From Thanksgiving to the New Year: Celebrating Community, Culture, and Kindness at TCPS
TCPS 8th Student helping to prepare stuffing for our annual Feast!
A Time of Renewal:
As we arrive at December 31 and prepare to welcome a new year, we find ourselves reflecting on the past several weeks at TCPS—weeks filled with gratitude, celebration, learning, laughter, and connection. From our annual Feast before Thanksgiving to our December holiday traditions, this season beautifully captures what community looks like at TCPS and how we intentionally teach kindness, respect, and belonging.
The TCPS Feast: Building Community Through Holiday Traditions
There is something truly special about experiencing our entire school community come together—hands covered in flour, voices filled with laughter—as we prepare for our annual TCPS Feast. On the day before Thanksgiving break, students from different grade levels work side by side making stuffing, applesauce, corn muffins, pumpkin pie filling and pie crust, snapping green beans, and even “churning” homemade butter from cream.
It’s truly an all-community effort. Teachers, staff, and students cook together, and parents and grandparents send supplies and ingredients and generously support the Feast by donating turkeys, helping with preparation, cooking, and cleanup. On the day of the TCPS FEAST, students, teachers and staff gather together in The Big Hall to eat family-style in a shared community setting. It is joyful, meaningful, and deeply TCPS. It’s also one of the favorite days of the school year for everyone!
More Than a Meal: Teaching Kindness and Character
At TCPS, holiday traditions are more than celebrations—they are opportunities to live our values. The Feast brings our TCPS Keys, spelled out as TIGERS, to life:
Think before acting
Integrity in all we do
Growth mindset when trying new things
Empathy for our friends and classmates
Responsibility for our actions and schoolwork
Stay present in each moment
As students cook and collaborate across ages, these values unfold naturally. Older students guide younger ones with patience. Children try new skills, help one another, take responsibility for shared tasks, and stay present in the joy of working together. These are lessons that last far beyond the holiday season.
Celebrating Holidays, Cultures, and Traditions
From Thanksgiving through the New Year, our classrooms are alive with learning about holidays and traditions from many cultures and religions. Different classes explore different celebrations, and families often visit to share their own holiday customs, religious observances, and cultural traditions. These personal connections make learning authentic and meaningful.
Every year Ms. Szalay, our Assistant Head of School, leads special classes focused on Holiday Lights. These interactive and hands-on lessons are focused on the importance of light in many winter celebrations—including Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and more—helping students understand both the differences and many of the shared themes across cultures. This year she added a craft element to the classes as students crafted their own version of Holiday Lights to take home. It is another example of how TCPS students learn that it is normal to be different, that our differences are something to appreciate, and that respect and curiosity are essential to building community.
Music, Spirit Week, and Shared Joy
It’s time for Spirit Week! TCPS Student Council leads a Spirit Week as we close out the Fall Semester in December. All of our students and staff look forward to this special week every year as it adds another layer of fun and connection, with spirited and wacky themes, festive attire and a much-anticipated pajama day before winter break—simple traditions that strengthen community and create lasting memories.
December also brings joy through music to accompany the abundant school spirit. Students practice special holiday songs both in Spanish class and in their music classes all through the month. In music class they are preparing for our beloved annual tradition, our Holiday Family Sing-along held on the last day of school every December. Another tradition: the last day of school is also Pajama Day for Spirit week. We all gather in The Big Hall in our fun pajamas, where students, teachers and staff are joined by parents, siblings and even grandparents, to sing holiday songs from a variety of cultures and religions. The students love learning and performing these songs together each year and it’s a great way to head into our Winter Break for the end of the calendar year.
Small by Design, Strong by Community
TCPS is proudly Small by Design, and this season highlights why small K–8 schools are so powerful. With small classes and a close-knit environment, every student is known, every child is seen, and every teacher knows every student. These relationships allow us to create meaningful traditions, cross-age learning experiences, and a genuine sense of belonging.
When children feel connected and valued, they learn more deeply, grow more confidently, and develop empathy and understanding for others.
Looking Ahead to the New Year
As we close out the year, we are grateful for the moments—big and small—that define our TCPS school community: shared meals, shared songs, shared learning, and shared respect for one another. From Thanksgiving to the New Year, this season reflects the heart of TCPS: a place where kindness is practiced, cultures are celebrated, and community is lived every day.
We look forward to carrying this spirit with us into the new year!
Learn more about our community-centered, Small by Design approach to education at www.tcps.org. Please reach out to Admissions@TCPS.org to learn more about how our K-8 small school community would be a great fit for your child and for your family!