Seneca Valley's 27th Annual Senior Holiday Event with Mr. and Mrs. Mike and Maxine Botti

The 27th Annual Senior Holiday Event is right around the corner, and that’s music to our ears! Listen as Mike and Maxine Botti, esteemed former Seneca Valley educators and longtime attendees of the event share what makes this celebration so special, why it continues to draw hundreds each year, and how it captures the true spirit of the holidays.  

IN THIS EPISODE, WE WILL REVIEW

• What is the Senior Holiday Event
• When and where the event takes place 
• What makes the Senior Holiday Event so special and why it's important to attend
• RSVPs are required by Dec. 15. Please call 724-452-6040, ext. 0 to reserve your spot.
• See below for more information:
  • Senior Holiday 2025 flyer

SPECIAL GUESTS
Mr. Mike Botti, former principal of Evans City Elementary/Middle School and Mrs. Maxine Botti, former Seneca Valley elementary teacher 

Mr. Botti graduated from Clarion State Teachers College in 1965. Prior to graduating, he was hired to teach science in the sixth-grade building in Zelienople. Over the next 35 years he taught science at Rowan and Evans City Elementary/Middle Schools. He later became assistant principal of Evans City Elementary/Middle School then finished his career as principal. "Being hired by Seneca Valley was one of the greatest blessings of my life," said Mr. Botti. 

Mrs. Botti graduated from Clarion State Teachers College in 1964. She taught third grade at Cranberry Elementary. Throughout her 35 years, she taught in all of Seneca Valley's Elementary Schools as a first-grade teacher. "I feel that choosing to be a teacher was the best career I could have chosen," said Mrs. Botti. "There was never a day I regretted my decision. I loved my job, my students and their parents."

Transcript

FULL TRANSCRIPT (with timecode)

00:00:02:26 - 00:00:10:20
Welcome to Voices, a national award-winning podcast brought to you by the Seneca Valley School District. 

00:00:11:02 - 00:00:36:11
Jeff Krakoff: This is Jeff Krakoff. Today we have two special guests that are going to get us into the holiday spirit. Uh, we have Mike and Maxine Botti, a married couple, but also former teachers at Seneca Valley. So Maxine, maybe first and then Mike. Tell us a little bit about your career, uh, how it started and what you did at the, uh, Seneca Valley School District. 

00:00:36:26 - 00:01:38:01
Maxine Botti: Okay. My name is Maxine, and I graduated from Clarion State Teachers College. At that time, and in the process of graduating, I was student teaching in Brookville. And I had the principal of Cranberry Elementary observe me and hired me to teach third grade at that time. Um, and from there I taught in all four elementary schools, and I started off as a third grade teacher, in fact, my very first class, I had 42 students in my class and someone said, how did you manage that? Well, it was a little different back then. You had the children were. Well, I shouldn't say they were behaved, you know, but you had the support of the parents back then, and you had I had no problems with any of my students. In fact, I'm just happy that I ended up being a teacher. 

00:01:38:17 - 00:01:41:20
Jeff Krakoff: Okay, Mike, how about you? What's your background with the district? 

00:01:41:23 - 00:02:58:29
Mike Botti: I came to Seneca in 1965, uh, a year after Maxine, and they figured if he's half as good as her, we want him on our staff. Uh, and I taught in the old, well, the former Zelienople High School. The entire district, sixth grade, because of, uh, space constraint constraints came to that school and I taught science. We did that for three years, and then they sent us all back to Cranbury and Evans City and Zelienople.  And that lasted just two years. And in 1971, we brought all of the sixth graders to Evans City School. And we also brought the fourth and fifth graders from Haine. And I was, uh, teaching still sixth grade. Eventually I became the assistant and, uh, my boss, Dean Yoke, needed an assistant because we had over 1400 students from K-6.  Mhm. Uh, and then in 1993, when Dean retired, I was chosen as principal. And I stayed there for seven years. 

00:02:59:06 - 00:03:26:29
Jeff Krakoff: Okay. So you've both been long term members of the Seneca Valley community. Now let's talk about the topic at hand. It's the holidays. Um, on December 22nd, uh will be Seneca Valley's 27th annual senior holiday event. And I know you both have been involved for many years. Um, since we're in our 27th year. How long have you been attending? What's your perspective on the event and why you like it so much? 

00:03:27:05 - 00:04:12:08
Maxine Botti: Well, Mike and I talked about how long we've gone, and I'm assuming we were probably maybe 15 years. I remember one year he won an umbrella at the luncheon, and, uh, it's just an amazing event. We see, well, I shouldn't say we see students that we've had because we've been retired, you know, longer than that. But it's just amazing to hear these students in the orchestra, to hear them singing every year. They're amazing. The students at Seneca Valley and I appreciate the work they put into this event. 

00:04:12:10 - 00:04:35:26
Jeff Krakoff: So I know that there's a lot going on. There's a lot of elements. There's everything from the Jazz Band to the Madrigal Singers, the Chamber Orchestra. Um, I know the meal gets served by students that are in the National Honor Society with all these things going on. Mike, what what's your favorite part? What keeps you coming back? 

00:04:36:01 - 00:05:06:28
Mike Botti: I come back because I remember a long time ago seeing the youngsters in fourth, fifth and sixth grade, and then I'd see them after they were in high school. And I was amazed at the progress that these children's students made. When we go to hear these people perform and watch them perform, I can close my eyes, and that auditorium and the orchestra isn't the Seneca Valley High School Orchestra, it's the Pittsburgh Symphony. 

00:05:07:00 - 00:05:07:18
Jeff Krakoff: Mhm. 

00:05:07:27 - 00:05:27:29
Mike Botti: They are so, so talented. And I think our seniors need to see that. Young people get sometimes they get a bad rap, and all we ever hear about is, oh, this student did that or that person did this. And there's more to Seneca than bad news. 

00:05:28:01 - 00:05:28:21
Jeff Krakoff: Right. 

00:05:28:23 - 00:05:55:25
Mike Botti: Seniors need to come out. Uh, first of all, it's an event that not too many school districts have. For this to have lasted 27 years. Uh, speaks to itself of how well attended it is, how people really, really enjoy being together and watching the students. I know I've got a friend who comes just for the dinner, but other than that, everything is great. 

00:05:55:27 - 00:06:13:20
Jeff Krakoff: So we've got outstanding performances every year, right? We've got students, you know, young people interacting with seniors. You mentioned sometimes it's just the dinner. The food's that good. What? What in your opinion, each of you, what makes this event so special and magical. 

00:06:14:09 - 00:06:57:15
Maxine Botti: I'm thinking. I'm thinking. Um, first of all, I'd love to hear the kids. The kids, I say they're not kids. They're adults. Um, I love to hear the madrigals, the singing, and also, my son was part of the, um, band at one time. And the orchestra. And it brings back a lot of memories for me. And, um, I just enjoy kids. Kids. I'm always calling them. I enjoy just hearing them, singing, you know, and playing in the orchestra. I just enjoy it. 

00:06:57:17 - 00:06:59:08
Jeff Krakoff: Great. How about you, Mike? 

00:06:59:19 - 00:07:55:10
Mike Botti: As Maxine stated, the performances are just magnificent. Uh, when our son was in the Madrigals, it was probably half the size that it is today. And that again speaks well to Seneca for involving more students. And one of the things that I enjoy, in addition to the performances, is I get to see people that I worked with, people that were my staff members, teachers I see parents who I haven't seen in in years. If I'm lucky enough, some of my former students who went through school than either I had in class or was their principal come up and they introduce themselves. Sometimes they say to their wife, I'd like you to meet my old principal. And I always say, I was his former principal. 

00:07:55:12 - 00:08:11:10
Jeff Krakoff: Right, right. Well, it sounds like this is an event you circle on your calendar each year, probably right after the event happens. But why, in your opinion, is it important for other senior citizens to come to this event and what can they get out of it? 

00:08:11:12 - 00:08:43:01
Maxine Botti: I really think that other seniors should come to see what the high school either represents. Come to see the students and how hard they work in their extra activities. Not only as a student, but these extra activities mean a lot to them, and I think they need to see that. They need to see that Seneca Valley is a wonderful school district. 

00:08:44:08 - 00:09:53:29
Mike Botti: My wife and I consider ourselves to be blessed because we were both fortunate enough to work for Seneca Valley. Our three children all graduated from Seneca Valley and went on to, uh, very good careers. The reason I support this, similar to Maxine, is people need to see what's going on at our school. A lot of seniors, once their children are gone, Seneca becomes an afterthought. Uh, where else can you park for free? Have free admission, free entertainment and a free meal? In today's world. Especially when they consider the quality of what they're observing. Yeah. So, uh, that's one of the things that I'm most impressed with. I'm very impressed with the folks who organize this. It's organized down to the second. Yeah. And I know that takes a lot of time and effort, and people need to come out and show their appreciation for the work that was put in. 

00:09:54:11 - 00:10:12:16
Jeff Krakoff: That's true. Almost every performance. People don't think about all the hours of preparation and practice and coordination, but it sounds like as and every year it's going to be a fantastic event. Is there anything else you'd like to share about the senior holiday event that we haven't discussed already? 

00:10:12:18 - 00:10:39:05
Maxine Botti: I would just like to thank not only those people that are responsible, but I'd also like to thank the teachers that are involved. They. Band directors. The choral director. I'm sure they have. Or they are. They are responsible for how these adults, um, play their instrument or sing the song. 

00:10:39:14 - 00:10:40:02
Jeff Krakoff: Right. 

00:10:40:05 - 00:11:20:20
Mike Botti: I would stack Seneca Valley's fine arts program and music programs against any in Pennsylvania. We've been to other school districts. We've seen them perform, and no matter who it is, and maybe we're biased, but we always say Seneca's was best and our son-in-law is a was a band director in a school district called North Penn. And we would listen to their band, and Maxine and I both agreed. They win prize after prize at these competitions. Yeah. They can't hold a candle to Seneca Valley. 

00:11:21:01 - 00:12:16:15
Jeff Krakoff: Well, Mike, as you said, where can you get free entertainment, free dinner. It's served to you. So the key word here being free. The the event is going to be held Monday, December 22nd at Seneca Valley Intermediate High School from 12:30 to 3 p.m.. So anybody listening if you haven't RSVP'd and once again, it's free. You need to RSVP by December 15th. All you need to do is call (724) 452-6040. Ext. 0. Again that is (724) 452-6040 ext. 0. Thank you so much for joining us. That's Mike and Maxine Botti. Uh enjoy this year's performance if you have in the past. And thanks for sharing your perspective on it. It was great talking to you both. 

00:12:16:20 - 00:12:18:27
Mike Botti: It was great talking to you also, Jeff. Thank you. 

00:12:18:29 - 00:12:19:20
Maxine Botti: Thank you. 

00:12:19:22 - 00:12:21:10
Jeff Krakoff: Take care and happy holidays.