In the spirit of the holiday season, Turner Woods Elementary School held a “Christmas Extravaganza,” with “Christmas Around the World” student poster presentations, chorus performances of familiar holiday tunes, and a first-grade song performance in American Sign Language.
The Dec. 17 event began at 6:00 p.m. in the hallways of Turner Woods, where Teacher Amy London’s gifted students presented poster presentations about the Christmas holiday in different countries.
According to London, Students in the second grade learned and presented about Christmas in Mexico. The students had the opportunity to hear from a guest speaker who spent their childhood Christmas in Mexico, helping them curate their posters.
Fourth and fifth-grade students learned and presented how the story of “The Nutcracker” originated in Germany and how the ballet originated in Russia.
London shared many other fun facts the students learned throughout their research for their presentations.
“In Sweden, the entire country stops everything at 3:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve to watch ‘Donald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas.’ Ireland has ‘The Christmas Swim,’ where people jump off a large rock into the frigid water to raise money for those in need. Children in Italy wait until January 6 to open their presents,” London shared.
Students interacted with the project in many creative ways, creating flags to represent their country, brochures with fun facts, making food of their country for the public to enjoy, and one student created a book for younger students to read and learn about their country, London said.
London noted the significance of the project for student’s learning.
“It is important for our students to learn how to complete research for a project and to work collaboratively. Researching the Christmas celebrations of different countries was an engaging way for my students to practice these skills,” she said.
“As a teacher, it is rewarding to watch students take ownership of their learning and to work together to accomplish a task. This was the perfect project to accomplish those goals,” London concluded.
After the poster presentations, family and friends gathered in the gym to watch the first through second-grades Cub Chorus and the third through fifth-grade Tiger Chorus perform holiday jingles, including “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,” the “Jingle Bell Rock,” and many more.
Several students auditioned for Chorus Teacher Jeffery Shaw in class to perform solos at the event.
Fourth-grade students Tallulah Fields and Jameson Graham each performed a solo, singing “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “Silent Night”.
Fifth-grade students Ariana Abney, Virginia Horkan, and Kyndall McMillan also performed solos, including “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” “Who Would Imagine a King,” and “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.”
Shaw discussed the success of the performance.
“Over 100 students are involved in the chorus this year. Many fun Christmas songs were included, and several soloists were featured. It was a festive night enjoyed by all! The students sang with spirit and much expression,” he said.
Shaw also mentioned his students have been learning concert etiquette and executed what they learned well at the Christmas Extravaganza.
“The choruses have recently been working on tone production and performance behavior. The chorus students will receive a pizza party in January to reward them for their hard work and commitment,” the teacher concluded.
The next chorus concert is scheduled for Mar. 27.
Rebecca Belshan’s first-grade class performed a rendition of “Jingle Bells” in American Sign Language.
“We have truly enjoyed watching our students and others embrace learning American Sign Language. Performing is a great way to spread awareness, foster inclusion, and celebrate differences,” Belshan said.
The event commenced with Principal Keisha Pitts thanking the community for coming to support the talented students at Turner Woods Elementary School and wishing everyone an excellent holiday season.
