It’s that time of year again–Christmas is sweeping in with Santa bringing loads of joy for children. But what about the kids who are accidentally forgotten?

“Toys for Tots has been at McLean for three years and every year it keeps growing,” special education teacher Cameron Fraser said.

The goal for this year is to collect at least 200 toys, the record set last year, for donation to kids in the communities around the school. To teach the concept of sharing and giving, the first year of Toys for Tots started in the life skills class, where students had to buy a gift for someone else.

“The Marine Reserve comes to pick them up. We collect the toys here and they go to the kids in McLean and Falls Church who aren’t going to get toys for Christmas,” Fraser said. “We’re trying to show that we have a caring community here at McLean.”

Any new, unwrapped toys are accepted, and Fraser asks that they be dropped off in room S114 by the end of the day on Monday, Dec. 17.

“When people give, they feel better than to receive,” Fraser said. “It gives them a sense of joy, because that’s what the holiday season is all about.”