Wow!! I am now completing year number FIVE at Lee Expressive Arts Elementary School and now I have to say good-bye to another group of fifth graders as I evaluate myself as a teacher and set new goals.
Today this post popped up on my Facebook Feed:
5th Grade end of the year performances at Lee Expressive Arts include:
2013
Princess and the Pea by Andy Beck (LOVE this show and I was also able to use it at Ashland as well). It is a great show for any elementary school. We found opportunities to twine in other fairy tales and it was truly fitting for our students and school on this particular year. The process built a lot of unity among this group of students. I was so EXCITED to be able to perform at the outdoor amphitheater in Stephens Park.
2014
Seussical Junior (My first experience with an MTI production and what professional development that was!). This was our first year to take our 4th and 5th graders to perform at the Missouri Music Educators Association as well! These kids were singing, playing and dancing from the first day of school and there were NO breaks until the end of the school year. Dr. Seuss was EVERYWHERE at Lee. I really look forward to producing this show again. The fifth graders put their hearts into making the characters come to life. However we learned a hard lesson about Missouri weather - The heat and rain almost got the best of us. The outdoor Amphitheater was not as enjoyable as the previous year!
2015
At The Bandstand! by Sally K. Albrecht, Jay Althouse, Andy Beck & Greg Gilpin - - This was our first opportunity to use the Macklanburg Playhouse at Stephens College and what a difference it made to move it indoors! Lee Students fell in love with the music and opportunities for dance. This music, featuring Rock music from the 50's had everyone bopping into the end of the year! Who doesn't love a poodle skirt, or two or three. . .
2016
Lion King Junior - Fifth grade also studied and attended the Metropolitan Opera Live Showing of Julie Taymor's Magic Flute which is significant as Lion King is one of the shows she is most well known for directing. The opportunities for integration were never ending for anyone at Lee who chose to participate. We realized this might be the last year for our musicals to include our 4th graders as our productions, ideas and number of children were growing to big for our space. *This is also the first year I dove into writing original operas with Kara Johnson and Whitney Adams. What a trip to see it all fold together! I know many of our students had the opportunity in 2017 to take the love they found for theater and road trip to Saint Louis to see Lion King at the Fox Theater!
2017
Schoolhouse Rock Live! This is the third of our MTI shows. Hallie Rieves Rainwater and myself poured through musicals in 2016 to find the perfect musical for this group of musicians. This year the 4th and 5th graders were invited to perform for the second time at the Missouri Music Educators Association. It was important to me that the students still participate in the spiraling curriculum offered up by the Kodaly philosophy and the creating, singing, dancing and playing offered by the Orff philosophy. Going into this year, it was important to me that the students not be constantly bogged down in preparation for performances but growing in love for music. . . AND the show was marvelous.
So, that was my prayer five fifth grade performances later from my original Facebook post. I guess I have grown with my students as well. I am so thankful I didn't have to pray about the weather and just that my students LOVED the journey and have musical skills and appreciation to pass to their children one day.
Thank you, Luke Robison, Hallie Rieves Rainwater, Kara Johnson, Whitney Adams and Jill Walters, for being my school family, for holding me up and for dreaming big. I love all of the things we share together at Lee Expressive Arts.
Goodbye to my 2016-17 fifth graders. I have LOVED seeing you grow up and I look forward to seeing what you do to make the world a better place!
AND, YES! Hallie and myself have already started thinking about our fifth graders for next year and what best suits them. Nope. . . we won't share with you yet!
Elizabeth
Elizabeth
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