Advent Preparation Days

30 November - 1 December 2023
School Holiday

Advent Prep Days are school holiday dates for the pupils.

Advent means ‘Coming’ in Latin. Each academic year, the School closes to prepare for the special month ahead, decorating everywhere with festive beauty for the weeks ahead.

This is a time when teachers gather greenery and come together in the School Hall to make a wreath for their classroom, decorate the communal spaces on campus with tissue paper stars and festive scenes, repair the re-useable handmade Advent Calendars for each Class and create a spiral in greenery in the School Hall for the Kindergarten Advent Spiral celebration.

When looking at the path of the festivals through the year, they can be seen in a variety of ways. They can be looked at as special markers, or signposts in time, or as turning points within seasonal patterns. Many people, particularly children, enjoy the security of celebrating traditional festivals and they play an important part in the life of our school.

Finding the light

During school days leading up to Advent, pupils will hand-dip their own beeswax candle and make a candle holder for their desk, in preparation for Advent Circle time.

Advent Circle in the Classroom

The following Monday marks the beginning of the celebrations held every morning for the Lower and Upper Schools in the classroom with the lighting of candles and the singing of carols.

Handmade creations from the Lower School, in order of Classes 1 – 6, for Advent Circle time

Leading up to Christmas

For the children, Advent is a season of expectation, of contemplation, and for some, of preparation for the birth of the Christ at Christmas.

Extending the pre-Christmas celebrations beyond the Christmas Market and the classroom mornings, we look forward to the annual Christmas Music Concert, the visit of St Nicholas, and the presentation of two of the trilogy of Oberufer Plays. These celebrations offer an antidote to the commercialism and materialism that can often pressure this festive season.

Acts of kindness in December

During the cold winter months, many of our school community decide to lift someone’s spirits through initiatives that are becoming a tradition on campus. Pupils, parents and teachers bring the following charity initiatives to our awareness, and ask for your support:

Salvation Army’s Christmas Present Appeal for Homeless Children in Scotland. Click on event for more details.

See Session Dates