By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Musical and artistic talent came together in a fun display at Verbena High School during this year’s Verbena Annex Christmas Program.

Students in grades kindergarten to third created festive shirts that incorporated the theme of the song they were performing.

Kindergarten Teacher Courtney Epperson said they chose the song “Mittens And Gloves” because it was simple and “had some cute motions to it that the kids were able to learn quickly.”

“We have been practicing, and they are so excited,” Epperson said.

Kindergartener Kylie Horsley said she likes singing the song. She also liked the glitter and paint used for the class T-shirt design.

Epperson said each student put their handprints on the shirt to represent gloves, and each hand print was outlined in the shape of a mitten with glitter. She said the shirt gives the parents a memento from the performance.

“They did a good job,” Epperson said.

First grade students created palm tree designs with their hand prints for the shirt they wore to sing “Hawaiian Christmas.”

Second-grade students sang “Winter Again.”

Neimah Baker, a second-grade student, said he enjoyed the song and was looking forward to seeing his Granny during the performance.

Each student wore a shirt with a hand painted snowman on it.

“We used paint and buttons,” Baker said.

Makayla McDonald, a second-grade student, said she was looking forward to singing with the other students.

“We were practicing ‘Winter Again,'” McDonald said. “It is a nice song for us to sing. We want to show everyone how we sing.”

She said she was looking forward to seeing her Nana and the performance “to show her how good I can sing.”

The third graders wore Santa-themed shirts to sing “Must be Santa” during the event.

Kaliyahan DeJarnett, a third-grade student, said they had been practicing a lot.

“I am looking forward to people being interested, clap for us at the end and support us,” DeJarnett said before the performance.

“I enjoyed making the shirts, and I enjoy singing with my friends,” DeJarnett said.

She said she was thankful to her teacher for all her help. T

eachers explained the shirt design step-by-step to make sure each student’s shirt would look the same. The shirt featured two eyes, a nose and Santa’s beard.

“The song is ‘Must Be Santa’, so we had to have something to match the song,” DeJarnett said.

Teacher Beth Ann Pope said she wanted to do the shirts because “we thought it would be cute.”

Several students also wore a Santa hat.

In choosing the song, Pope recommended “Must Be Santa” because she had enjoyed the song when she was a child.

Chase Lesueur, a third-grade student, said he enjoyed the opportunity to sing for an audience. He said he liked the song they were doing because it was fun.