Santa arrives to greet students at Owego Elementary School on Thursday, and is introduced at the end of the reading of The Polar Express. (Photo by Wendy Post)
It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Owego Elementary School (OES) on Thursday as a reading to students of The Polar Express was capped off with a visit from the man at the North Pole himself, Santa Claus.
Each year, Tracy Olevano offers a reading of The Polar Express to elementary students in Owego. According to Olevano, a special education teacher, she has done it for 15 years, with this year’s presentation taking place for the first time in the new auditorium.
It was Dec. 21, and it was also pajama day for Olevano’s presentation. And students were surprised when Olevano introduced Santa Claus at the end of the reading.
Entering the stage in his red suit, compliments of the Tioga County Museum and Historical Society, was jolly old St. Nick himself, ready to greet the students.
Santa arrives to greet students at Owego Elementary School on Thursday, and is introduced at the end of the reading of The Polar Express. (Photo by Wendy Post)
Not only did the students meet Santa, they also received a bell and a candy cane, a tradition initiated by Olevano.
She stated that next year will be even bigger and better, and that is because Olevano will be retiring shortly after. She also noted that the P.T.O. provided the bells and candy canes and her mother, Tammy Pierce, volunteered as one of the elves.
As for Santa, he took time off from his busy schedule to visit with the students at OES. His favorite part, he noted, is seeing the smiles that he brings to the faces of the children.
One young student even asked, “Are you the real Santa?”
Santa was also seen recently at the Tioga History Museum in Owego, the organization that made the school visit possible on Thursday.
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