The 2023 Winter Celebration of Music

Text: Luka Popovic

Photos: David Onadipe, Will Downer

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As the weather grows warmer, we reflect on winter and our celebration of giving, community, and life.

The winter festival began with an introduction from the school's Executive Board Chair, Phred Kaufman. He presented a speech on the importance of community; how students from all grades can thrive by helping around their community —  by serving the community with their presence and skills. Mr. Kaufman shared his multi-decade experience giving presents to orphanages in his role as Santa Claus through which he imparted, once again, the positive link between community involvement and well-being.

Students took moments to process Mr. Kaufman's words while our performers gathered to bring a show to the collective of viewers. Through singing and performance, students gave their skill and creativity to the community as we all celebrated winter and the cessation of 2022 together.

The celebration was followed by a goodie bag, bringing the Hokkaido International School 2023 Winter Celebration to a sweet close.