The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1906-12-21
Twelve Pages.
THE LOCAL NEWS.
CHRISTMAS EXERCISES
AT MISS PENDER's SCHOOL.

CHRISTMAS EXERCISES
AT MISS PENDER's SCHOOL.
Most people are SO busy in their own
line of work that they find little time
to know what work their neighbors
are doing. Especially is this true of
the faithful school teachers work.
The class room is regarded as hum
drum place and school lessons drudg-
cry that children are tied to. Hence
1t was q real surprise to the visitors
who attended the closing Christmas
exercises at Miss Helen Pender's priv
ate school on Wednesday morning,
December 10, to note the hearty en-
thusiasm and thorough proficiency in
the school work that were shown by
the pupils. 1t is a children's party
that is held every day of the school
year In that little school room. 1t is
q small family gathering that is con-
vened where there issthe perfect JOY Ct
the ideal home and yet its thorough
submission to authority. The spirit
of Christmas was in the air. It
bristled In the snappy recitation Of
more than old time jingle which the
world will not willingly let die, THE
Night before Christmas. It tingled
in the chilly song about Jack Frost
which the scholars SO merrily sung. 1t
looked out in lines OF white from the
blackboard in the designs deftly
drawn of the regulation house down
whose cavernous chimney Saint Nick
was slipping. 1t smiled its welcome
from over the lintels and the case
ments in wreath and ropes Of laurel
and pine; and the paper bells hung
here and there nodded as ii they
would like to add merry chime.
Honor always links hands with beauty;
and SO appropriately the names Of the
children whose work had given them
good standing we're conspicuously dis
played. One thing to be very highly
commended is the distinct enuncia-
tion of the pupils in their ROTATIONS
and songs. What they said was un-
derstood; and this cannot always be
said of the performances of trained
talent. This was particularly true of
Miss Marguerite Beecher's recitation,
"a Christ mas Carol" and the duet,
20 Little Town of Bethlehem sung
by Miss Marion Curtis and Philips
Morris. Miss Martha Armstrong told
the old, old story that is ever new in a
simple and telling manner. The clos
ing song by the school, "Long ago on
Christmas Day." left an impression
that will no doubt make the whole
Christmas season more meaningful
and joyous. Some regular class work
was taken up to let the visitors be-
hind the scenes and see how the
wheels ordinarily turn. The way the
children took hold of the Revolution
airy war and explained how Burgoyne
got into an awful trap and was caught
like q mouse made the older folks
wonder If they knew anything about
history anyway. In the geography
class Russell Wheeler carried off the
palm, and took the bombardment of
interrogatives as il he were Port Ar
thur receiving the full discharge of
japanese artillery. Rev Otis W. Bar.
ker had ensconced himself into cor.
ner to enjoy the program, but was
brought out upon the floor and made
to tell how Bethlehem really looked to
him on his trip to Palestine in 1895.
He closed by relating how Christmas
was observed down on the East Side
in New York. The children listened
most eagerly and gave him salvo OF
thunderous applause. Each child had
brought to the school a neatly wrap
ped parcel. These placed in a grat
bag, filed the hands of each one with
a pleasant remembrance to take home
A fort of candy boxes on the table
with Christmas card in the center
the kind gift of Miss Penders to bel
scholars, was bombarded and utterly
demolished by the children as they
came to the attack one at a time
Happy hearts, glad faces and an earn
est Interchange Of Christmas goo6
wishes showed how enjoyable the
morning had been to all and how last
ing its memory will be. Especially
should be mentioned the violin solo
"Old Airs" rendered by Mrs Gordon
which was heard with great delight.