Last week I was driving home, passing by Notre Dame du Rosaire School, and I had to stop and do a double take. What I saw wasn’t there when I left in the morning. Now there was a full-size nativity stable scene with Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, a shepherd, three wise men and a cow, donkey, sheep, and a goat.  

To my amazement the animals were real! They were happily grazing on the partially snow-covered lawn of the school. Hay bales framed the stable and inside were lifelike representations of people from the first Christmas. Painted images outlining three wise men peaked into the stable to see the newborn baby. The entire scene was quite beautifully crafted.

It turns out that the school had entered a contest to win money for school supplies. The contest project was to craft a nativity scene using recycled materials. The kids created a picture of the wise men, outlining them with recycled milk bag clips. They also painted background material and made a star. Most of the material came from recycled sources, donated by parents and other residents of the community. The Mary and Joseph figures had been created with recycled material by an artistic resident, and two other Cryslerites had carefully crafted a magnificent nativity shelter out of recycled wood with the help, of course, of a number of hard-working school kids. The (real) animals came from nearby farms.

I had never seen anything like that before. Apparently, the school requested help to build a nativity scene and the community pitched in with both person power, recycled material, and animals. Students from each grade in the school also contributed. What a beautiful job they all did!

I’ve lived near schools for many years and of course my kids went to schools in the city. And while I know PTAs have been involved in many things there, this was the best and definitely most realistic outdoor scene I’d ever come across. I am sure they will win the contest!

If you are in Crysler in the near future, please drive by the school and see the nativity scene. The animals have gone back to neighbouring farms but I’m sure you’ll appreciate the kids’ and community’s collective effort, as well as the organization that the school’s teachers and administrators provided to get everyone involved. 

By the way, if you have another impressive Christmas scene, I’d love to hear about it, so please let me know. There’s something very special about rural communities and the collective spirit they provide in getting amazing things done.

PS – they won the $1500 prize for school supplies! Congrats to all community contributors and the staff at Notre Dame du Rosaire !