The fifth graders at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Academy, Forest Hills, put on a pageant to help their school and parish community get ready for the Christmas season.

The performance was a collaborative effort between the academy and the parish. Father Grzegorz Stasiak, parochial vicar, and Lauren Leone, fifth-grade teacher, prepared the children for the show. Leone served as the narrator while the students acted out scenes surrounding the Nativity. Father Stasiak served as the director.

In preparing for the Dec. 21 show, the new principal, Dana McCann, said the academy wanted to “make sure the students understood the real reason why we celebrate Christmas.”

The students practiced through the month of December and borrowed costumes from the parish. They were proud to perform in front of their parents and schoolmates.

“I had tears in my years,” the principal said describing her experience watching the pageant. “It was fantastic, you would have thought you were seeing a Broadway play.”

“Now we need a drama club; the students did so well,” she added.

The principal also said she was greaseful for the support of Our Lady of Mercy parish and the priests who minister there. The priests are a welcome and consistant presence at the academy.

“It’s important the student see the religious support and the connection between the academy and the church,” she said. The fifth graders at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Academy, Forest Hills, put on a pageant to help their school and parish community get ready for the Christmas season.

The performance was a collaborative effort between the academy and the parish. Father Grzegorz Stasiak, parochial vicar, and Lauren Leone, fifth-grade teacher, prepared the children for the show. Leone served as the narrator while the students acted out scenes surrounding the Nativity. Father Stasiak served as the director.

In preparing for the Dec. 21 show, the new principal, Dana McCann, said the academy wanted to “make sure the students understood the real reason why we celebrate Christmas.”

The students practiced through the month of December and borrowed costumes from the parish. They were proud to perform in front of their parents and schoolmates.

“I had tears in my years,” the principal said describing her experience watching the pageant. “It was fantastic, you would have thought you were seeing a Broadway play.”

“Now we need a drama club; the students did so well,” she added.

The principal also said she was grateful for the support of Our Lady of Mercy parish and the priests who minister there. The priests are a welcome and consistent presence at the academy.

“It’s important the student see the religious support and the connection between the academy and the church,” she said.