americans, followed by a feast. 

Watkins also mentioned the lunchroom typically serves a turkey and dressing meal that week.

Mountain Brook Elementary

Each year at Mountain Brook Elementary, the kindergarteners dress up as Pilgrims and recite a poem for their parents.

Mountain Brook Junior High

The Helping the Homeless club is having a canned food and blanket drive. The club collects canned foods, coats, scarves and gloves. 

This year, there will be a competition among Alabama, Auburn and other fans. People can donate toward their favorite team. The drive will be during the morning carpool by the flagpole. 

The cafeteria will also feature a special meal around Thanksgiving.

Mountain Brook High School

The Mountain Brook High School cafeteria staff have special plans for their students around Thanksgiving. 

They plan to serve a meal of turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, green beans, casserole, rice and gravy, cranberry sauce and fried chicken.