Last Thursday night certainly did not look like a spring evening with the rain and sleet coming down, but inside of MPA things could not have been warmer.  It was the opening of the Lower School Art and Music Show, and every family managed to get here through the sleet and snow.  Prior to the opening, we spend time talking to the children about how special this evening is and what a wonderful time it is for family to be together to share the experience.  It is heart warming to see children proudly show their art work to their families.  It is also impressive to see how well they are able to explain the process they went through to produce each piece of art.

 At 6:45 p.m. the halls suddenly clear as the children gather in their homerooms, freshen up, and get that last drink of water and then they are lined up to go to the Nicholson Center for the second part of the evening.  There is nothing akin to hearing 200 children singing in unison.  It seems to bring out the tears of joy in all of us.  The organization that it takes to move children from risers to instruments to dancing positions is incredible, and the creativity that our music teachers exude through the childrens' performances is remarkable.  Every child seems to leave the concert feeling a bit more confident in their ability to perform in front of a large group.

             

 

 

 

 

Many thanks go to Ms. Espeland, Ms. Mennicke, Ms. Rossbach and Ms. Sonka for the hours of preparation they put into this evening.  They begin with their planning in the summer, incorporate the theme into their lessons all year, and then spend time either exhibiting art work or preparing students for the performance.  The theme this year was "Journey" and the students examined walking sticks used in different cultures and then created their own.  They also drew, painted and sculpted shoes to walk in. The second graders, true to their study of space, created space ships for their journeys.

 

The theme also expanded to journeys using the imagination as the fourth graders made masks of what they would like to be as their journey through life continues.  Of course with the theme of "Journey" the music program had to open with "Sentimental Journey," but it also engulfed music from other countries as the children "traveled" through music.  I appreciate that all of the families brought their children to the program and showed their support.  The hard work of all culminates in a magical evening that is the epitome of MPA.

To see more Lower School artwork images, please view our Day to Day website page! 

Nansee Greeley

Lower School Director