12/8/25
By Victoria Pumphrey and Keira Small, Staff Writers
ROCKLAND- Christmas is a time of joy and excitement; these teachers share how they spend the holiday season.
Winter break is just around the corner, as it will be from December 22 to January 2, and will be the longest winter break that Rockland High School has had in over a decade.
Mr. Steven Casagrande, the Math Department Chairperson, is often identified by his extravagant Christmas sweaters that he wears almost every day starting November 1st, as that is the day that he claims the Christmas season starts.
Mr. Gregory Rowe, the History Department Chairperson, on the other hand, believes that the Christmas season starts the day after Thanksgiving, as his family has always had the tradition of getting ready on that day for the upcoming Christmas festivities.
Similarly, freshman health teacher Ms. Susan Phelps said, “I don’t want to hear Christmas music until after Thanksgiving.” She does not mind when people decorate before then, but it is the music that should wait until Thanksgiving has passed, in her opinion.
Students sometimes show their appreciation to their teachers through gift-giving. Students normally give gifts around Christmas time and towards the end of the school year.
Mr. Rowe said that “Students have gifted me many, many [rubber] ducks since 2004, which seems to multiply all the time.”
Ms. Phelps explained that she still puts a ceramic angel ornament on her tree every year that a student made for her in 1994. Sometimes the simplest gifts can be the ones that hold the most significance.
Mr. Casagrande said that, oddly, one of his students gifted him a ceramic Bowbow (JoJo Siwa’s pet dog) piggybank.
Some gifts are sentimental, some are ironic, and some just make no sense, but nonetheless are just as meaningful.
Just as much as students dread doing work over breaks, teachers dread grading it so they try to leave students with minimal homework to do over the break.
Some holiday traditions are staples in most American families, such as putting up a tree and opening gifts on Christmas day, but most families have their own, unique practices that they won’t go a year without.
“After we go to my aunt’s house with all of our extended family on Christmas day,” Ms. Phelps said, “going home and everyone putting on their Christmas pajamas that match and taking a family photo [is my favorite tradition].”
Mr. Casagrande and Mr. Rowe did not mention anything in particular, but said that they enjoyed decorating and getting ready.
Many people think that the hardest thing about teaching before break is students not being focused and acting out, but as many of the teachers agreed, it is not a big issue with high school students.
Ms. Phelps said, “The holidays are hard. Some people don’t get presents as their families can’t quite afford it, and I always feel bad and try to keep the conversations down… You can also see students get a little bit sad because they’re not going to get [gifts].”
People have different parts of Christmas that they cherish. Some families enjoy special traditions, while others simply enjoy each other’s presence.
On the other hand, though Mr. Casagrande enjoys spending time with his family, he also thinks, “Getting gifts [is the best part], everything else is stupid.”
During the holidays, some teachers will assign work related to the holidays. In health class, however, Ms. Phelps likes to give her students advice on handling holiday stress.
Ms. Phelps said, "Sometimes step away from a situation if it is stressful. Going to your room and finding a quiet activity [to do]; staying off of social media [is helpful].”
The tips Ms. Phelps shares can be used by all family members, so the holidays aren’t so overwhelming.
The holiday season is a fun time for both teachers and students. They all celebrate in their own special ways, and teachers try to bring spirit to their classrooms.