From late November until the start of December, St Rose of Lima School students have been busy, and they will continue to be throughout the month, according to St Rose of Lima School Director of Mission Advancement Laura Moulder.

First the school had a Scholastic Book Fair on November 17. Before the month was over, first grade students had used recycled materials to build urban, rural, and suburban communities, and preschool students had created turkey and leaf paintings.

Then on November 18, fifth grade St Rose students traveled to the Blessed Michael McGivney Center in Hartford to decorate a Christmas tree as part of a Christmas tree decorating contest sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.

The students had created ornaments in religion class and art class ahead of time. Each student did four ornaments: a watercolor angel, a nativity silhouette in white acrylic on colored matte board, one ornament to represent a Christian country from around the world, and a wooden festive ornament in Sharpie.

The theme of the contest was “Christmas at the Castle, Crèches from Around the world.” The garland was made by students, the tree topper was a globe with a cross on Jerusalem and a heart on Newtown, and the tree skirt was sewn by a student, according to Moulder. The winning tree entry is expected to be announced at a later date.

On December 5, St Rose seventh grade students went on a field trip to Boston, Mass., to spend the day at the Museum of Science. The group watched an IMAX movie called “Train Time,” and visited the Charles Hayden Planetarium to view “God, Science and Our Search for Meaning.”

The students also saw a Theater of Electricity show and visited the entire museum to experience hands-on exhibits. Students had lunch at the museum and then went to Quincy Market for dinner and shopping.

And finally, on December 7, St Rose buddy classes built gingerbread houses together.