Students at Lawrence High School began to celebrate the joys of the season early. On Dec. 13, Lawrence High’s Advanced Placement literature classes had the privilege of watching the off-Broadway show “Pride and Prejudice,” at the Cherry Lane Theater in th

Students at Lawrence High School began to celebrate the joys of the season early. On Dec. 13, Lawrence High’s Advanced Placement literature classes had the privilege of watching the off-Broadway show “Pride and Prejudice,” at the Cherry Lane Theater in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan.

The students accompanied by their teachers — Mary Vachris and Kristen Weinstein — left at roughly 9:30 a.m. and arrived early for the 1:30 p.m. show, were given the opportunity to roam the city and grab a bite to eat wherever they desired. Despite the cold weather that day, students enjoyed the opportunity to explore, take pictures, and mingle.

Then they watched the play, a modern humorous adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic romance novel. Not only did they enjoy the show but gained a new insight and perspective on modern-day takes of English novels. Student Michael Birbilis said: “This might just be one of the best plays I could see in my entire life.” Students eventually arrived back to school around 6:30 p.m., tired out from an eventful but fun city day.

In addition, the holiday season was welcomed through performances by Lawrence High School’s chorus, orchestra and band respectively, who sang and played Christmas carols during the last week of school before the holiday break. Each music department was assigned their own day of the week to showcase their ensembles’ talent and to participate in celebrating the traditions of Christmas.

Members of each department arrived at 6:30 a.m. on the day of their performance and greeted incoming students and faculty with popular Christmas instrumental music such as “Let it Snow,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Jingle Bells,” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” were performed to the delight of all. Students stopped on their way to classes in order to watch, enjoy and support their friends. All this made for a great way to start the day.

On the Friday before the first day of winter break, many Lawrence students came to school dressed in ugly Christmas sweaters, wearing Santa hats, or reindeer headbands, all indications of how eagerly everyone was looking forward to enjoying the Christmas break and festivities of the season.

Lawrence’s very own dance department even designed sleds made of candy canes and Hershey bars in order to sell to anyone who wanted to give a surprise gift to a friend or loved one. All one had to do was to make a purchase in the name of the person the sled had to be delivered to. These sleds were handed out during eighth-period classes as gifts to students from their friends.

Throughout the day students celebrated with snacks and treats such as pizza, brownies and cookies and, of course, candy. Presents were exchanged between friends and faculty. Most classes were curtailed and students enjoyed watching movies and playing games like Uno or Crazy Eights.

Overall, it was a relaxing, stress-free, last day before the holiday break. As school ended, students and faculty, faces filled with smiles and happiness, welcomed the break from study-days. Students and faculty at LHS wish everyone a Happy New Year.