The following is from the Youth Voice column from this week's SNJ (Dec 12). It has been written by Max Metcalfe, 10 from Lightpill.

Hi SNJ, it’s me again!

As a few of you may know Christmas is my favourite time of the year because you get lots of presents and get loads of time off school.

I have lots of Christmas related thing to do before the big day like: write my Christmas list and get the decorations and trees up!

I have a cello concert at Gloucester Academy of Music, I am playing three pieces of music in an orchestra, and in my singing and rhythm theory group I will be reading out a poem that I wrote. I really like it and hope you do.

Through school I am singing at Gloucester Cathedral and hopefully playing my cello at our annual Christmas carol concert at the Tabernacle.

Also I am playing Ella the ugly sister for the play Cinderella and I do a rock band club so will be doing a performance for that as well.

Also on my list of things to do is cub Christmas party ….... and obviously eating the chocolates from my Advent calender!

Anyway here is is my poem.

A Christmas Surprise

By Max Metcalfe

On a snowy Christmas morning,

As the radiator was warming,

I new a special day was dawning,

I snuck down stairs to start exploring.

When I opened the door I got a big shock,

It was my mum and dad ‘flossing’

and before six o’clock ! !

They must had been as excited as me,

As they’d slept the night under the Christmas tree.

Happy Christmas everyone!!