You better watch out: School counselor dons Santa suit for guard duty

Wearing a Santa hat and orange vest, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory counselor Tom Farrell helps pedestrians cross Gough and Ellis streets near campus on Dec. 7 in his yearly service of Advent “accompaniment.” (Photo by Christina Gray/Catholic San Francisco)
 
December 13, 2018
Christina Gray
 
This year’s theme at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory is “accompaniment,” and school counselor Tom Farrell takes it both literally and lightly.
 
Dressed as Santa in an orange vest, Farrell has for years made an Advent morning tradition of seeing that students, teachers and local neighbors cross safely at the campus intersection of Gough and Ellis streets in San Francisco.
 
All SHC faculty are required to do 20 minutes of supervision before, during or after the school day, in the dining hall, library, hallways, school entrances and nearby crosswalks.
 
A few smirks and signs of teenage indifference aside, students who crossed the street under Farrell’s watchful eye on Dec. 7 greeted him with shout-outs of “looking good” and thumbs-up.
 
Farrell said he prefers his interactions on the street over library duty where the shushing of students is a more negative experience.
 
“I like this post because the light can be up to 90 seconds long and as students gather and wait, I can ask them about their previous day’s sporting events, how their play practice going, what the math club up to, etc.,” he told Catholic San Francisco.