Better late than never.
Crofton Elementary School students were two hours away from doing their annual Winter Performances Dec. 20 when the power went out. An hour later, the two scheduled shows that afternoon and evening were officially postponed.
It was the second to last day before school went on a break for the Christmas holidays and the power didn’t get restored until the next night anyway, leaving no chance to reschedule.
The kids were obviously disappointed to have put in so much rehearsal time with nothing to show for it.
But the return to classes last week brought a renewed sense of purpose to make it happen. Everyone refreshed their memories about their lines and songs, and the students were on stage last Thursday just like nothing ever happened.
The show isn’t tied to Christmas anyway, but more just to winter so it didn’t really matter when it was performed.
Ironically, after the massive wind storm and torrential rains that followed, the theme of the show was Bring On The Snow, about the only thing we haven’t really had in this region weather-wise for a while other than a trace.
There was a buzz in the air, as the students finally got to show off their talents to family and friends in the audience.
“If the power goes out, nobody move and remain calm,” joked principal Jennifer Calverley at the start of the performance.
The entire school was involved in the production and featured a great mix of winter-oriented songs and comic relief.
Segments included: Wish, Wish, Wish; the title track Bring On The Snow; Ready, Set, Snow; Ice, Ice Baby that prompted one parent to exclaim “oh, my goodness” in obvious remembrance of the song from their youth; Over The River; Hot Chocolate; Angels In The Snow; Snowpants; Blizzard On The Way; and Hockey Scene - lots of snowy stuff that we might be unlikely to see outside all this winter.
Dana Wood, new to the school in September as the Fine Arts teacher for music, performing arts and visual arts, directed the performance in her first time doing anything like this.
“She did a fabulous job,” praised Calverley.
Wood grew up in nearby Mill Bay and just graduated from Vancouver Island University at Christmastime 2017.
“I love Crofton school,” enthused Wood. “The staff is so supportive. It’s a really great community.”
She actually ordered a package on-line that contained material for jokes and songs.
“I thought I wouldn’t start from scratch my first time,” Wood noted.
It worked out great and the kids loved the assortment of corny Knock, Knock jokes that filled in between the songs.
“It was designed for Grade 4-7,” Wood indicated of the package. “We needed to make a couple of adjustments for our primary kids.”
The disappointment of the previous postponement was long gone when students returned to school after the break to get ready for it. Rapid-fire rehearsals put everyone back on track for the performances.
“They were so great,” said Wood. “I was so nervous coming in on the Monday they’d forget.”
The Grade 7s were instrumental in pulling everything together, with only a small group of them on stage.
“Grade 7s aren’t usually as keen to perform,” Wood pointed out.
“They were so excited to watch and set up the chairs and decorate the gym and help out behind the scenes.”
“The show couldn’t go on without our volunteers,” added Calverley.
