ROCKFORD—St. Bernadette School students did the decorations and planning and created all the games for a Dec. 17 Christmas party for families served by the Refugee Resettlement Office, says teacher Kevin Rilott.
He noted that the students had volunteered at the refugee Christmas party for the last couple of years before deciding to host it themselves in the parish hall.
St. Bernadette students, joined by some from Boylan Central Catholic High School, were everywhere at the party, many of them dressed with Santa hats or other holiday gear. They encouraged children to toss balls and blocks, putt golf balls and create pictures with crayons and stickers. They also helped when Santa came and later brought pizzas to every table before enjoying the food themselves.
Language differences were overcome in a variety of ways, including a translator to give the crowd directions and student demonstrations of how to play the games.
Bishop David Malloy stopped by as the party began and made good use of his knowledge of French with some of the families, chatting with adults as their youngsters enjoyed meeting and playing with other kids.
And at one end of the coloring/stickers table, Boylan junior Jose Lavin chatted with two Syrian children by using his phone to translate his Spanish into their Arabic.
Santa posed for pictures, shook hands, and his elves made sure that all the kids received age-appropriate presents. A few of the gift soccer balls were quickly put into use, bringing refugee youths and volunteers together for an informal game.
A group of refugees overcame their shyness, gathered together and in careful English told the big, white-bearded guy, “Thank you, Santa,” in unison.