As the snow fell outside of Grand Avenue Elementary School, the true frosted festivities lied within. The Uniondale school hosted its second annual Winter Wonderland, to spread holiday cheer and engage in the giving spirit to close out the holiday season before the students return after the New Year.
“Students have an opportunity to join together to highlight and share their creativity making ornaments,” Samantha Dias, principal said. “We’ve been talking about it for weeks, but just to see that sparkle in their eyes and just the joy on their faces, I think that’s really the best part of today.”
Hundreds of students, dressed in their festive pajamas, enjoyed their last day of school on Dec. 23 before the holiday break with a performance by the Uniondale High School Rhythm of the Knight show choir with visits from Santa Claus and the South Hempstead Fire Department.
Rhythm of the Knight performed countless holiday classics including “Carol of the Bells”, “Feliz Navidad” and more. “Singing with the choir is something that we do very often throughout the year, but the Christmas performances are always a little bit more special, especially when we do it, especially when we do it for the kids in our own district,” Varsha Ramrookum, 17, a senior in Rhythm of the Knight said. “I know, as a child, I would go to see show car performances after high school, so being able to bring the performance to the children at school, if they can’t make it to the high school, it’s just something that’s so special.”
Children received gifts that were donated by Toys for Tots and the nonprofit, Serve All. Despite the original plan of distributing gifts outside from the fire trucks, the party came completely indoors due to the snowy weather. Additional donations of hats and scarves were made to the Bethany House, collected by students.
The South Hempstead Fire Department has been coming out to the schools for several years and continues to give back to their community. “We hope everybody has a happy and healthy and safe 2026,” Tom Gaynor, ex-chief of South Hempstead Fire Department said. “We’re glad to be here and show our face and represent the fire department and be here for the school and the community.” Students also enjoyed crafts, sing-a-longs and snacks donated by the PTA. As the festivities come to a close, students’ excitement builds up for the New Year.
“I just love that the principal and the school staff thought about a really great and creative way to get kids to come to school and create their own school tradition around the holidays that’s wonderful and inclusive and fun, and we got so many communion partners involved,” Monique Darrisaw-Akil, superintendent of Uniondale School District said. “We have the fire department, we have our phenomenal show choir, and we have so many volunteers just to make sure that everyone leaves for the holiday feeling loved and celebrated and has a new memory to go to for the holiday.”
For more information on the Uniondale School District, visit District.UniondaleSchools.org.
