On Thursday morning students from Villages Elementary of Lady Lake continued the tradition of decorating the Lady Lake Town Hall Tree with handmade ornaments.
“That’s what makes this tree so special,” said Town Manager Kris Kollgaard. “Seeing these handmade ornaments, you can’t help but smile every time you walk by this tree.”
Led by guidance counselor RhedaGail Shumate, the students took turns climbing the ladder to place their ornaments. Each of the 12 participating classes that made ornaments selected one student to come and decorate the tree.
The construction paper chain that covered the tree top to bottom was made by the ELC (After-school program) students. This is the 11th year the school and town have partnered together to decorate the tree.
“Wonder how we know exactly how long to make the chain?” Shumate said to the crowd. We have permanent marks on our cafeteria wall, and the students know to make it long enough to go between the marks and it will fit the tree perfectly.”
The angel that tops the tree is always made by a first-grade class.
The students were handsomely rewarded for their efforts. A candy bar, think salad bar for kids, was set up for children to go through and fill their bags with favorite candies and Police Chief Chris McKinstry handed out goody bags.