I have to say it has been an action packed and exhausting month for CLIC stage crew.  We have been working non-stop preparing for the productions at both Proctor and Steward School.  It is completely worth it to support such talented teachers and children. Every show has been hugely entertaining and people are so impressed by the quality of the productions.  I repeatedly hear that parents are surprised to see their child so engaged on stage singing, dancing, or performing.  Even if a student has no intention to go into theater, this time on stage builds confidence, team work, and the ability to work under pressure. We have been surprised ourselves as educators to see the many hidden facets of the students during the theater process.   

I want to above all mention that having Ms. Swanson as our new music educator has shifted us into a new level of entertainment.  I get to see the way she creates the productions from start to finish, and it is pretty amazing. Did you know Ms. Swanson writes the play dialogue that connects the whole production? She takes songs from many eras and pulls them together under a theme like the solar system, the United States, or the Environment. The productions reinforce the classroom curriculum and the they are so much fun and entertaining for the audience. Above all, the kids love performing on stage because the music is current and engaging, and they know they are an important part of the success of the production. Ms. Swanson rocks!  

6th grade science classes just came up to CLIC to do science modelling of atoms.  Each student was assigned an element from the periodic table.  Each person had to know how the nucleus was composed of neutrons and protons as well as the electron shells.  It is one thing to read about the elements, but it is another to visualize and model them in a 3-dimensional form. Students could be creative with the materials but the models had to be scientifically correct. Much time was spent counting out and wiring up their elements.  The results are stunning in Ms. Strobl's room with the entire 6th grade's models hanging and spinning from the ceiling.  

As one parent put it, "There are a ton of productions this year!"  That is an understatement!  Between Steward and Proctor School, we have 10 productions planned for this year.  The CLIC stage crew at Proctor gets one production list done and then we are on to the next.  This year is a reflection of the hard work of the teachers and the children on and behind stage.  It is challenging to get everything ready, but it is worth it to see it all come together on performance day. It is exhilarating for the children to pull off the shows.  The kids know they authentically created everything, memorized their lines, and creatively pulled it all together.  It is a ton of pressure, but the pay off is huge.

Why do we want theater, musicals, music class productions?  Performing brings out healthy risk taking to get up stage, commitment to learn parts and sequencing, and team work.   For those doing stage crew, kids work together to visualize and create on large scale all of the details necessary to tell the story.  Every layer of the stage is considered.  Every costume has to be visualized. They must also work with the actors on stage.  It is demanding!

Theater also engages children in learning.  To have students transform historical literature like Greek Myths and Folktales into narrative plays takes many hours of writing and rewriting.  The children not only wrote the plays but added humor and drama so beautifully.  I bet most people did not know that the children wrote the plays themselves!  

Above all, theater adds community to a school.  There is so much excitement in the school on performance day. The kids love to come together and watch each other on stage along with the families.  We are officially a theater school district!

This month, STEAM Club will be tackling issues that will be focusing on creating products that are Earth friendly.  We will be exhibiting our projects at the upcoming Earth Day Fair at Proctor School on Friday, April 29, 4:00-6:00 PM.

Our first project is to redesign 6 pack can holders.  We are first learning about the hazards of having plastics in our oceans and rivers.  Scientists are finding plastic in almost every animal so it is a huge concern to reduce and rethink how we package products.  The plastic ring holders that hold 6 pack cans is especially bad since animals eat them or get entangled in them.

STEAM Club is working with recycled materials to come up with innovative packaging solutions.  They must create a holder that consumers can pick up and carry, easily remove cans from, and it must fit on store's shelves.  The weight of the cans creates a lot of force that changes when they are lifted and carried so it is a true challenge!  What we are doing is not much different than what packaging designers do in real life designing a packaging solutions for a product.  I love that the children feel empowered to create true change!

Bravo! Last week, Mrs. Soloman's class performed their renditions of Johnny Appleseed and Paul Bunyan.  The students spent many weeks writing their scripts and developing their charcters for the two plays.  I was impressed at how the students wrote and rewrote their scripts, and then memorized them.  The plays were really funny and entertaining.  Most people would think that these plays were written by professionals.  It is no easy task to change a folk tale into a play.  The students had to create narratives and have the characters interact with each other staying true to the story concept.  They paid attention to making the simplest line turn into a hugely entertaining scene.

​ I had the pleasure of working with the class up in CLIC once their scripts were written.  We created costumes, props, and sceneries to then be turned into the sets for the plays.  The children tirelessly rehearsed each morning  and it showed in their final performance!  It was a great performance!

On Tuesday, February 2, 2016 Masconomet Junior HIgh School student, Uma blanketed the CLIC room with fleece fabric destined to get made into blankets that would wrap a fun dog toy and treat into a bundle.  These bundles will be brought to the Northeast Animal Shelter for some very lucky soon to be adopted dogs.  Twenty seven children showed up to help with the after school community outreach project.  With a lot of determination, everyone helped to make a bundle.

I am always impressed with the children and their want to make a difference in the world.  The Power of One Project at Masco is a great example of how one can think globally, but act locally.  The impact of this one afternoon of outreach made such a huge impression on all of the participants. Uma had to do alot of legwork to get the project from an idea to reality.  She had to create the project paper work, work with me planning the day, come in and talk about her project at our assemblies.  She also went to local businesses asking for dog toys and treat donations.  I also learned that she used her own money to buy the fleece fabric for the project.  Her passion for animals was evident when she talked about how her own family got their dog at the shelter.  

The Canine Bundles were also created the next day at our Proctor Planet Protectors meeting so the enthusiasm continued and the Care Bundle grew!  Thank you Uma for picking CLIC to do your Power of One Project.  One person can make a huge difference in our community!

I want to thank all of the children that gave their lunches and free blocks to help get the costumes and props done for Ms. Swanson's 2nd grade Music classes' Polar Animal Production on Monday, February 1st at Steward School.  It was definitely a team effort cutting and piecing the many felt pieces that go into the masks.
 
The crazy thing is we have a total of 8 productions this year between Steward and Proctor School.  We will be back at creating for the next show on Monday! Please consider donating to CLIC to keep theatrical performances going strong.  These shows drain the CLIC budget but it is completely worth it seeing the children so excited to perform.  When Ms. Swanson and I rolled the yellow submarine onto the cafeteria stage yesterday the 2nd graders started singing the Yellow submarine song while they were eating.  It was so fun! Kids just love to sing and perform so I am happy to see our schools becoming known for our awesome performances.   

​