Kindergartners hear about 'The Polar Express' and dine with the Jolly Old Elf.

By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
OAH LEPOLA, 6, WANTS TO find out if grown-ups believe in the spirit of Christmas.
Noah was one of about 85 kindergartners from Warren's Emerson Elementary who dressed in their pajamas and traveled to Vernon's Cafe and Banquet Center on Tuesday morning for breakfast, a story and a visit from Cortland resident and Youngstown State University professor Thom Foley, portraying the big guy from the North Pole.
The story, "The Polar Express," by Chris Van Allsburg, tells the tale of a boy whose belief in the spirit of Christmas earns him and other children a trip to the North Pole with Santa Claus.
Santa chooses the boy narrating the story to receive the first gift of Christmas and the boy picks a bell from Santa's sleigh. The boy loses the gift because of a hole in his pajamas but finds it under his tree Christmas morning. Only those who believe in the spirit of Christmas can hear the bell ring.
A hug for Santa
Foley scanned the throng of 5- and 6-year-olds looking for the recipient of the first gift before choosing Noah and lifting the boy to his hip. Noah responded with a smile and a hug for jolly old St. Nick.
"I was the goodest," Noah guessed for why the bearded one picked him.
Noah's favorite part of the story is when the boy gets the bell. Foley gave each of the children two bells hanging on a red or green string.
"I'm going to ask people if they believe in the spirit of Christmas," Noah said, adding that he's a believer and jingling the gift. "I can hear the bell."
Carol Shrodek, a kindergarten teacher at Emerson, said the school often does extension activities to connect books for the children. She called around to different businesses, asking for discounts on food for the kids.
Vernon Cesta "just jumped at it," Shrodek said of the restaurant owner. "He was very generous. I asked for a good price and he said he'd just donate it because he loves kids."
Astona Benford, 5, smiled wide as Santa draped the bells around her neck.
"I'm going to ring it," she explained.
denise.dick@vindy.com