While the world discussed what needs to change because of what recently unfolded in Newtown, Connecticut, the staff at Colebrookdale Elementary School (CES) focused on keeping some semblance of normalcy for their students by providing a week of holiday activities before the long winter break.

For more than a decade, CES has celebrated the holiday season with a school-wide sing-along. On December 19, the entire student population of approximately 400 Kindergarteners through sixth graders gathered in the all-purpose room for the annual event.

This year, CES principal Michael Stoudt decided to precede the event with a vocabulary lesson and an unusual contest designed to hammer home the meaning of the new word the students learned during the lesson.