IN an effort to spread holiday cheer, educator Daleyanah Bennett made personalised calendars for her students at Seaforth Primary School — a gift she hopes they’ll cherish for years to come.

Bennett, a grade three mathematics teacher at the St Thomas institution, shared that the gift was a way to mark the end of the school term and ring in the new year.

She said, each term, she does something special for her students. However, according to the 25-year-old educator, a class party with food and cake was not enough to create a lasting memory.

“I asked one of my friends from up in the hills to get me a Christmas tree. When they delivered it, I decorated it and I told the parents that we were having a picture day. I didn’t tell them what it was for, I just told them it was a picture day and the boys should get a nice haircut and the girls should comb their hair nicely,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

“I took their pictures and they kept on asking me, ‘Miss, what is the picture for?’ and I said, ‘You’ll find out soon’,” she recalled, a smile evident in her voice.

“I was tempted to tell them, but I was like, ‘No, I have to hold the secret.’ They kept asking, and they were all excited. Some of them didn’t know how to pose and they were all sharing ideas [on the day the photos were taken]. It was good,” added Bennett.

She later went to a printing shop where she hand-picked a design for the calenders, both excited and nervous about the reaction of her students. Bennett and another teacher at the institution covered the cost of the project.

On the last day of school, she gathered all her students in one room — the atmosphere abuzz with excitement as the children anticipated the surprise. With each calendar that was placed face down in front of them, she said the students got even more excited as they exchanged guesses.

“I was a bit nervous about what their reaction would be because I was thinking they would just be like, ‘Oh, it’s a calendar. What’s the big deal?’ But I thought, let me video their reaction, and maybe it would go good. I went to the door where I could get all their reactions, and when I said, ‘Alright, turn it over at the count of three’,” she recalled, adding that nothing could have prepared her for what happened next.

“When they saw their faces [on the calendars], tears came to my eyes because I did not expect that reaction. Some of the children started crying afterwards, and I was asking them, ‘Why are you crying?’ and they would say, ‘Because no other teacher has ever done this for us’, and that made my heart melt. Tears just started to fall from my eyes,” she told the Sunday Observer.

“Parents also started reaching out, [saying] that they were very appreciative of the idea and they love it, and they can’t stop looking at it,” she added.

Bennett said that her students mean the world to her and they hold a big place in her heart.

“They are like my own children or like my little brothers and sisters. I love them very much, even though they can stress me out sometimes, but I love them and I wouldn’t trade them for any other students,” she said, laughing.

“I know that some of them [might not be] experiencing love at home. Some of them come from different backgrounds, so when they come to school I want them to feel safe and loved. I didn’t really get that when I was going to primary school. I got it a bit, but it could’ve been better, so I wanted to change that for my students. I want them to feel welcomed, loved, and accepted,” she told the Sunday Observer.

The 25-year-old said that in her three years of teaching, she has always tried to make school exciting and fun for her students by finding creative ways to teach her lessons.

“I try my best to dress up for my lessons as much as I can. If I’m teaching about the lungs, I dress up as a nurse with my stethoscope,” she shared, adding that she also teaches science.

“There is even a math lesson that I taught where I was dressed as a soldier and I did the activity like we were in the army. I just always try to make it as fun as I can,” she said, beaming with pride.

However, the season is not just about receiving, said Bennett, who shared that the students were also taught how to give back.

For their end-of-year outreach project, the students were tasked with gathering food and clothing items to donate to those less fortunate in the area where the school is located.

Bennett shared that the children were excited as they walked through the streets, handing care packages to residents.

In a message to her students, she encouraged them to continue the spirit of giving this Christmas.

“I want for them to give as best as they can to persons who are in need. It’s coming to the time of the year when some people feel left out because they don’t really have a family. I would want them to try to share the joy of Christmas with as many persons as they can,” she said, wishing them a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Daleyanah Bennett, grade three mathematics teacher at Seaforth Primary School in St Thomasx

Daleyanah Bennett dressed as a nurse for one of her class lessons on the human body.

Daleyanah Bennett sports full army apparel to her mathematics class where she taught her students about time.