Schools
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing at Christ the King
Students focus on peace at the annual Christmas show.
Some parents fought back tears as students sang "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" during the annual Christmas show at Christ the King Regional School.
Watching students perform as shepherds and angels made it impossible to forget about events happening in Connecticut this week.
"Our Christmas show was designed to invite people to see Christmas through the eyes of a child and see a Christmas filled with hope, joy and the promise of peace," principal Anne Hartman said.
Find out what's happening in Haddonfield-Haddon Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The show was a gift from the eighth-grade students to the school's family and friends.
Performances included a Peanuts skit featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy and the rest of the Peanuts gang, songs by all grade levels included "O Christmas Tree," "Jingle Bells" and other holiday classics. The closing number included candles and a live Nativity scene on center stage and the singing of “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” the central focus of the evening.
Find out what's happening in Haddonfield-Haddon Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The Rev. Jim Dever told the crowd that “teaching your children is a blessed opportunity.” With the school shootings in Connecticut still so raw, Dever asked everyone to pay attention to children.
“As we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents differently, these angels will impact the world," Dever said, referring to the children who died at Sandy Hook Elementary School. "Every heart has been changed and Christmas will be different this year.
"Although the tragedy is so painful, the world may be a better place; meaning, out of this tragedy so many hearts, even the hardest of hearts, cannot see a small casket and not be touched.”
The joy and pride in the faces of the student performers was evident and parents were taking pictures to capture every moment. Dr. Youssef Josephson of Haddonfield said the show was “wonderful, heartwarming, I felt the spirit of Christmas with the performances by these children.”
John Doyle was glad to have his son Michael in the kindergarten class this year.
“We recently moved to Haddonfield and this show was fantastic," Doyle said. "The eighth-grade performances with the Peanuts skit and candle lighting at the end took a great level of maturity and spirituality.”
