The Jim Thorpe Area School District's PreK Counts classes at Penn Kidder and LB Morris elementary schools got into the holiday spirit the week before Christmas.

On Friday, Dec. 17, both classes performed in their Third Annual Holiday Program. The students in Mrs. Kate Harleman's classes sang and danced to several holiday favorites for their family and friends. The PreK Counts students then traveled to the Angela Theater on Monday, where they saw Toy Story 3 and visited a local eatery to learn about proper etiquette manners while dining in public.As a culminating event, the students also took an imaginary train ride on the Polar Express with train conductor, Mr. Matakonis. They also each received the first gift of Christmas - a bell from Santa's sleigh.The classes closed out the holiday preparation by making paper trees and sending them to the troops overseas.PreK Counts is a state funded program, which provides a high quality pre-kindergarten education for children, ages 3 and 4, who are at risk of school failure. The Jim Thorpe Area School District program serves 38 students within the district.