Max, a soprano in the choir, enthusiastically recalls his first Christmas at the St. Thomas boarding school: “The older students decorate the rooms for the first Sunday in Advent. They do it at night when everyone is asleep. In my first year, I heard rustling and bumping noises, but I didn’t know what was going on. When I woke up the next morning, the windows were decorated with pictures. There were Advent wreaths, fir tree branches and lots of Christmas decorations. When you see it for the first time it’s amazing!”