Betsy Layne Elementary School

Jonathan Parsons, Principal
Andrea Humphries, Assistant Principal
Rebecca Morrison, Assistant Principal
Sandy Akers, School Coordinator



What I Want for Christmas

For Christmas I hope Santa brings me FOUR front teeth! I think he should so I can eat the cookies me and my mommy make. And I pinky promise not to eat Santa's cookies!

Iyla SamonsKindergartenListen to me read!


Millie Cole2nd GradeListen to me read!

The Best Christmas Gift


The best gift I have ever received is my reborn baby doll. I wanted one for a long time and my mom and dad bought me a baby girl. She looks so real and I love to play with my sister. I like to take her in a stroller. Her name is Tori.

My Christmas Wish


If I could grant one wish for my brother on Christmas it would be to buy him a two man deer hunting stand so that he can take me hunting with him. I love spending time with my brother.

Addison Crum2nd GradeListen to me read!
Noah Hamilton2nd GradeOverall K-2 WinnerListen to me read!

What Christmas Means to Me

The best that I ever received was the Koopa Troopa plush toy and the Mario plush toy. My favorite Christmas memory was last year when all my family got together and had a lot of fun celebrating Jesus’ birthday. Christmas makes me feel warm and happy. Spending time with my family during Christmas decorating the Christmas tree is especially important to me because we celebrate the life of Jesus and the gift of life he gave to us. Christmas is a time to love, laugh, smile, and show how much we love each other.

Christmas Traditions


During Christmas time I love to watch the movie Home Alone. It is one of my favorites. I watch it many times during the Christmas season. The movie always makes me laugh and when the robber gets the hot iron to the forehead is the best part. Also, mom never gives up and gets back home to him just in time. That is what family is all about.

Knox Martin2nd GradeListen to me read!


Karahline Caldwell 3rd GradeListen to me read!

What Christmas Means to Me


Christmas means to me that you celebrate Jesus’ birthday. You should be kind and grateful for what you have. You should spend time with your family and have fun. You should be grateful for your family even if they are not kind.

My Favorite Thing About Christmas


My favorite thing about Christmas is when I was five my mom gave me a puppy and it was fluffy and tiny and cute. It was a girl and my brother was in his room. He did not know we had a puppy. Mom and dad were happy and I was happy.

Ciara Jarrell3rd Grade
Jalyn Mollett3rd GradeListen to me read!

The Christmas Gift


The best Christmas gift I have ever received was a little pomeranian that I named Milo. It was tan with a little button nose. I taught it tricks as well, but that was the best Christmas gift I have ever received.


What Christmas Means to Me


What Christmas means to me is giving and not getting. The next thing that Christmas means to me is celebrating the birth of Jesus. The last thing that Christmas means to me is to play with family and friends.

Easton Tackett3rd Grade


Khloe Boyd4th GradeListen to me read!

A Christmas Memory


The funniest thing that has happened last Christmas was when me and my sister were sledding with my dog. She went down the hill and she went so fast she was sliding on her head. She had socks on her hands and then the socks fell off and her hands got so red and she had scratched her nose and her face started itching and we went inside.


A Christmas Message


I have a message for all the medical caretakers: Thank you for helping the sick get better so they can spend another Christmas with their families although you are missing time with your family. We appreciate you and you are changing lives.

Noah Davis5th GradeOverall Intermediate Winner Listen to me read!
Octavia Cooley5th GradeListen to me read!

My Christmas Wish


If I could grant one wish it would be to buy some presents to pass around to sick kids in the hospital. They can’t go home for Christmas and it would make their Christmas a little more amazing.


Brennan Fleenor6th GradeListen to me read!

Christmas Traditions


Christmas is the time of the year where my family celebrates the most traditions. We make cookies and wait for them to bake while we sit by the fire with hot cocoa in our hands. We open presents on Christmas Day as we pray to get the toys we want that day. Our family, cousins, grandparents and more compete in Bingo to get more gifts. That night, we go to sleep thanking God for that day, wishing more days could be that way. Christmas is my favorite holiday.

The Meaning of Christmas


The meaning of Christmas is to spend time with your family, it’s really not about the gifts you receive, thought you should be thankful either way. Spend time with your family on Christmas by helping them make food, if you cook; decorate the Christmas tree with them, just have fun instead of worrying about the gifts you receive. Some fun activities you could do are: sledding, snowball fights, make snowmen and so much more! Overall, I have fun at Christmas! Just be grateful for you have and what you get.

Gacelyn Guth6th GradeListen to me read!


Trenton Hill7th GradeListen to me read!

My Wish for Medical Caretakers


If I could send a message to a medical care taker I would say, ‘thanks for all the help and work’. I know many of you can’t be at home for the holiday so, ‘Merry Christmas’. Please know we love you and thank you for all your work. I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Favorite Christmas Memory


One of my favorite Christmas memories is with my family. We would play games and my Mamaw and I would cook a big dinner. My Papaw and siblings would pick the movie. One of the best memories about Christmas were the family pictures and guessing the gifts. I love to remember Christmas because it reminds me of all of the happy memories. What is one of your favorite Christmas memories?

Chloe Huff7th GradeListen to me read!
Cameron Hunt7th GradeListen to me read!

Christmas with My Family


On the morning of Christmas Eve we wake up early and then we open presents at home and take pictures. Mom, dad, brother and I get ready and go to my granny and papaw’s. We have a very big dinner where we play games and we open presents and we take pictures of every one. After that we go to my mamaw’s and have dinner there, we open presents and then go home. We all snuggle up in our warm bed’s and wait for Santa to arrive.

Amazing Christmas


If I could grant one wish in the world I would wish for everyone to be able to experience and have an amazing Christmas. I pick this because of the people who may not get or just don't have a nice Christmas. Many people may not have the money or maybe people don't have people to celebrate with. Some people don't have any homes they are living outside with no one to talk to or no one to celebrate Christmas with. These are the reasons why I wish everyone could just have a nice Christmas.

Trenton Kidd7th GradeListen to me read!


Madelyn Collins8th GradeListen to me read!

My Favorite Christmas Movie


My favorite Christmas movie is The Christmas Story. It is my favorite Christmas movie because it shows you how to be thankful for what you get for Christmas and if you're not thankful you may not get what you want. It also shows what can happen if you are mean to other kids or bully them that something bad will happen in return.

Family Tradition for the Christmas Holiday Season


My family gets together every Christmas Eve. The first thing we do is say prayer and then we eat. My dad usually fixes different kinds of food. After that we open presents. We usually always get matching sister shirts. We finish off the night by sitting in the living room and watching a Christmas movie.



Madisyn Hunt8th GradeListen to me read!
Jayden Jarrell8th GradeListen to me read!

The Grinch


I think my favorite Christmas movie would be The Grinch. The Grinch teaches that people can change. I watch it every year with my family. We all love how Cindy Lou Who believed in the Grinch, when everyone else gave up on him.

Christmas Family Gatherings


One of my favorite Christmas memories would be having Christmas at my great uncle John’s house. I enjoyed opening presents, eating Christmas dinner and spending time with my great grandma. Christmas was her favorite holiday. She looked forward to watching her great grandchildren open their presents every Christmas. Sadly, she passed away in 2015. Since her passing our Christmas gatherings have not been the same.

Harley Osborne8th GradeListen to me read!
McKenzie Thacker8th GradeOverall 6-8 School Winner Listen to me read!

My Most Wanted Christmas Wish


If I could make one wish, ‘I would wish for my sister to talk’ because she has Autism. Because of her autism she can’t talk and since she can’t talk we never know what she wants for Christmas. I feel bad for her everyday but, I feel really bad for her when its her birthday or Christmas because we never know what she wants and have to just guess what she would want or what might make her happy. I love my sister very much and I hope one day she can talk so that we can know what she wants and how she feels, this is truly my wish!!

A Family Tradition


I've done around the same traditions since I was very young but now I enjoy them even more now that I'm an older sister. I make sure that they enjoy it just as much as I do! I help them make cookies, the smiles on their faces and the messes we make are priceless. I help my mom move their elf and wake up to see the excitement on their faces. Every year we make ornaments, decorate the tree, and sing songs. I've always loved these things but now, seeing how much their faces light up and the happiness it brings them makes the same traditions even more special.

Chloe Yount8th GradeListen to me read!