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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-12-22, Page 30PAGE 30. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2011.Stagefright always part of concerts: Dawe Students take a Christmas trip Continued from page 22 Toronto. Then, wherever the plane dropped me off, I would rent a dog sled and bring my dogs and cats from home so they could pull me to the North Pole. My cats would lead the way and the dogs would follow them.” Ava “I would go on a big plane, but I would take off from France. From France I would fly to Pittsburgh, then to the North Pole, then use a crazy carpet and push myself with my hands the rest of the way to the North Pole.” Owen “I would take a big plane and fly it from Toronto. Then I would parachute out with my dog sled and snow dogs and get them to take me to the North Pole once we got close enough.” Kierstynn “I would fly a small plane right from my front yard and fly it directly to the North Pole. Then I would use a SCUBA Diving Sled to get the rest of the way in case I had to go through any water.” Ella “I would get on a big jet and fly from Toronto and watch a movie on the way. If it couldn’t go all the way to the North Pole, I would get a snowmobile to take me the rest of the way.” Abigale “I would walk to the ocean and then rent a yacht to get me across it to the place where the North Pole is so I could use a hot tub if I got cold. Then I would walk the rest of the way with really warm boots on.” Tamara Continued from page 13 low, however, and combined with the costs of starting a new program, the AMDSB decided not to expand the French Immersion option. Some students from outside the Stratford area do and have attended the FI programs in Stratford, the board learned. These students must either arrange their own transportation or be able to find space on an existing AMDSB high school bus coming to Stratford. The FI program must also have room for them. Brussels Public School teacher Heather Dawe may have been a spectator for the last two Christmas concerts at the school while on maternity leave however she was at the helm before that and she remembers things used to be a bit different.“I’ve been at Brussels Publicschool since the 2003/2004 school year and I’ve been involved with the concerts since then,” she said. “I started running them with Erin Baan when I first got to Brussels and then I did them on my own.” Dawe, who taught music, said the school used to do a concert or pageant for the Kindergarten to Grade 4 students and host a cabaret night for the senior students to show how well they could play instruments they had been learning. “We had the music nights and it was a great way for the students to realize they could play in front of people and that they were pretty good,” she said. “I also always used to take the band on the float in the Brussels Santa Claus parade so they could play Christmas tunes.” Having been involved in six concerts, she said that this year’s performance, the last to be held at Brussels Public School as it is slated for closure, was a bit different from the ones she had run before. “I wasn’t involved, so it was different from that aspect,” she said. “There were two teachers running it, which was different, and the students performed to recorded music on a CD and not live accompaniment.” She said that, during her tenure, the plays were similar in that the speaking points were handled by the Grade 3 students. “It’s nice for them to be the star of the show,” she said. “For many of them it’s their first foray into speaking individually on a stage. “They did have fewer lines than when I was there, this year was much more focused on the music and the singing.” She said that she was able to work with the Grade 3 students as that was the class she taught and that she could incorporate the performance into her lesson plans. “I found it easier to deal with the speaking parts and the Grade 3student’s participation during classtime,” she said. “The roles they play dealt with a lot of lessons I was teaching in language class, art class and music class.” This year’s message, about kindness and giving, was a common thread among many of the plays that Dawe oversaw. “We tried to do something different every year,” she said. “First we did Christmas around the world and set it as a newscast, the second year was more a bunch of skits and then we had plays that focused on Christmas on the farm, the reindeer going on strike and Santa trying to get into the National Hockey League (NHL), but there was usually a message there.” She said that some of the plays were very well received, especially the farmyard Christmas play where students “grazed” in the “farmyard” where the audience was sitting. They mooed and clucked at the parents while they were getting to theirseats.There were also some things that inevitably happened regularly, if not every year, including children getting sick either before a show or mid-performance and children looking for and finding their parents in the audience and proceeding to yell or wave at them. Dawe said she has plenty of good memories from being involved in the plays but that they also were stressful. “It’s pretty hectic but it’s all worth it in the end” she said. “Participating in the arts really brings things out in kids that they didn’t know they had. By the end of the night, parents are proud to see their kids do well, the kids are proud they did well and they don’t have that option as much in school anymore to know they did their job well.” To all our valued members, we thank you for your business and look forward to serving you again next year. Best wishes to everyone for a safe and happy holiday season. South Easthope Mutual Insurance Company 1-800-263-9987 www.seins.on.ca Farm & Urban Property Auto Insurance Working Together For Insurance That Works. Please accept this load of good cheer, along with our thanks for your business this year! Have a great holiday! Christmas GreetingsChristmas Greetings We'd like to step in with our best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thanks for helping us put our right foot forward. From Betty, Sherry, Alicia, Merle & Jennie 256 Josephine St., Wingham 519-357-1840 Computerized Accounting & Income Tax Preparation Personal, Farm, Business & Corporate • Monthly Bookkeeping Services • Electronic Tax Filing 519-887-9248 Merry Christmas & Best Wishes for 2012 Jacquie Gowing Accounting Services Dancing the night away Erin Overholt, left, and Griffin Marshall decided to give their dance routine everything during the Brussels Public School Christmas concert on Dec. 14. (Denny Scott photo) By Denny Scott The Citizen BUY? SELL? TRY CLASSIFIED Board won’t expand