The celebration took place inside the school’s gym, where more than 130 staff members and 60 honorary chefs served a donated Thanksgiving meal to students.
SAN ANTONIO — Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children brought its entire community together Friday for its long-running Thanksgiving Feast — an event that combines a holiday meal with hands-on language development for students from preschool through fourth grade.
The celebration took place inside the school’s gymnasium on Hildebrand Avenue, where more than 130 staff members and 60 honorary chefs served a donated Thanksgiving meal to students as part of a tradition dating back to 1989.
A staff member explained that the feast is rooted in the school’s mission to help children who are deaf or hard of hearing develop spoken language skills using real-life interactions.
“She’s been around for 78 years first and helps children who are born deaf or hard of hearing learn to listen and speak using state of the art technology,” she said. “So we work with children from birth… as well as newborn hearing evaluations and following.”
Each November, Sunshine Cottage turns its annual feast into a large-scale learning model. Students practice communication, manners and social interaction in a lively, sensory-rich environment.
Staff say the experience gives children the opportunity to apply the spoken-language skills they work on throughout the year.
“It actually has a purpose,” the staff member said. “Everything we do is worthy to elevate our kids… we’re learning better when they have hands-on experience, which is about models.”
This year’s honorary chefs included board members, donors, retired staff and community partners. Volunteers wore classic white chef hats and green aprons while serving turkey, stuffing and sides provided by a community donor.
One board member said participating is meaningful because it allows them to meet the children supported by their work.
“This isn’t just for me today. it’s a good meal. it’s an opportunity for me to get to meet, for sure,” she said. “Events are all done for a purpose. we work on language.”
The feast began more than three decades ago with only 11 students; today, the event fills the gym with hundreds of children, staff members and volunteers.
The school credits community support and donor partnerships for keeping the tradition alive.
“We’re very blessed to do what we do. We can’t do without our donors, our community,” a staff member said. “This meal today has been donated by a community partner… that has made sure that we have things like this and meals like this to share with our kiddos.”
Sunshine Cottage, founded in 1947, serves children who are deaf, hard of hearing, or typically hearing through early-intervention programs, audiology services and accredited academic instruction.
School officials say the Thanksgiving Feast is one of the most effective ways to blend family traditions with the school’s mission — creating lasting memories while strengthening language skills.
As the holiday season continues, staff encouraged families to follow Sunshine Cottage’s social media pages for updates on upcoming student performances and their annual holiday play.