Scarselli students go caroling on campus

The halls of Scarselli Elementary School were filled with holiday cheer Wednesday afternoon as more than 40 members of the school's Cheetah Club went from classroom to classroom singing Christmas carols.

Decked in festive greens and satin reds, and each wielding a song book, the students first stopped in the school's front office where they belted out "Deck the Halls" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

"I don't know why, but carols just make people feel happy," said 11-year-old sixth-grader Kassidy Ward.

Ward was the group's official greeter. When they were done in the office, she led the long line of choristers to several classrooms on the other side of the school.

Riley Wilkinson, 11, said he hadn't really caroled before but was enjoying it.

"It's just full of fun," he said, boasting a camo Santa hat.

Three classes crammed into first-grade teacher Sandi Jensen's classroom to hear "Up on the Rooftop" and "Winter Wonderland."

"We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way, walking in a winter wonderland," the students crooned.

Jensen requested "Jingle Bells."

"That way, we can sing with them," added teacher Nancy McCullough.

The younger students were more than willing to join in. After the last jolly refrain resounded in the warmly crowded room, McCullough declared:

"That's the best caroling I've heard all day!"

"It's just fun to sing," said 10-year-old fifth-grader Shyla Neese. "It makes people happy."

Scarselli teacher and club advisor Katie Hill said there are about 60 students, grades 4-6, in the Cheetah Club, but only those who practiced got to carol on Wednesday. In seasons past, she said, they've sang for senior citizens. This time, they wanted to enliven the school itself.

"It's a nice thing to do for the kids," Hill said, "to bring some Christmas cheer."