St. Olaf Catholic School presents ?Carols of Advent'

Intermountain Catholic

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The third grade angels are announcing the Savior. They sing ?Angels from the Realms of Glory.? All of the classes came together at the end to tell everyone the savior was born.

BOUNTIFUL — Saint Olaf pre-kindergarden through fifth grade students put on a pageant, "Carols of Advent," for the Middle School and their parents before recessing for the Christmas holiday Dec. 19. The pageant was a great success. The Saint Olaf gym was full of parents and special guests.

Saint Olaf First Grade Teacher Carolyn Smillie wrote the script and obtained the music. Saint Olaf Music Director Radu Noaghiu accompanied on the piano.

The pageant began with the Annunciation. They portrayed a nativity and the children had roles around the manger including playing animals. The pageant ends with all the children singing "Go Tell it on the Mountain…that a savior is born." The the world about the birth of Jesus.

"This is the first year Saint Olaf has had this pageant, and I want it to become a tradition," said Smillie. "I did this at Saint Andrew’s Catholic School in Helena, Mont., and wanted to continue the tradition. I was shocked when I heard Saint Olaf did not have a Christmas program because at my old school it was the crowning event of the year. So I was excited about getting it started.

"I took parts from the Living Creche program, which gives you scripture passages, and Christmas legends," said Smillie. "Young children are really interested in that. If you can tie good stories with the Bible scriptures, then it really makes the story come alive for the children.

"The music I used are all traditional Christmas carols," said Smillie. "The first carols are from the Creche program, but the last part of the program are from old English tales on Christmas Day. The kindergarten students sang about the bells in the chapels talking to each other. They bells in St. Clemens say ‘Oranges and Lemons.’"