One popular sight during the month of December is the famous nativity scene. Baby Jesus, surrounded by his parents, three wise men, animals and angels is a common symbol on display near churches.
This year, the eighth-grade students at Everest Academy made a project out of designing and building their own nativity set, which is currently on display inside one of the school’s stairwells.
But the students? projects go beyond the typical nativity scene. Divided by a flowing river of water, one half shows the famous images of the first Christmas, while the other was built to reflect modern-day Michigan. A final touch for the project is a bridge, which, according to Father Rivas of Everest Academy, symbolizes the church acting as a bridge between modern lives and the original message of Christmas.
‘The church is the bridge to today,? Rivas said.
According to Rivas, who is originally from Spain, larger, themed nativity scenes are part of European tradition. People would make annual traditions of visiting several churches to view the unique designs.
‘We’re tying to bring that tradition here,? said Rivas, who added that the eighth-grade girls are also working on a large nativity, which will be on display in the near future. Even though this is the school’s first attempt at the tradition, he hopes it will continue with future eighth-grade classes.
‘We have a tradition of the eighth-graders leaving a legacy for the other students,? he said.
The students completed work on their scene during their overnight ‘Share the Christmas Spirit? lock-in, with the help of parents and teachers. In a group interview with The Clarkston News, several students commented that the hardest part about building the large scene was carrying all the water necessary to operate the cycling water flow. They also had to install the makeshift ‘stained glass? mural in the background, which was made of paper and colored filters.
Rivas said the school will hopefully further emulate the European tradition on Dec. 17, when the school with host ‘Christmas at Everest? from 7?9 p.m. Leading up to the event, individual classrooms at Everest will design and build their own smaller nativity scenes. Visitors to the school will able to visit each classroom and see their finished project, as well as the two larger scenes on display.