It was a mixed bag of treats for the elementary students during their annual Christmas concert at St. Dominic’s School on Dec. 11.
The school performed the concert twice on the same day, once in the afternoon and again in the evening. It was opened with band performances by the older Grade 6-8 classes, followed by vocal numbers from the youngest grades.
“Everybody pitched in and brought forward their best talents and skills and I think it went fairly smoothly,” said Celeste Leray-Leicht, a Grade 6 teacher and one of the coordinators. “It’s something that the kids look forward to and work hard to prepare for and I think the parents like coming and seeing a variety of talent displayed.”
Of particular interest was the black light performance put on by the Grade 7 class. With all the lights turned off, all anyone could see were glowing hands as they performed a number to the musical sound of Silent Night. It was a unique part of a concert that was already so diverse in talent.
According to Leray, the feedback they got from parents last year was that they enjoyed seeing a mixture of performances. As long as every kid had his or her chance to be up there and be seen, they were happy.
As a result, the teachers this year were allowed to pick their own piece and have their class perform it. Preparations for the concert began a few weeks ago at the end of November. There was everything from singing to instrumental music with drumming and skits written and performed by Grade 8 students. There was even a First Nations piece that honoured the traditions and culture of First Nations people.
The only not-so-great thing about the concert was that the people in the back had a hard time seeing what was happening in the front, but luckily most of it took place on stage. On the upside, there were speakers placed in the back so that everyone could hear properly.
“One of the challenges was having enough (microphones),” said Leray. “So when emcees were done, we had to make sure they ran them back down to the back of the stage for the Grade 8s that needed it for their skits.”
The Grade 8s came on stage to perform short skits in between the musical numbers. All of it was Christmas themed and contained important messages wrapped in comical acting. At one point, one Santa even threw a Christmas tree of the stage.
To tie it all up, the concert concluded with harmonious performance that included everyone.
“We had a grand finale with Away in a Manger where all students and staff were on stage bidding everyone farewell and a merry Christmas,” said Leray. “The audience even sang along wish us for the finale.”
