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By The Veritas Staff
December 15, 2023
ROCKLAND- For the 2023 Holiday season at Rockland High School, two cheery teachers were elected Mr. and Mrs. Claus by the entire student body.
This year, Mr. and Ms. Claus are Mr. Randal Grimmett of the History department and Mrs. Valerie Mulready of the Math department.
For many years in the past, faculty Mr. and Mrs. Claus had been chosen out of the Rockland High School staff that students best believe represent the traits of the role.
Although the election has not taken place for the past couple of years, The Veritas staff decided to bring this festive concept back.
Being chosen for the role comes with the responsibility of helping the RHS community get into the holiday spirit right before Christmas break.
Both Mr. Grimmett and Mrs. Mulready are known for their cheery attitudes, funny personalities, and community participation. It is for this reason that they fit their roles perfectly.
Recently for Halloween, Mr. Grimmett even dressed up as Santa Claus early as his costume and handed many students passing by his room new notebooks and other surprises.
As for Mrs. Mulready, she is known for always having a positive attitude and festive personality during the holiday season.
When asked about these new Mr. and Mrs. Claus, students spoke very positively about both.
Senior Jacob Comman thinks Mrs. Mulready is a good choice for Mrs. Claus because “she is very nice and extremely understanding when you have questions. She is sweet to everyone.”
Math can be a very hard subject for many students, however, Mrs. Mulready is known for always being gentle, understanding, and helpful.
Anya Dean, a senior at Rockland High School, spoke highly about both when she said “Mulready and Grimmett are both very caring teachers and go out of their way for students. They are a good choice for this role because they are both sincere and caring and show a lot of school spirit.”
Mr. Grimmett is known for his love for Christmas, even playing Christmas songs all year round because he loves it so much.
Alice De Andrade, a senior, said Mr. Grimmett is “very curious and likes to help us understand stuff too, [because] he wants us to be curious.”
Both teachers make perfect Claus’s and are excited to help the Rockland High School community embrace the Holiday Season this year.
Christmas thoughts with Mr. Grimmett
What is your favorite holiday song?
“The Little Drummer Boy”
What is your favorite holiday movie?
Miracle on 34th Street
What was your reaction to being voted Santa Claus?
“I was happy and honored.”
What is your favorite part of Christmas?
“Probably the music, I listen to Christmas music a lot.”
Do you have a favorite Christmas memory?
“When I was 7 years old I got my first bicycle.”
What are your plans for Christmas this year?
“I will be staying home with [my] wife and my daughter on Christmas Eve, and the day and a week before I will be visiting with my siblings.”
What are some of your Christmas traditions?
“We usually open one present on Christmas Eve and my wife, my daughter and I will do one themed gift, and we started to wear matching Christmas pajamas which was a little embarrassing.”
Is there a specific food or meal you like to eat for the holidays?
“My favorite meal would be prime rib. We don't do it every year but when we do it's my favorite.”
What is your favorite holiday dessert or treat?
“Pumpkin Pie.”
What was the best gift you ever received?
“When I was in the 7th grade I got a 10-speed bicycle”
What was the best gift you ever gave?
“The year my mother passed away I gave my siblings a picture of my mother [of] when we were kids.”
How has Christmas changed now that your daughter is grown up?
“I get to go to bed earlier on Christmas Eve. She is a lot harder to buy [gifts] for as an adult than a child, and it's gotten better to relate to her on an adult level.”
What do you want for Christmas this year?
“What I really would like to do is see as much of my extended family as I can but I can't as it works out because I [have] family all over the country, but I would love to see my cousins and to get together with everybody. I’m getting older, I'm 60 so I would like to see everybody.”
Are you going to do anything with your students to celebrate the holiday?
“I'm going to do something but don't know yet. I'm actually going through the days we have left that I see in every class I will probably do food.”
Is there anything else you would like to add?
“Just to say thank you to The Veritas for choosing me, it's very cool.”
Christmas thoughts with Mrs. Mulready
What is your favorite holiday song?
“My favorite Christmas song, I would say, "Oh Holy Night.”
What is your favorite holiday movie?
“Probably the new movie Spirited.”
What was your reaction to being voted Mrs. Claus?
“I think it's funny that I got voted Ms. Claus because I am really not a big Christmas person. I prefer Thanksgiving because I don't like to shop.”
What is your favorite part of Christmas?
“Being with my kids and grandkids.”
Do you have a favorite Christmas memory?
“It was probably when my kids were little, not so much me but when my kids were little we told them that they couldn't go downstairs until everyone was ready, we all had to come down together and they would always send the youngest to wake us up and thought they would yell at him but they would wake him up and push him in to wake us up.”
What are your plans for Christmas this year?
“I will get together with all my kids and grandkids at some point to exchange gifts. Christmas Eve is kinda big time we go to my daughters' house to have dinner.”
What are some of your Christmas traditions?
“Things have changed so much, my tradition has changed from when I was younger to when I became an adult and had kids and now my kids have kids and it keeps changing, but the bottom line is we all are together in one place whether its breakfast or dinner we are still in one place.”
Is there a specific food or meal you like to eat for the holidays?
“I make scones for Christmas morning that's probably traditional and my favorite.”
What is your favorite holiday dessert or treat?
“If it's got chocolate or sugar, I'm there.”
What was the best gift you ever received?
“My three greatest gifts would be my children but they weren't necessarily Christmas gifts. I think last year, my husband died five years ago, [and] my kids last year for Christmas got me a wall of photos. When I went out they hung them up, [and] it was my whole family and it was awesome.”
What was the best gift you ever gave?
“I can't think of anything in particular that stands out.”
What are you excited about now that you have grandchildren for the holiday?
“That makes the holiday worthwhile. I'm looking at it all fresh and new.”
What do you want for Christmas this year?
“I would just be happy to see everybody and hope everybody is healthy because I have one child that lives out of state in Vermont and I will get to spend time with them and that's a big part of it for me.”
Is there anything else you would like to add?
“I love the holiday because it gives me a chance to make time to spend with other people I don't always see.”
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