Indus School’s annual Christmas concert is makings its long-awaited return following a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Dec. 15 at 5:40 p.m., Kindergarten to Grade 9 students will gather for an assembly of performances and musical presentations at the Indus Recreation Centre, located next to Indus School in southeast Rocky View County.
Andrea Hansen, administrative secretary for Indus School, said the school tries to put on a Christmas-themed presentation each year for its students, staff, and parents either in the form of a play, a musical presentation, or band performance.
She added this year, the Kindergarten to Grade 6 students will put on a variety of musical presentations for audience members interspersed with a band performance led by Grade 7 to 9 students.
“I think it’s an amazing celebration just to see what the students have accomplished and to gather as a community in this incredibly tight-knit community,” Hansen said. “If you were to come into the school here, it’s like a family – it really is.”
She said while the last Christmas concert was held in 2019, for the nine years she has worked for the school, each year, Indus School has tried to spread some Christmas cheer with its annual presentation.
“It’s a really joyous occasion to get everyone together to celebrate what the students are performing and doing,” she added.
As a parent herself, Hansen encourages families to come out to see their children perform and enjoy the Christmas spirit on full display at the concert.
Additionally, they can help a worthy cause by participating in the Indus School Fundraising Society’s holiday raffle.
“The society does amazing work helping parents pay for busing for field trips, and any special activities that are going on because it’s [been] a tough year, I think, for most people,” Hansen stated.
She added as part of the draw, families were asked to donate specific items to be raffled off at the Christmas concert. Items ranged from candy to games, and sports items.
“We have amazing parents here, so the donations that come in are just absolutely awesome,” she said.
She added as a thank you for the support shown by Indus School parents, they can enjoy an evening of holiday-themed fun, including a band performance of Up on the Rooftop, Rock around the Christmas Tree, and We Wish you a Merry Christmas.
The performances will be “interlaced” with performances from Kindergarten to Grade 6 students who will be offering up a unique set list of holiday songs, including If You’re Happy That it’s Christmas, and What’s This?
“[It’s] kind of different songs this year, which is nice to see, not just the traditional [songs],” Hansen remarked.
Additional songs include some classics such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, You’re a Mean one Mr. Grinch, and Do you Hear What I Hear?
There will also be a performance of 12 Days of Indus School Christmas and Indus' own Christmas tune Indus Christmas, which was first penned by former Indus resident Kelly Fordham.
“Indus has its own Christmas song created many, many years ago,” Hansen said, adding Fordham’s children and grandchildren attended Indus School.
“We’re talking three generations. We’ve been around for over 50 years, and we have a 70th anniversary celebration coming up [next year],” she added. “We’ve been around for a while.”
The Christmas celebration will be held at the Indus Recreation Centre, which offers up a large meeting room to facilitate the performers and audience members.
“We do our performances there every year because we can very safely and comfortably seat the parents of over 197 students,” she said, adding the performance is free to attend.
