Let the games begin!

CHK (Christmahanakwanzika) is Beaver Area High School’s annual holiday games and talent celebration—and this year marks year 12 of the beloved tradition! The goal of CHK is to bring the high school together the day before Christmas break through two main activities: the talent show and the “reindeer games”.

Last year, CHK became an all-year competition with different opportunities for each class to earn points throughout the entire school year. The annual CHK games were still held, but were held over Zoom due to COVID and included several modifications. This year, students will be back in the gym and able to participate in the holiday games in person—the way CHK should be held.

This year’s CHK will be December 22. On this day, students wear their class color CHK shirt and fill the gym stands with a sea of colors and prepare for a day of fun: freshmen wear green, sophomores wear yellow, juniors wear red, and seniors wear blue.

“I’m excited to celebrate with the entire school, and I cannot wait to see the competitive and energetic environment,” said freshman Sydney Chontos.

Students compete in a variety of games such as dodge ball, holiday letter jumble, Santa hat musical chairs, and the event-ending tug-of-war.

But before the games begin the talent show is an opportunity for students to share their talents and unique skills with the school as well as earn points for their class. Also, the fan favorite CHK video (which consists of students answering holiday questions and teachers dancing to a pop song) is shown.

After the talent show, the students scramble into the gym for the holiday games. Students had the opportunity to sign up for a variety of games during lunch so they would complete the day of CHK to try to earn points for their class—the class with the most points at the end of the day wins.

“My favorite game is the musical Santa hats. It’s funny to watch people dive all over the gym floor and fight for the hats,” shared senior Erin Bell.

Student council, which is sponsored by Mrs. Susan Metelsky, sponsors the annual event.

Typically, the games are announced by Mr. Dane Schlenke, but this year Mr. Thomas Kissick will be announcing the competition.

Only two days until the holiday games are underway; which class will come out on top?