CH students spread holiday cheer
Cambria Heights High School students sing Christmas carols to residents of the Haida Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Elder Township on Friday morning before dismissing for Christmas vacation. They also visited Saint Benedict Manor and senior centers in Ebensburg, Northern Cambria and Patton. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights High School music teacher Michael Kokus directs his students as they sing at Haida Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center. Selections included “Silent Night,” “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights High School students sing Christmas carols to residents of the Haida Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Elder Township on Friday morning before dismissing for Christmas vacation. They also visited Saint Benedict Manor and senior centers in Ebensburg, Northern Cambria and Patton. Mirror photo by Matt Churella
Cambria Heights High School music teacher Michael Kokus directs his students as they sing at Haida Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center. Selections included “Silent Night,” “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” Mirror photo by Matt Churella
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HASTINGS -- As Will Farrell's character, Buddy Hobbs, once said in the 2003 Christmas Comedy film "Elf," "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."
That's what a group of 16 Cambria Heights High School students did Friday morning during their early dismissal before Christmas break.
The students, along with high school music teacher Michael Kokus, traveled by bus to sing Christmas carols to nursing home residents and senior citizens at local senior centers.
They visited the Haida Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Elder Township, Saint Benedict Manor and the Ebensburg Center, a social services organization along Admiral Peary Highway -- in addition to senior centers in Ebensburg, Northern Cambria and Patton.
Kokus, who has taken his students to sing carols at assisted living facilities for over a decade, said he understands the importance of spreading Christmas cheer during the holiday season.
"It's the right thing to do around Christmastime," Kokus said. "I hope we are able to brighten the spirit of everybody here for a little bit and just spread that holiday joy."
The students sang "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "Silent Night," "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" and other Christmas classics at each location.
Haida Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center resident Jim Whited, who has been in the home since May, said the students' performance was "fantastic."
"That's pretty hard to do and they did a good job. That was great," Whited said, noting he appreciated the students for visiting the nursing home because it made his day go by faster.
Saint Benedict Manor resident Jean Ann Krug said she "loved" seeing the students because she's a 1956 graduate of Cambria Heights.
"I loved how they could go higher and lower," Krug said of their performance. "That was really pretty."
As the students left the facility to board their bus, they wished each of the residents a Merry Christmas, something Krug said she appreciated.
Krug, who has lived at Saint Benedict Manor for nearly a year, said she went to live at the facility after both her husband and her son died because she could no longer take care of herself.
Cambria Heights junior Anthony Swander said he enjoyed singing for elders in his community.
"Knowing that we're giving them the opportunity to have younger people come in and tell them, 'Merry Christmas,' it means a lot," Swander said.
Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.