Richards comes together in December for Santa’s Workshop

Students came together last month from various clubs and organizations at Richards High School, 10601 Central Ave., Oak Lawn, and hosted a Santa’s Workshop for local area children in the school cafeteria. 

By Kelly White

Richards High School was beaming in December with Christmas spirit.

Students came together from various clubs and organizations at the high school, 10601 Central Ave., Oak Lawn, and hosted a Santa’s Workshop for local area children on December 6 in the cafeteria.

“I liked that this event was geared towards younger elementary school students because it allowed for future bulldogs to create fun memories right here at Richards,” Aine Kelly, 18, of Oak Lawn, said.

Kelly was right because hundreds of students in grades kindergarten through eighth-grade visited the Workshop with their parents and/or caregivers.

All children in attendance were able to experience Christmas magic by making holiday crafts, playing holiday themed games, making Magic Reindeer Food, decorating Christmas cookies, drinking hot cocoa and getting those last-minute Christmas wishes in by visiting with Santa.

This was the first time Richards held this particular event, but school officials are hoping to make it an annual tradition right before winter break, according to Deborah Swanson, Activities Facilitator at Richards High School.

“Our students are always looking for fun ways to engage with the community,” Swanson said. “They thought it would be fun to host something for the younger community children centered around the holiday. Through this event, our high school students gained the experience of community service, and they saw how much fun they could have when they give to back to others.”

For the Santa’s Workshop, all clubs and organizations within the high school were invited to participate in any way they liked, and Swanson said she was more than proud of the way everyone came together to celebrate the holiday season.

“Some clubs devised what they wanted to be in charge of and other wills be assigned a station,” Swanson said. “For example, Cooking Club wanted to host a decorate a cookie station that centered around cooking which is their club’s mission. The Student Council also devised a number of holiday themed games. Those games were hosted by Student Council and other clubs who were looking for a station to supervise.”

“Richards is a special place to attend school and work,” Swanson said. “If you walk the halls here, you feel like you’re at home. We wanted the community to see and experience what a wonderful place Richards is. A community event like this helps to draw people in so that they can see how special Richards really is.”