Thursday, November 7, 2024

Christmas in October

On Wednesday of last week, I happened to catch the choir class. I have not subbed for Mr. S in a very long time, so I wasn't sure what to expect. 

When I arrived, I looked for lesson plans but did not find them. Before I had a chance to panic, the student teacher walked in. Whew. That made things very easy for me. All I really had to do was take roll. 

(The choir teacher is also the golf coach. One of his golfers made the local playoffs, so he was with that student there.)

The last class of the day was the very good choir (called Ensemble). And they were to run through some music for the upcoming season, especially something called Candlelight. 

There were a bunch of plaques hung in the room proclaiming Candlelight at Disneyland for the last decade and more. So, I did an internet dive to find out more info, and apparently this is a thing. It's a super secret annual event that if you don't know how to get tickets already, you can't get tickets for it. Okay, then...

I found a video on YouTube of the event last year:

Anyway, all of this is to say that what the student teacher ran through with them was a bunch of Christmas music. On October 30th. 

And me? I sat over in a corner and listened. Student teacher days are easy days for the sub.

24 comments:

  1. Of course they’re doing Christmas music in October, if they’re to perform it…and thank goodness for the student teacher.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I understood why they'd started now, but I found it funny to be listening to Christmas music while all the classes are decked out for Halloween.

      Delete
  2. I watched a few minutes of the video. What a beautifully decorated Disneyland. Seemed to be a lot of people there for a super secret event, but I guess if you know, you know. I knew Disneyland was small compared to Disney World, but never realized it was near residential neighborhoods (Actually, I think Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida is, also). To me it would be weird, either October or December. My Christmas is so tied up in cold weather, bare trees, ice and snow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Disneyland is close to residential neighborhoods... When my brother was in 8th or 9th grade, him and his best friend got season tickets, and in the first week, they went 8 times. By riding their bikes there. We could see the nightly summer fireworks from our front porch. I grew up living so close by...

      Delete
  3. I never heard of the Candlelight event either, It was beautiful to watch on the video.
    I am wondering: do you sub in private or public schools? Some events you describe seem ..." posh," or at least not those I witnessed when my daughter was in school. Maybe times have changed :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Public school. Posh? You'll have to tell me what sounds posh, because it doesn't feel terribly posh to me. But then again, I'm used to a lot of this stuff.

      (BTW, the schools' bands are going to be marching in the Rose Parade on Jan 1st. This is a big deal.)

      Delete
    2. See? That’s what I’m talking about. The Rose Parade for example. Walter that had one on one time, the chairs in the auditorium in the photo have pillows, my daughter school had wooden chairs :-) and other little things that I thought they were kinda special but probably things have changed so much since 2005….. my imagination makes me visualize things maybe better than what they are. Don’t mind me :-)

      Delete
    3. Ah. The photo of the chairs doesn't really show how old and worn those seats are. I'm sure they were built in the '60s, and they are showing their age. The Rose Parade thing is new. One of the band directors got together with a bunch of others in this area and said, "Let's go for it," and they were accepted.

      As for the one on one time, the school board did not like it, and that's probably one of the reasons why it ended. Most students don't get that.

      But, I'll keep the feeling of posh, as I like that idea. We might have it better than other places, and that's not a bad thing. Many of these students are very fortunate.

      Delete
  4. I know next to nothing about Disneyland (and less about the other Disney parks, although not long ago I learned there is a Hilton Head one), and hadn't heard of the Candlelight event. I visited once, at age 8. My father had a business trip in S. CA (I was in Northern) so my mother and I went along too. My brother's late wife's family lived in a small house near the back of Disneyland. Apparently it's not the best area. So she said.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Things have changed over the years, but back in my day, Harbor and Katella weren't ideal. That's kind of where Garden Grove starts. They've built the area up since then, so I don't know what the neighborhoods over there are like now. (I no longer live in Anaheim.) I mean, it wasn't Compton, but it wasn't Newport Beach, either.

      Delete
  5. We have candlelight church events. Obviously not on the Disney scale but lots of candles and beautiful music. - Oh man, wouldn't it be nice to have a few more student teachers join you?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's lovely when I get paid to watch someone else work ;)

      Delete
  6. I was a Walmart this morning (please don't judge, we have few other places to shop), and it is full-on Christmas in there. Sounds like an easy day for you. Good.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Replies
    1. Well, actually, several neighbors have Thanksgiving decor up already. Inflatable turkeys.

      Delete
  8. Never heard about it, but then we are closer to Disney World and I don't know if they do it or not.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Apparently they do. As I did my internet search on this, the Wikipedia article I found said all the Disney properties do it. But it's super secret, so you'll have to find someone in the know to get in on it.

      Delete
  9. I walked down an aisle with Halloween on the left and Christmas on the right. Good or evil...too soon for the good.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have been busy with work and travel. Missed a lot of posts. Catching up with some of them.
    A bit of early Christmas cheer, and an easy day for you!

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate your comments.

I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.

*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.