The holiday season has finally arrived, and Central High School is looking a little more vibrant than usual. It seems like everyone is in a joyous mood, despite the business of December. Students are faced against midterms, deadlines, and projects, but Christmas break lies straight ahead. As students and staff members prepare for the break and finish up their work, Christmas is present in their thoughts and spirits.

“I’m excited for the sweater and hat day,” said Coach Leeanne Shurette. “It will be a fun way to celebrate the holidays. We would be playing Christmas music in the gym right now, but the cord to our speaker was misplaced.”

However, if one walked around the halls of Central, they would notice that the halls are almost barren. One lone Christmas tree stands decked out in purple and gold decorations and ornaments, and a few wreaths adorn the front doors of the school– doors that are rarely even used by students.

“I feel like there should be more Christmas decorations all around the school, not just the front office,” said Senior Gina DeLeon.

“They [administrators] should decorate the hallways more and should make more announcements about the food drive, because we don’t think the Future Ready kids hear them,” said Freshmen Ansley Padavana, Wilesha Johnson, and Adrian K. Bowers.

Some teachers, including government and U.S. history teacher instructor James Massengale and biology, anatomy, and forensics instructor Tina Cotreau, make school more bearable during the holiday season  by playing Christmas music during class. Honors U.S. History teacher Shawn Seals’s door is beautifully decorated, as always.

“I think that the school should be decorated for most holidays, not just Christmas,” said Seals. “They should definitely step up on the decorating, but I see a lot of improvement from previous years.”

Yet, the lack of Christmas decorations in the main building does not diminish the giving spirit of the holiday; the blood drive kicked off the season in November with an amazing turnout of student donors, and the Central Voices are encouraging students to participate in the Share Your Christmas event– a non-perishable food drive. The Central Voices will also be performing at the Chattanooga Area Food Bank at the Share Your Christmas telethon sponsored by WRCB-TV3.

“I feel like the food drive is a great way to start the month since Christmas is coming up, and we all celebrate with dinner,” said DeLeon.

“I think the food drive is important, because the season should focused on giving, instead of thinking about what others will give us this season,” said Shurette. “It’s definitely rewarding to ‘pay it forward.'”

While the blood drive was taking place in November, many Central Seniors were busy volunteering for credit on their senior projects. The holiday season is always a perfect time to volunteer, as volunteer help is almost always needed at places like the Chattanooga Community Kitchen and the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. Donating toys during food drives and donating items to a animal shelter are less time-consuming ways to help the community.  The Central Choir will be serving the community with their annual Christmas concert on December 16. They will also be performing on December 13 at the courthouse downtown. Giving back to others is a refreshing way to spend Christmas break, and defines the true spirit of the holidays.