Pre-kindergarten student Coral Alichnie, who will soon turn 5, and her grandmother Chris Alichnie get ready to share a Thanksgiving lunch at St. Jude School in Mountain Top.
Mark Guydish | For Times Leader
Students share meal with parents, grandparents
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Bailey Birster, 5, and Harper Button, 6, share some Thanksgiving artwork with their visiting parents, and you’ll notice that Bailey’s artwork includes a turkey head-dress. Moms Holly Birster and Briana Button had joined their daughters for a turkey dinner at school.
Mark Guydish | For Times Leader
When a reporter asked what the little girl is thankful for, 5-year-old Alice Youmans said ‘for flowers.’ But the big hug she’s giving her mom, Megan Youmans, hints she’s even more thankful for her.
Mark Guydish | For Times Leader
Four-year-old pre-Kindergarten student Colton Williamson, dressed as a turkey, escorts his mom, Alicia Williamson, into the cafeteria at St. Jude School in Mountain Top for a Thanksgiving dinner earlier this week.
Mark Guydish | For Times Leader
St. Jude School principal Sister Ellen Fischer uses a handy microphone to give directions as children and their parents line up for a festive turkey dinner before the beginning of Thanksgiving vacation at the Mountain Top school.
Mark Guydish | For Times Leader
Earlier this week, it looked as if a flock of turkeys had landed in Mountain Top.
They weren’t wild turkeys, hunting for berries and bulbs.
And they weren’t barnyard turkeys, waiting for a farmer to give them some grain.
Dressed up with over-size googly eyes and feathers crafted from colorful construction paper, these turkeys were kindergarten and pre-kindergarten children at St. Jude School in Mountain Top who showed off their hand-made turkey costumes earlier this week for the parents and grandparents who joined them for a turkey dinner in the school cafeteria.
“How did you make this?” a smiling Alicia Williamson asked her 4-year-old son, Colton. “Did you use scissors and glue?”
The little boy nodded, and when a reporter asked what he was thankful for this Thanksgiving, he had a ready answer: “Mommy!”
That was a common answer among the children, with 5-year-old Bailey Birster explaining she was thankful for “my mom and my mom’s mom,” 6-year-old Harper Button saying she was “thankful for my family,” and Coral Alichnie, soon to turn 5, singling out not just “Mommy” but “GiGi,” which is her pet name for her grandmother, Chris Alichnie.
As for 5-year-old Alice Youmans, she answered by saying she was thankful for “flowers,” but simultaneously gave her mom such a great, big hug, it seemed she loves her way more.
“I think this is phenomenal,” Chris Alichnie said of lunch at school with her granddaughter, adding her older grandchildren had attended different schools and never had a chance to do something similar.
“This is a great event,” said Briana Button, who attended with her 6-year-old daughter, Harper.
“I’m glad we get to share this time at school with them,” Alicia Williamson said. “I’m glad we got to share a turkey dinner.”
The school’s traditional turkey dinner was cooked by Carol Davis from Adelina’s Restaurant, who prepares food for the St. Jude school cafeteria every day, school principal Sister Ellen Fischer said.
“She cooked 14 turkeys,” said Sister Ellen, who had spent part of Sunday helping to debone the meat.
The meal included grapes, mashed potatoes, apples and an array of desserts.