Arts and Entertainment

Twas the Night Before Hempfield Christmas

Katarina DeVito and Layla Harvey

December 21, 2023

Katarina DeVito and Layla Harvey

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the halls,

Not a student was stirring, not a noise in the walls

The school was decorated by Mr. Ronald with care,

In hopes that Dr. Palmer would soon be there;

The students were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of spartan shields ran through their heads,

And Thompson in her apron, and Soff in his cap,

As they watch the half-dayer’s leave for a nap,

When out in the courtyard arose such a clatter,

Dr. Gratchic ran to see what was the matter,

Away to the window she flew like a flash,

Tore open the curtains and threw up the sash,

The moon shining on the fresh fallen snow,

Gave the glaze of mid day on objects below,

Then what her wondering eyes should appear,

A miniature sleigh with eight tiny reindeer,

With a timely driver, so quick and clever,

Mrs. Mash knew in a moment it must be Dr. Palmer,

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

Dr. Palmer whistles and shouts and calls them by name,

“Now Testa!, now Conte!, now Davis and Stauffer!,

On Kertoy!, on Steeley!, on Harden and Ruffner;

“To the top of the field house! To the top of the wall!

“Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!”

As dry leaves before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet an obstacle, mount to the sky;

So up to the top of the field house the coursers they flew,

With a sleigh full of toys, chocolate grahams – and Dr. Palmer too:

And then in a twinkling, Mr. Pultz heard on the leaky roof,

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof,

As Mr. Pultz drew his head and turned around,

Down the elevator Dr. Palmer came with a bound,

He was dress’d all in fur, from his head to his foot,

His clothes all tarnish’d with ashes and soot,

A bundle of parking passes was flung on this back,

He’d look like a peddler just opening his pack,

His eyes how they twinkled! His dimples how merry,

Don’t wear a hat, or he will get very scary,

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

Dr. Palmer, can I be late?-”No!”,

The Patriots, the team he holds in his heart,

He’s been a supporter from the start,

He preaches his 4 P’s and they are tools.

Whether praising or scolding he enforces the rules.

Every morning he’s in the parking lot wearing his hat,

And Mr. Holt laughed when he saw him for a chat ,

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon lead Post to know he had nothing to dread,

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And fill’d all the classrooms with tater tots; then turned with a jerk,

And laying a finger aside of his nose

And giving a nod, up the elevator he rose,

He sprung up to his sleigh, to his team gave a yell,

And they all took off, like a Friday at the bell;

The staff heard him exclaim as he flew out of sight-

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

About the Contributors

Katarina DeVito, Contributor

Born and raised in Greensburg PA, Katarina DeVito attends Hempfield Area High School as a sophomore. She is a member of the golf, basketball, and track team. Kats favorite place is the beach, and she could see herself moving there in the future. Every year she goes to Topsail Island NC with her family; she loves to surf and scuba dive. She started diving this summer, and it has been a life changing experience. She has dog named Maggie and 3 siblings. She loves hanging out with friends, going out, and cooking and baking. Her dream school is UNC, and she wants to pursue sports medicine and hopefully be a doctor in the future. She has always been a UNC fan and loves their sports teams and academics. She wishes to play basketball or golf for the university one day in the future. For now she looks forward too writing for The Royal.

Layla Harvey, Contributor

Born and raised on a farm in Uniontown, Pa, Layla Harvey is now a junior at Hempfield Area High School. Layla moved to Greensburg with her mom and siblings back in 2014. In her free time, Layla likes to shop, hang out with her friends, play with her yorki poo named Theo, and spend time with her family. Layla has 8 siblings, 1 older and 7 younger. Her favorite vacation spot is Oak Island because she and her whole family go there every year. Layla's favorite food is sushi and goes to her favorite sushi restaurant at least once a week. A fun fact about her is that she actually transferred to Greensburg Salem High School after going to Hempfield her whole life. She was their for a day and then realized how much more comfortable she was at Hempfield. Now she's back and ready to report the news.