Arts showcase helps families this Christmas
Tonight the curtains will lift on a showcase run entirely by Year 2 students.
The pupils from St Columba’s Catholic Primary School in Hamilton have been working towards their arts showcase throughout the year.
It has a focus on dance, music, drama and visual art.
But instead of raising money for the school, the fundraiser is dedicated to helping families in need within the community.
Nathanael Lai, Casey Morell, Ella Verran and Sophie Sheil have put their heads together to help plan the showcase.
They chose to be involved in either Front of House, Stage Design, or the Media.
Ella and her team designed the posters and tickets, while Sophie was part of the Front of House team who had to distribute them.
‘‘The most interesting learning experience for me was getting to learn how to make the tickets,’’ she said.
‘‘If there’s going to be two
‘‘I want to care for the people who don't have anything.’’
shows for adults and for children, we had to put them on different coloured paper. The hardest part was actually picking the colours.’’
The showcase includes three Year 2 classes: Ngaio, Rimu and Pohutakawa.
Students also had to price tickets, paint the set, create a safety video, and write and perform a welcoming speech and prayer.
‘‘The kids organically had to figure all this out,’’ said teacher Rachel Rowe.
‘‘It’s not a production, it’s a showcase of what they’ve learned, but not everything they’ve learned will be in the showcase.’’
Rowe said this year the classes focused on how to plan an event.
She said there was no better way to learn than by doing.
‘‘It’s not teacher-led. We let the kids run it all, just with our guidance.’’
Rowe said while the children were brainstorming the purpose behind the showcase, making it a fundraiser for families in need continued to pop up.
‘‘We do have people in our community who could benefit,’’ she said.
‘‘The people who don’t get a Christmas tree or a nice Christmas dinner might be able to now,’’ Sophie said.
‘‘It makes me feel happy because I want to care for the people who don’t have anything,’’ Nathanael said.