Holiday spirit takes hold in Battle Ground

BATTLE GROUND — Holiday spirit took hold at Battle Ground Public Schools this year. Each December, Battle Ground schools host a variety of activities and events that support and engage families and inspire students to focus on community. All schools host food drives. Some turn the drives into classroom challenges that collect thousands of pounds of food to benefit the North County Community Food Bank. As a separate event, teachers, staff, parents and students volunteer their time to take part in the Walk & Knock program, going door-to-door to collect food donations the first week of December to benefit the Clark County Food Bank. District schools also host a variety of giving trees and family adoption programs to provide gifts for those in need. Some of the giving trees, such as the one at Prairie High School, are fulfilled by staff members. Prairie’s giving tree program is administered by the school’s counseling department. Families are nominated by staff members, school counselors and the district’s Family and Community Resource Center. “The giving tree program at Prairie is a wonderful tradition,” PHS school counselor Carol Davenport said in a news release. “Prairie’s staff is extremely generous, and many of the items that are requested are purchased in just a matter of days after the tree goes up.”