Leavenworth community invited to grant students’ holiday wishes for CHS Winter Wishes event

LEAVENWORTH—This December, the community will have an opportunity to create holiday magic for Cascade High School (CHS) students by participating in the first-ever Winter Wishes event.

“We are hoping that it will serve to unite the community, foster positive school spirit, and encourage students to be grateful for the amazing community they are surrounded by,” said Leadership teacher Roselyn Robison in an email to Ward Media.

On Nov. 22, Cascade Students made wishes for themselves and others, which were then placed on an anonymous winter wish list. The wishes range from as small as a pack of gum, to as large as a new pair of skis. Other wishes are more actionable, such as a “foam sword fight between Mr. Wharton and Mr. Stubbs,” and a Drama Club field trip to see Wicked.

“The wishes that kids made for other people were really sweet. There were also kids who made wishes that demonstrated more need: having the balance of their lunch account paid off, for a yearbook or for a pair of work gloves,” said Robison.

Community members who would like to fulfill a student wish may bring an item from the wishlist to the main office at CHS with the ID number from the form clearly marked. CHS staff will mark the wish “granted” on the online form. The full wishlist can be found at: bit.ly/4g21zru. The deadline to grant a wish is Dec. 16 at 3 p.m. The wishes will be wrapped and presented to students during the Winter Wishes event, accompanied by a pancake breakfast for the entire CHS student body.

Robison had learned of the idea on a college visit with her son Thayer Robison and his friend Tristan Sharpe, where they met her friend’s son, a freshman at San Jose State University. 

“While we were visiting him, he was all excited, because he was going to be home in time for his high school's Winter Wishes assembly.  He was the vice-president of Executive ASB [Associated Student Body] at Sumner High School,” said Robison. “They have so many wishes granted by their community, that they deliver them to kids for a week straight and then have a two and a half hour live streamed assembly at their school.”

When they returned, Robison consulted the ASB advisor and Leadership teacher of Sumner High School and drew inspiration from similar events at Kitsap and Wenatchee high schools. 

Leadership students Tristan Sharpe, Thayer Robison, Todd Lindsay, Ethan Davis, and McKenzie Sheppard were then tasked with organizing the event. The leadership team gathered wishes, worked with the administration and ASB for event approval, collaborated with the culinary club for the pancake breakfast, and came up with a marketing plan.

The Winter Wishes event will take place at 8:50 a.m. on Dec. 20 at CHS.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media