web1_AP1633918022051520161222191753863.jpg

Penn State tight end Mike Gesicki announces his return for 2017 season

web1_gushock2_mug.jpg

Police: Man charged with breaking into cars

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; &#8220;They are so precious,&#8221; said Ginny Cilla, of Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>&#8220;Adorable,&#8221; said Caitlyn Shusta, of Plymouth.</p><p>&#8220;It was awesome,&#8221; said Bill Smith, of Forty Fort.</p><p>Those were just a few reactions Thursday morning to the preschool holiday performance at the Jewish Community Center of Wyoming Valley, which included Smith&#8217;s grandson, Billy Smith; Shusta&#8217;s daughter, Linley Baltimore, and Cilla&#8217;s two great-granddaughters, Adalee Crop and Autumn Harrison-Crop.</p><p>&#8220;How many candles? How many candles?&#8221; the youngsters sang, sporting colorful paper candles on their heads as they presented a traditional Hanukkah tune about the eight-day Festival of Lights.</p><p>&#8220;Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made you out of clay,&#8221; they continued, singing a melody about the four-sided tops that kids like to spin during the holiday.</p><p>Hanukkah begins this year at sunset on Dec. 24, but the songs were not just about that commemoration of a long-ago miracle when a small amount of holy oil is said to have burned for eight days in the Temple at Jerusalem.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a holiday program, not a Hanukkah program,&#8221; said Sara Pisarz, the JCC&#8217;s director of child and youth services, pointing out the children sang &#8220;Jingle Bells&#8221; in honor of Christmas and a snowman song in honor of winter.</p><p>&#8220;We made that one up,&#8221; Pisarz said of the snowman song. &#8220;We changed it from &#8216;Five Little Monkeys Jumping on a Bed&#8217; to &#8216;Five Little Snowmen Riding on a Sled.&#8217; &#8220;</p><p>As the children sang the wintry melody, they sported placards with pictures of snowmen around their necks. One quick flip to the reverse side, and they had pictures of dreidels to wear for the dreidel song.</p><p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s great for kids to learn about other religions,&#8221; said Maura Smith, of Forty Fort, whose 2-year-old Billy is in the program and will celebrate Christmas at home.</p><p>Some of the children in the class will eat potato latkes and doughnuts &#8212; fried in oil, in honor of the long-ago miracle &#8212; and watch older family members light candles on a menorah to celebrate Hanukkah at home. Other children in the class will be celebrating Christmas, and some will celebrate both.</p><p>Everyone is welcome to enroll in the preschool, Pisarz said, adding it runs five days a week, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.</p><p>&#8220;They&#8217;re like an extended family,&#8221; said mom Kelly Ciravolo, of Shavertown, who has son, Bruno, and daughter, Tuula, are in the program. &#8220;If (Bruno) is sick and stays home on a Friday, they&#8217;ll call over the weekend to see how he&#8217;s doing.&#8221;</p><p>Speaking of Bruno, his mom said, he&#8217;s usually shy, so she was pleased to see him perform.</p><p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t believe Bruno. He&#8217;s usually afraid of everything, but here he kind of rose to the occasion.&#8221;</p><p>The youngest child in the class, Linley Baltimore, is celebrating her first Hanukkah and Christmas this year, her parents, Alex Baltimore and Caitlyn Shusta, said. The little girl was too small to open a gift bag from the JCC, but her 6-year-old cousin, Melia, did the honors.</p><p>&#8220;What&#8217;s this?&#8221; Melia said, pulling out a small toy.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a dreidel,&#8221; her uncle Alex said.</p><p>&#8220;You spin it,&#8221; said her aunt Caitlyn.</p><p>&#8220;And you can get a lot of candy if you win the game,&#8221; said Linley&#8217;s grandfather, Sandy Baltimore.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_dance1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Mason Solomon, right, joins other pre-schoolers in a song and dance performance that celebrated Hanukkah and other holidays at the Jewish Community Center in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday morning. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_dance1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Mason Solomon, right, joins other pre-schoolers in a song and dance performance that celebrated Hanukkah and other holidays at the Jewish Community Center in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday morning. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_dance2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Pre-schoolers Billy Smith, right, Brooke Seigle, and Autumn-Harrison-Crop join their friends in singing &#8216;How Many Candles?&#8217; during a song and dance performance at the Jewish Community Center in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday morning. The colorful candles in their headgear symbolizes the lights of Hanukkah. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/web1_dance2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Pre-schoolers Billy Smith, right, Brooke Seigle, and Autumn-Harrison-Crop join their friends in singing &#8216;How Many Candles?&#8217; during a song and dance performance at the Jewish Community Center in Wilkes-Barre on Thursday morning. The colorful candles in their headgear symbolizes the lights of Hanukkah. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT</p></shirttailMeta></div>

JCC preschoolers present program for Hanukkah, other holidays