Christmas at QPA

As Christmas draws closer at Queens Preparatory Academy, the environment of the school changes drastically to fit the holiday season. Apart from the Christmas music played repeatedly over the speakers that is now—for better or worse—stuck in my head, the school body of both teaching staff and students also did something I found incredibly unique.

As a new student at QPA, I had never experienced a Christmas where all the students and teachers decorated their doors in flashy, glamourous styles and creative designs. Another interesting thing was that it turned out to be a school tradition that also took place last year.

I had the pleasure of interacting with two teachers about their doors and the concept of “deccing” (deck + decorating) the doors. The first was last year’s winner and this year’s 2nd runner up Ms. Piil (Science). The second was Ms. Brown (Math).

Ms. Brown actually gave me the idea for the term “deccing the doors” because this was the highlight of the Christmas spirit at QPA. It made everybody aware of the holiday, or at least more aware than they would’ve been. It also gave the school a refreshing appeal.

Ms. Piil

What gave you the idea to design your door like this?

My students wanted a scenic image that represents community building on both of our classroom doors.

Would you do something like this for other holidays?

I would love to do something like this in the future.

How did you design your door last year? How does your current design compare to your previous one?

For my previous door, I had a Christmas tree and Santa on it, but my current door is better than my previous door.

On a side note, she did state her discontent at losing the first-place position and unfortunately states that she may not be doing this again next year if it is not judged fairly.

However, I hope she tries again, because although I’m new here, I thought her door was amazing, and her creativity should be shared with the school community.

Ms. Brown

What gave you the idea to design your door like this?

It wasn’t my idea; I allowed my children to be creative.

How would you rate your door from other doors?

I have to rate my children highly for their work. I believe my door won, but some of the others were great.

Would you do something like this for other holidays?

I thought the competition was “dec” the door, which is about Christmas, but I would definitely do this again. It was fun to see the kids work together as a community and compete.

How do you think the decorations affected everyone’s school spirit?

The competition… well it was great! It brought joy and competitiveness. We all congratulated the winners. It was a big part of school spirit this  season. It would be nice to have that same energy in our community throughout the year.