By Drew Danko
Online Editor
Photos/Videos by Drew Danko

Students and staff members enjoyed hot chocolate and music by the jazz ensemble band Friday morning, as administration helped put on the second week of a new holiday tradition, “Hot Chocolate with Marty”.

The new tradition was led by assistant principal Kimberly Maloney, as a way for students and staff members to interact outside of the classroom. “It’s a nice way to bring students and staff together in a different light; It’s wonderful for me to see the students and staff interacting outside of the classroom. It gets everyone out of their element and excited for the holidays without having material items, like presents or gifts. You’re just there enjoying people,” Maloney said.

Maloney, who is working in her first year at Metea, adopted part of the idea from a former high school she worked at and added different things to make it unique for Metea. “Hinsdale South has done a ‘Hot Chocolate with the Hornet’ for the past three years, so I called my former boss and asked if we could steal the idea and put a spin of Mustang Nation on it. So we decided here that we would showcase different musical groups, so next week will be the madrigals, this week was jazz,” Maloney added.

Students were surprised and excited to walk through the commons when they arrived at school. “I was totally pumped to hear Christmas music, because it makes me so happy. When I saw the hot chocolate, I was even more excited. The sprinkles were a fun touch, too,” junior Lauren Sterling said.

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Aside from drinking free hot chocolate and seeing Marty the Mustang, students were able to listen to jazz ensemble perform holiday music. The band performed hits like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and many students were excited to be able to listen to their peers showcase their musical talents in this unique setting. “The music was really good, I was very impressed, especially since it was just our peers in high school,” sophomore Griffin Young said.

Usually, music students only have the opportunity to showcase their talent to students at concerts or school assemblies, like Collage or the Veteran’s Day assembly. Hot Chocolate with Marty provides a casual setting for musicians to play for their friends, peers, and teachers. ”  I think it’s important that the student body sees their peers perform in music outside of a concert setting. I think it’s cool for the rest student body to see what we’re doing down in the music wing, because that group [jazz ensemble] doesn’t get a lot of exposure when it comes to the general student population,” band teacher Josh Kaminsky said.

According to Maloney, nearly 1,000 students and staff members were served hot chocolate at the event. As buses began to arrive around 7:00 a.m., students began to flow in, enjoy the hot chocolate, and spend time with their peers and teachers before the school day began. “When you’re on the buses, you get here 25 minutes early. There’s not much to do before class other than talk to your friends, so it was a fun thing to do before school,” Young added.

Staff members and students alike are excited about the new tradition and are excited for future holiday seasons. “It has boosted the morale for the school. I like seeing all the kids get in line and being able to serve them, I think they should 100 percent make this a new tradition,” health teacher Lauren Reineking.

The madrigals will perform at the next Hot Chocolate with Marty, beginning at 6:45 a.m. next Friday in the commons.