judifilksign (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
judifilksign) wrote2010-05-22 11:59 am
judifilksign) wrote2010-05-22 11:59 am
Musical
Irish had a choir concert this week, and on the same night, a play, in which he had a speaking role with 17 lines.
The entire month beforehand, we practiced in the car as we waited for Irish's bus to arrive for school. He already had memorized them, so we worked on speaking slowly, clearly and enunciating so that "grandma in the back row can hear you."
My parents from the east and my darling husband's westerly parents converged to see the occasion. Irish's part was the Wagonmaster of a convoy going west. Most kids mumbled their lines, or spoke them so quickly that they were just microphone distortion. There were a few others that you could get. Irish's delivery was, in fact easily understood by his family as we stood in the back of the brimming auditorium. The audience laughed at the right spots for his humorous lines. Irish, flushed with success, now wishes to become an actor or the winner of American Idol.
The choir concert also went well. With all the music for the play, and the music for the concert, those kids had about 15 songs in their heads. I was pretty impressed. The grandparents were happy, too.
The turnout for the play was huge, too. They used all of the folding chairs in the school, and set up the cafeteria tables in the back for extra seating, and there were still dozens of folks standing. As a teacher, I think that is wonderful parent participation in school.
After the play, as kids were going back to their classrooms and getting picked up by their parents, I went up to the principal, Sparkle in tow, making sure I was smiling widely as I approached. I gushed about how great the program was, and he smiled back at me and complimented Irish on how well he knew his part.
Sparkle at first leaned back against me, hugging me uncertainly (this is the man who'd had to intervene in her behavior difficulties multilple times in the last weeks and days of school, after all) but as we talked about Sparkle going to her new program successfully, and how she'd be in the district's program next year, Sparkle suddenly hugged the principal, and reached up and patted his cheek. He smiled fondly at her, hugged back and told her to have a good summer and a good time at her next school.
I was very pleased to have had this positive interaction with him before going off to summer, and after the awkwardness of the Spring Carnival. It's not often you can go back and have a "do-over" that works. He's a good man, and seeing him interact with the kids, it's really clear he loves his job. I'm glad also that I could go back and not be snarky as his last memory of me!
We ended the evening by going out to a restaurant of Irish's choice: Outback Steakhouse, were his western clothing didn't look odd at all. The grandparents had a lovely time talking and catching up with events since the last time we'd all been together, when a massive miscommunication between my darling husband and I resulted in double-booking grandparental visits for the same weekend! ("Talked to the grandparents, and they say they'll be in Friday afternoon for supper, and we'll all go out..." "Oh, good. I talked to them, too, and they said they'd be in around rush hour, so that makes sense.") Having that be the same thing happening for the concert was funny! It's neat to see them get along. I like to think that if we lived in the same town growing up, they'd've been friends, and my DH and I would've been high school sweethearts.
The entire month beforehand, we practiced in the car as we waited for Irish's bus to arrive for school. He already had memorized them, so we worked on speaking slowly, clearly and enunciating so that "grandma in the back row can hear you."
My parents from the east and my darling husband's westerly parents converged to see the occasion. Irish's part was the Wagonmaster of a convoy going west. Most kids mumbled their lines, or spoke them so quickly that they were just microphone distortion. There were a few others that you could get. Irish's delivery was, in fact easily understood by his family as we stood in the back of the brimming auditorium. The audience laughed at the right spots for his humorous lines. Irish, flushed with success, now wishes to become an actor or the winner of American Idol.
The choir concert also went well. With all the music for the play, and the music for the concert, those kids had about 15 songs in their heads. I was pretty impressed. The grandparents were happy, too.
The turnout for the play was huge, too. They used all of the folding chairs in the school, and set up the cafeteria tables in the back for extra seating, and there were still dozens of folks standing. As a teacher, I think that is wonderful parent participation in school.
After the play, as kids were going back to their classrooms and getting picked up by their parents, I went up to the principal, Sparkle in tow, making sure I was smiling widely as I approached. I gushed about how great the program was, and he smiled back at me and complimented Irish on how well he knew his part.
Sparkle at first leaned back against me, hugging me uncertainly (this is the man who'd had to intervene in her behavior difficulties multilple times in the last weeks and days of school, after all) but as we talked about Sparkle going to her new program successfully, and how she'd be in the district's program next year, Sparkle suddenly hugged the principal, and reached up and patted his cheek. He smiled fondly at her, hugged back and told her to have a good summer and a good time at her next school.
I was very pleased to have had this positive interaction with him before going off to summer, and after the awkwardness of the Spring Carnival. It's not often you can go back and have a "do-over" that works. He's a good man, and seeing him interact with the kids, it's really clear he loves his job. I'm glad also that I could go back and not be snarky as his last memory of me!
We ended the evening by going out to a restaurant of Irish's choice: Outback Steakhouse, were his western clothing didn't look odd at all. The grandparents had a lovely time talking and catching up with events since the last time we'd all been together, when a massive miscommunication between my darling husband and I resulted in double-booking grandparental visits for the same weekend! ("Talked to the grandparents, and they say they'll be in Friday afternoon for supper, and we'll all go out..." "Oh, good. I talked to them, too, and they said they'd be in around rush hour, so that makes sense.") Having that be the same thing happening for the concert was funny! It's neat to see them get along. I like to think that if we lived in the same town growing up, they'd've been friends, and my DH and I would've been high school sweethearts.
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HUGS to Irish, too, for discovering a new interest. He worked hard, and got rewarded accordingly. ♥
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