Each December, the School’s campus transforms with a familiar sense of anticipation. Decorations appear, music drifts down the hallways, and students across divisions rehearse their parts. The annual Holiday Performance––one of the School’s longest-standing traditions––brings together performers from every grade in the Lower School, in addition to fine arts classes from the Middle and Upper School, and even a spirited faculty choir. Framed by alumni receptions before and after the show, it stands as a community gathering unlike any other during the school year: a moment of unity, celebration, and collective memory.
Yet despite its cross-divisional spirit, the Holiday Performance has always had a special emphasis on the Lower School. For the youngest students, the performance isn’t just another event––it’s a milestone they wait for all winter, a chance to shine on stage in front of classmates, teachers, parents, and alumni.
The performance thus becomes a rite of passage that many older students still recall vividly. Senior Elena Malan remembers the experience with fond nostalgia. She recalls how much she “lov[ed] doing the winter activities and getting ready before” the show in Lower School.
Senior Summer Sarandah, another longtime member of the community, echoed the sentiment but also acknowledged the performance’s distinct Lower School focus. “It’s definitely more tailored towards lower schoolers, since only lower schoolers have to do it, so it’s more special for them,” she said. Though Middle and Upper School students contribute through chorus, band, and dance groups, participation in these older divisions is optional, which changes how the event is perceived.
That gap in experience becomes especially clear when talking with students who joined the School as incoming freshmen. When asked about the Holiday Performance, freshman Tiffany Zhang responded candidly: “I don’t know what that is.” Students who didn’t attend the Lower or Middle School––and therefore never had to rehearse for the show––often have little awareness that the performance even exists. For them, the event functions more as a background tradition than a shared memory.
Still, for long-time students, the Holiday Performance holds a lasting place in the School’s cultural identity. Sarandah, who has been here since kindergarten, admits she hasn’t attended the performance since her Lower School days and “probably won’t go this year,” but she nevertheless believes “it’s something [she] will remember for a long time.” The event’s power lies not just in the performance itself but in the way it captures a particular time of childhood––one filled with excitement, nerves, and a sense of belonging.
As another Holiday Performance approaches, students, families, faculty, and alumni will gather once more to celebrate the season. The event remains a cornerstone of winter on campus, offering a moment of warmth for all who take part, but its lasting power will always lie in the joy and anticipation it sparks in the Lower School, a place where many students first learn what it means to be part of a shared tradition.