Santa Claus Greets Families, Special Guests
At Adelphi’s Annual Happy Holiday Brunch
The Grinch makes an appearance during the Lower School performance!
BAY RIDGE – Santa Claus made a very special appearance at Adelphi Academy of Brooklyn’s annual Happy Holiday Brunch on Sunday, December 9th, 2017. The festive tradition, held inside the John Lockwood Auditorium Theatre (named for the Academy’s founder) welcomed more than 175 guests to enjoy a delicious brunch as well as performances by Adelphi’s Lower School and the Adelphi Performing Chorus, accompanied by alumni, faculty & staff!
Lower School students kicked off the performance with several popular holiday songs and skits that had audience members actively engaged. Many were dressed as reindeer, while Kenn, Saba and Jake portrayed Alvin, Simon and Theodore, respectively, for a rousing rendition of “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas, Don’t Be Late).” Upper Schooler Albert played the role of David Seville trying to get the rambunctious chipmunks to finish their song. Other numbers included “Frosty the Snowman,” “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” and, of course, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!”
Once the little ones had concluded their performance, Upper Schoolers Josh, Matthew, Isaac and Eric snuck to the front of the room, where they broke into a performance of “A Song from SNL: I Wish it Was Christmas Today.” Video of the popular “Saturday Night Live” performance was displayed behind them as they mimicked the movements of the comedians. At the conclusion of their performance, they joined the rest of Adelphi’s Performing Chorus for a full-on holiday rock show that had the entire audience clapping along.
Santa Claus arrives at Adelphi Academy of Brooklyn!
Head of School Ms. Iphigenia Romanos cuts the ribbon to open the brunch!
Among the highlights were renditions of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by U2, “Merry Christmas Baby” by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and “Do They Know It’s Christmas” by Band Aid. Adelphi alumni Regina Levy ’18 and Arthur Furman ’16 joined in for solo performances of “Merry Christmas Darling” by The Carpenters and “Christmas Auld Lang Syne” by Bobby Darin, respectively.
During the program, as Chorus members sang a rocking version of “Step Into Christmas” by Elton John, Santa Claus himself entered the auditorium to loud applause. Once the show had concluded, jolly old St. Nick sat on stage and posed for photos with all the children (and many adults) in attendance as each visitor told Santa what they wanted for the holidays. Each child also received a special candy cane straight from the North Pole.
The annual event also featured dozens of unique gift baskets made up of high-end holiday goods and services donated by parents, staff members and Academy supporters that were raffled off and presented to lucky winners. Prizes included baskets of cheer, holiday goodies, artwork, holiday DVDs and CDs and, of course — toys, toys, toys!
Adelphi’s Head of School Ms. Iphigenia Romanos said, “So many of Adelphi’s families came together to share in the holiday spirit at Adelphi’s Annual Happy Holiday Brunch and the students did a wonderful job with their performances, as always. This event was one of our most successful to date and served as the perfect way to celebrate the holidays!”
Upper Schoolers Josh, Isaac, Matthew and Eric recreate an iconic “Saturday Night Live” performance!
As the oldest private, independent, continuing, coeducational, college-preparatory day school in the borough and one of the oldest in the nation, Adelphi Academy of Brooklyn, “the little school of big dreams” has been “effectively preparing young people for college, career, and life, one day at a time” for over 150 years. Founded in 1863 and located in the historic Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, Adelphi enrolls students from two years of age through twelfth grade. A strong emphasis is placed on small class size, individualized attention, self-expression, critical thinking and challenging hands-on learning through Adelphi’s founding philosophy and dedication to the education of the “total child.” Adelphi students excel within a small, intimate, safe, caring, nurturing, and secure environment through Adelphi’s core values and founding principles of pride, tradition, spirit, and excellence. The student-teacher ratio is 8 to 1 and Adelphi is a New York State Regents Exempt Program with a 100% college application, acceptance and attendance rate. A founding member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, Adelphi receives its charter from the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York and has been a member of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools since 1928. Ms. Iphigenia Romanos serves as Head of School.
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Photos courtesy of Adelphi Academy of Brooklyn