This Christmas season, Randolph-Henry High School decorated using fresh greenery to celebrate the beauty of the school.

“Randolph-Henry is one of the most beautiful old high schools that I have ever seen,” said Division Superintendent Nancy Leonard.  “Since coming to Charlotte County, I have wanted to decorate Randolph-Henry for Christmas using fresh greenery to highlight the school’s beautiful architectural features. That happened this year with a lot of help from a lot of talented people.”

Leonard said along with the help of school board clerk Dana Ramsey and teacher Rhonda Benn, the trio began to plan the decorations last year by drawing inspiration from the decorations at Colonial Williamsburg.

“We ordered books from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, studied the designs and chose to use fresh greenery from our farms to decorate the entryway of Randolph-Henry for Christmas. We chose to make a large magnolia and fruit fan to hang above the main doorway.  Rhonda Benn and her class selected to use fresh pineapples, lemons and apples to adorn the large magnolia leaf fan. We specifically wanted to use fresh pineapples as a sign of welcome to our students and community.”

Benn said she obtained the help of several students to participate in the project. She said the project was an opportunity for students to study holiday designs and use their creativity.

“Many were not familiar with the Colonial Williamsburg holiday designs. Students also learned that you have the ability to use whatever foliage you may have in your yard as decoration for any festive occasion. We are already thinking about next year’s design,” said Benn.

Leonard said the maintenance staff at the school played an instrumental role in helping to bring the plans to life. She said the department aided with measuring and mounting the magnolia fan, helping to decorate the two-story holy tree and mounting a spotlight in the schoolyard to allow visibility of the decorations at night.

“I have very happy memories of decorating with greens and fruits for the holidays with my family and I wanted the students to have the same experience and pride in decorating their school for the holidays. It’s exciting to see lovely Randolph-Henry looking so elegant for the holidays but it was even more exciting to see the students and staff having so much fun creating and celebrating an old-fashioned Christmas,” said Leonard.