A lot of people enjoy an opportunity to relax with a movie in their pajamas.
The students at Love Elementary School received this opportunity as part of an annual Christmas gift in the form of an assembly.
On Thursday, students arrived at school to find a pair of pajamas on their desks. According to Roslyn Sisley-Cazelunas, a fifth-grade teacher who was in charge of the yearly assembly, the pajamas were donated through a process that resembles a domino effect.
Article Photos
On Thursday, students gather in the gymnasium for Love Elementary School’s annual pajama assembly.
P-J photo by Gavin Paterniti
"We get them from all over," said Sisley-Cazelunas. "It's supposed to be that you would ask your family and friends to buy a pair and then they ask their family and friends to buy a pair. Then they get donated to the school, and they come in from all over the community. My sister lives in Ohio and they came from her church in Ohio, as well. We've also had money donated because some organizations would rather just send money for us to purchase the pajamas."
Approximately 350 pairs of pajamas were donated to or purchased by the school, enough for every student. According to Sisley-Cazelunas, instances of having students unable to fit in their pajamas are rare.
"Each teacher comes and picks out pajamas for each of their children in their classroom, so they know what size to get," she said. "Over the years, we've only had maybe two or three people not fit in (their pajamas). This morning, I only had to exchange one pair out of 350."
Over the years, the pajama assembly has entailed different activities. Some years, the students have gathered in the gymnasium for a sing-along. This year, students were treated to a movie as well as cookies and milk.
After all of the school's classes were gathered in the gymnasium, students were invited by grade to stand up in front of their classmates, spin around and show off their new pajamas. Then the students, under the direction of Sisley-Cazelunas, turned to their respective teachers and thanked the teachers for what they do for the school and students. Afterwards, they were treated with a showing of "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas."
Levain Ferguson, a fourth-grader, was available to share his thoughts on the pajama assembly.
"I think it's nice that (the teachers) do this for us because some people don't get nice clothes like this," said Levain. "I want to say thank you (to the teachers) for all that they do for the school."
The pajama assembly has been annually occurring at Love for the past seven years. The sponsors of the assembly will each receive a thank-you card along with a picture of the students in their pajamas.
"I want to thank all of the family and friends that we have in Jamestown, the surrounding areas and even out of town," said Sisley-Cazelunas.