An angel, up past her bedtime, swirled in her Sunday dress as
a 6-year-old Wise Man solemnly adjusted his gold paper crown.
It was moments before a big event for the smallest students
at St. Mary School in Alexandria Dec. 17. Kindergartners and
first-graders were about to bring the Christmas story to life
in the school gym with wide grins, belted lyrics and
contagious joy.
“Tonight is about Baby Jesus,” said kindergartner Daniella
Shiels Cobar, who played Mary in this year’s play.
“That’s because even though He’s a baby, He’s the King, He’s
God,” she said, tenderly cradling a swaddled doll before
being guided from her classroom into the gym.
Daniella, with missing teeth and thoughtful demeanor, was one
of more than 150 children in “Follow the Star,” the selected
musical for one of the Old Town school’s annual Christmas
plays.
Each year the kindergartners and first-graders put on a
Christmas-themed performance on one night, and second- and
third-graders perform a different play on a separate evening.
The performance varies from year to year, but it always has a
religious element, said Nicole Luechtefeld, music teacher at
St. Mary who directed and choreographed the productions.
The night started with a prayer by Father Edward C. Hathaway,
St. Mary pastor, who said the children’s performance “reminds
us of the beauty, humility and kindness of Our Lord.”
Kindergartners wore gold tinsel halos as angels;
first-graders donned crowns as kings. Four students from each
of the three kindergarten classes were selected to be part of
the Nativity scene, and first-graders narrated the story of
the Magi’s journey to the Holy Family.
“The kids can read about the birth of Jesus, and they can
hear about it, but when they act it out themselves they can
really picture it,” Luechtefeld said.
The play included classics like “We Three Kings,” “Silent
Night” and “Joy to the World,” with movements put with nearly
every word.
Pairing music with movement helps the children memorize the
songs more easily, said Luechtefeld, adding that it also
“helps control their wiggles.”
Luechtefeld said when the Nativity story is discussed as part
of rehearsals, students often are drawn to the shepherds.
“They like that they were everyday people and that everyday
people had to speak of the good news,” she said. “They can
kind of relate to it – that they are everyday students and
they, too, need to spread the good news of God.”
For many of the approximately 450 people packed into the gym
to watch, the play is a Christmas tradition. Kindergartner
Andrew Magee, an angel, was following in the footsteps of his
two older siblings.
“This is a great experience every year because it keeps the
focus where it should be,” said Andrew’s mom, Kathleen
Porter-Magee. “And it’s so special for Andrew to have his two
siblings come out and watch him this time.”
The play ended with a surprise performance of “Feliz
Navidad.” As parents furiously snapped photos, students
swayed back and forth playing imaginary maracas with gusto.
Kindergartner Emily Capistran liked the surprise tune, but
her favorite part of the night was singing “Joy to the
World.”
“The song makes me feel really happy,” she said, trying to
straighten a lopsided halo, “because the world is a really
special place.”
