The night of December 18th, 1966, was interesting across the country of the U.S. Many families were snuggled in blankets, had a cup of hot chocolate and some cookies, and sat around their TVs to watch the first-ever airing of How the Grinch Stole Christmas on CBS. The movie and story would soon become a household name and a classic in America for the holiday season.
Now most of us know the Grinch in either the book form or the many movies, but it originally started as a story in the newspaper. Now in this story, the Grinch is quite different. He was a merchant who sold pieces of string for 98 cents to a yellow, furry boor who was sunbathing. Eventually, the story morphed into the much more familiar tale of the Grinch who lives isolated from Whoville because he has a strong hatred for Christmas. However, as he tries to steal it, he finds the meaning and his love for it again.
Many might not know, though, that the Grinch was inspired by Dr. Seuss himself. The morning after Christmas, he was brushing his teeth when he looked into the mirror and saw himself as someone who resembled the Grinch. “Something had gone wrong with Christmas, or more likely, with me,” he told Redbook in an interview. He decided to write the story because he wanted to rediscover what Christmas meant not only to him, but to the millions of Americans across our country, something he felt had been lost.
Nowadays though, many people watch the movie, read the book or act it out as a play. FWPA isn’t excluded from this with our tradition of the reading of The Grinch by 10th graders for the 6th graders. This tradition dates way back to Mr. Lynn, a former teacher here who started many of the traditions we have come to love here at FWPA. Mr. G guesses it started not long after we moved to our current building. As Mr. G has stayed at FWPA longer he feels that he’s started to adopt many of the things Mr. Lynn had started to make sure they keep on going.
Though many of us now know Mr. G as a teacher here at FWPA, he was once a student here too, though he was only here for 9th and 10th grade. While he was here, he got to participate in the reading of The Grinch; he was just one of the townspeople but he still had a lot of fun doing it. The simplicity of the tradition is what sticks out the most to him time and time again. It’s just a reading of a story that everybody knows yet he sees every year that the 6th graders love it and are so immersed in something so simple. It goes to show how not everything needs to be extravagant to be fun and really reveals the beauty in the simplicity.
“We are an academic school no question about it but if that’s all that’s here then they won’t buy into the time in class,” said Mr. G. Across the board, what sticks out the most about the reading of The Grinch is just how out of the ordinary it is for FWPA. As much as we are an academic school at our core, we’re all just kids growing and learning as we go through FWPA. The traditions we have allow us to take a break from school and allow us to be kids. “Taking the time to do some silly things and understanding you are kids and it’s ok to do things out of the ordinary sometimes. We work hard and play hard.” Traditions like the reading of the Grinch give us our identity and make us stand out from other schools they’re something that can’t be taken away and they are what build up our student body.
For Evan Tay, the reading of The Grinch was quite a surprise yet holds a special place in his memories from his 6th grade year. When he first heard of it, he was only told it was a fun event that was holiday-themed. He genuinely thought it would be something educational to some capacity and didn’t expect to have quite as much fun as he did. The thing that stuck out to him the most was when his friend spilled hot cocoa all over Mr. Olsen’s floor and how long it took to clean it.
His favorite part of the experience was the reading as a whole because the 10th graders made it a very memorable experience, especially Dexter Lee, who played the Grinch Evan’s 6th grade year. Evan said, “It was very cool and exciting and something nice the 10th graders did for us and it’s something I think that every 6th grader should get to experience.”
Just like how the reading of The Grinch plays a crucial role in the 6th grade experience at FWPA, it’s important to the 10th graders too. Being the 10th graders last year here at FWPA, The Grinch is an opportunity for them to do something fun for the 6th graders, who otherwise may not interact with 10th graders at all. It’s a way for them to make an impact on the 6th graders’ year and it gives the 6th graders something to look forward to when they get to 10th grade. One of the best parts about The Grinch is that even though the story never changes, 10th graders have the freedom to make it their own which is what makes each reading of The Grinch so unique.
Reneta Adusei had one of the most central roles in the entire reading. “Because I was the narrator I got to essentially tell the whole story without acting it out. I was able to play around with my voice to add life to the reading which I really enjoyed.” She said she enjoyed the overall experience because it was a chance for her grade to do something fun and bring them together a little more.
“Traditions are very important, they’re always nice to have and they give a sense of belonging,” said Mr Roberts. Just like The Grinch has become a classic in American society, it has become one of the many great traditions at FWPA. Though the tradition of reading The Grinch is fairly simple, it still has the ability to create impact and memories for both 6th and 10th graders.
