A wise elf once said, ‘the best way to spread Christmas cheer is by singing loud for all to hear.’ The secondary music programs within the Fox C-6 School District completely agree with this statement. For the last two years, choirs and bands from Antonia Middle School, Fox Middle School, Fox High School, Seckman Middle School, and Seckman High School have all recorded music videos which have been featured on the District’s social media channels. The idea for the project started with the Director of Communications for Fox C-6, Andy Waterman. When he approached principals, music teachers, and band directors to gauge interest, they were immediately onboard.

“Music reaches far beyond the notes,” explains Lydia Hill, the Music and Fine Arts teacher at Fox High School. “We teach it with passion, but it’s also how we connect. Recording and sharing these videos each year has become a tradition we love, not just to showcase our students but to further our mission: to inspire curiosity, creativity, and a lifelong love of music.”

The recordings were edited and posted to the Fox C-6 Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube accounts the week leading up to winter break. In the days that followed, each video racked up thousands of views. The best performing video featured members of the Fox High School choir singing ‘Winter Wonderland,’ which reached over 70,000 people with more than 4,000 engagements. In total, the eight videos reached more than 215,000 people, racking up over 10,500 engagements. Many of those views came from family members of our student musicians, who shared the videos with family and friends all across the country.

"My family said we did amazing, and it definitely put us in the holiday spirit,” says Brogan, an 8th grader at Antonia Middle School. 

"The dances were silly and fun, and I'm glad we could spread holiday cheer to the community,” explains Molly, an 8th grader at AMS. 

"Singing Jingle Bell Rock was so fun and joyful, and I liked getting to watch the other schools' videos,” says Becca, a 7th grader at AMS.

The success of the videos did not go unnoticed outside of Fox C-6 either. In 2025, The organization ‘Music for All’ announced that the district was the winner of this year’s ‘Advocacy in Action’ Award for Marketing and Promotion. Explaining that achievement in this category demonstrates outstanding strategies for marketing and promotional efforts with a commitment to increasing program visibility.

“These videos are so much fun to put together,” admits Andy Waterman. “Watching the reactions of the students, their loved ones, and the entire community on social media was very humbling. I thought that the videos might perform well, but to get this kind of response, it has been amazing.” 

The award from ‘Music for All’ is now the second accolade that Fox C-6 has received for the holiday music videos. In the summer of 2024, the organization #SocialSchool4EDU announced that Fox C-6 won their ‘Program Highlight Award,’ one of just 21 social media awards given out to all school districts in the country. Fox C-6 was the only school from Missouri to receive an award from either ‘Music for All’ or #SocialSchool4EDU.

“I am proud of our district for this award, and even prouder of the students who make it all possible,” Lydia Hill adds.

Rest assured, student musicians in our district will be continuing to spread this holiday cheer and performing loud for all to hear for years to come!