Today, different languages and levels began practicing their songs for the school tradition of Noels. Noels, a 130 year old tradition specific to Convent and Stuart Hall, is a school-wide assembly where students sing Christmas and holiday songs in their respective foreign languages.
“Noels are a great way to bring people together for the holiday season, and the Spanish songs are always really fun to practice,” sophomore Mia Greenwood said. “I love how much our community puts into making the holiday season special, with things like Christmas on Broadway and Noels.”
The Noels tradition began even before Convent high school was in the Flood mansion, and was created as a way to get exposed to different cultures and languages. Students from grades K-12 spend weeks preparing songs in their classes to sing at this assembly, with Latin, Spanish, Mandarin, and French classes all performing. Today, students gathered with their language and level to practice these songs for December, according to Greenwood.
“The Noels can be fun and entertaining to watch, and I love it when the entire student body comes together and I can see the kindergarteners and the seniors in the same room,” Religion and Ethics teacher Clint Hackenburg said. “As long as it’s not interfering with students’ more academic work, I like how we have time set aside to practice the songs and make the occasion more planned and special.”
In the following weeks, language groups will continue to perfect their songs, making sure to have a unified tune as well as correct pronunciation in their foreign language. Although it’s important to make the time spent practicing worthwhile, it’s also important to remember that Noels are supposed to be enjoyable and not so serious, according to Hackenburg.
“Our French for Noel song is going really well, the freshmen all are picking it up really quickly,” sophomore Sophie Fluhr said. “I think we’re gonna perform really well and I’m looking forward to hearing everyone else’s songs.”
On the day of the assembly, students and faculty from the entire school will gather in the Herbert gymnasium, with the elementary and middle school students on the floor and the high school students lined up on the mezzanine. Recently, many school events have been held in the gymnasium which have historically been at a church outside of school, such as Christmas Mass and the Mass of the Holy Spirit.
“Our school’s traditions are really meaningful to the student body because it’s fun to revisit the same things year to year,” Greenwood said. “Noels is always exciting because it gets us in the holiday spirit and makes me look forward to winter break.”
