As Cascade High School entered the holiday season, the ASB class and officers were determined to bring Christmas cheer. A new CHS tradition was formed called Winter Wishes, a collaborative effort between the school and community to grant wishes made by Cascade students.
A form was sent out to all the students weeks before Christmas break let out, asking what they wished for themselves, and for someone else. This could be whatever the student wanted to wish for, but it was made clear that the more realistic the wish, the more likely it would be granted. Then, after all the wishes were in, ASB teacher Ms. Robison and Trenton Holland (12) substituted students’ names (ensuring their anonymity) for numbers and published a Google spreadsheet as a web.
This list of wishes was then pushed out to the community through social media, an email from the school, an article in the Leavenworth Echo thanks to Ward Media, and a link on the Cascade webpage. The community could then anonymously grant any wish that they liked. Additionally, students including Todd Lindsay (10), Tristan Sharpe (10), Ethan Davis (12), Mckenzie Sheppard (12), and Thayer Robison (10), helped to procure gifts, wrap and organize donations, and deliver them to students throughout the week leading up to Christmas break.
The biggest moment of the event was on the Friday before break, when a school-wide assembly was held to celebrate the season and grant the majority of the wishes. A pancake breakfast was served courtesy of Mr. Hab’s culinary class, Christmas music was provided by the CHS band and choir, and the ASB leadership class and officers put on a skit corresponding to clips of the iconic Christmas classic, Home Alone.
“I like winter wishes because it brings joy to our community and reminds students that they are valued pieces of CHS,” said Caroline Menna (12).
“I like winter wishes because it brings joy to our community and reminds students that they are valued pieces of CHS,” said Caroline Menna (12). In the end, around fifty-five wishes were granted by the community, bringing smiles to many faces around campus.
“[My favorite wish that was granted was] all of them. It was so heartwarming to see our community at large wrap around CHS students in this way. Some people put in serious effort to make wishes come true. Making it even more amazing is the fact that everyone who granted a wish did so anonymously. They simply wanted to make a wish come true for a kid without any accolades. It was a true testament to what an amazing community we are a part of. Jacob Harris' reaction to his gift was incredibly memorable. The collaborative nature of the gift of tickets to Wicked from a local book club was very sweet. The amount of effort someone went to in researching the best headlamp for a fire science student was so kind. Every single gift just represented a heart of gold. It was an overwhelming demonstration of what the holidays should really be about,” stated Ms. Robison, Leadership teacher.
Whether or not their wish was granted, many students walked away feeling loved by the community and school. The amount of effort put into this event truly showed how much the community values their youth.
“My wish was to have a matching fuzzy blanket with my friend Paige, and she wished for the same thing. I was really happy when my wish was granted, and Paige and I got to go up and receive them at the assembly. My favorite part of the assembly was watching the Home Alone parody skits performed by the leadership class and officers,” explained Hazel Eschen (12).
This is a tradition that Cascade intends to keep up and continue to make bigger and better in the coming years. Cascade would like to give a massive thank you to all the community members, clubs, and businesses who participated in granting wishes. This event would not have been possible without them, and their actions showed the true meaning of the holiday season.
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