Holiday program
The Area school district is not allowing for the elementary schools to have a "holiday concert" anymore. They are changing it to a "character counts"* music program. The children will be provided a "character counts" t-shirt to wear, each grade level will have a specific color to wear. The "holiday concert" is the same one that has been going on for years and years. Now all of a sudden the children are not aloud to sing the holiday songs they are used to. The district is allowing the students to sing TWO holiday songs- frosty the snowman and jingle bells. ONLY because they have recieved numerous parent complaints. We would like our "Holiday Concert" to be the way it was in previous years. A program that family members like grandparents, aunts, uncles and siblings look forward to going to each year. We would like to get as many signatures to show that we are not going to just sit by and let the district administration tell us what our children can or can not celebrate, and what they can or cannot wear. This petition may not be able to change the program set for this year, but it may make it so the next generations can enjoy the program that should not have been taken away from the students looking forward to the 2009 HOLIDAY program.
* In no way do any of the parents dispute the character counts program and what it teaches our children. We think it is a good program ran by good people, however we do not feel that our holiday program should be replaced with a program that is taught to the students on a daily basis and where they already have a monthly character counts assembly.
We the undersigned would like the elementary "holiday program" to be changed back to being a holiday program. We do not have a problem with the character counts program. We feel it should not take away from our holiday program though. We wish to have the holiday concert back to singing holiday songs such as jingle bells, frosty the snowman, my two-front teeth etc. It has been a tradition in many families to go to the holiday concert and see the young children preform these songs year after year. You are not only taking away from these children but also from the community, family, and friends of those students. It is unfair to the children to not have a choice in what they wear or what songs they sing in a concert that is ment for the children. Let the children continue to sing their holiday songs, and wear what they want to the concert rather than singing about character and wearing class colored t-shirts.
Thank You for your time.
