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First-graders perform for grandparents
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker .Anneliese Kirr, a first-grade student at Hilltop Elementary School, showed her grandparents, Diane and Steve Kirr, around her classroom after the students performed a special show during the school’s annual Grandparents Day March 20.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker .Hilltop Elementary School first-grader Briahna McCombs invited her grandmother, Joan Karsnak, to the school’s annual Grandparents Day March 20.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker .First-grade students at Hilltop Elementary School, under the direction of Tom Scurich, presented a special program for their grandparents during the school’s annual Grandparents Day March 20.
By ABBY SLANKER
Excitement filled the air at Hilltop Elementary School, with the buzz coming from the first-grade students and their grandparents, who were invited to Grandparents Day March 20.
The grandparents waited in the gym for the students to begin their special program just for them. As the students entered the gym and made their way to the stage, all eyes, and cameras, were on them.
“Our first-graders have prepared an excellent program for all of you. They are very excited you are here,” said Diane Dankovich, Hilltop Elementary School guidance counselor as she welcomed the grandparents.
Dankovich then turned the program over to Tom Scurich, Hilltop Elementary School music teacher, who suggested the students and their grandparents give each other a special wave, which they all did with gusto.
The program started with the students and grandparents reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and was followed by the students singing their school song, “Hilltop Elementary.” The students then sang “You’re A Grand Old Flag” and “My Country ’Tis of Thee.”
Then it was time for the children to break out into small groups, class by class, to perform songs with movement, including dancing, hand clapping and skipping.
“Now we would like you to use your imaginations as we take a trip around the Western Hemisphere,” Scurich said.
With an introduction of the history of the songs which celebrated several places around the globe, the students sang the 19th century sea shanty of the Pacific Ocean “John Kanaka;” the traditional coastal Irish song “Rig a Jig Jig;” “Draw a Bucket of Water” from the Georgia Sea Islands and “Circle Round the Zero” from the streets and playgrounds of the inner city.
The students received a standing ovation from their very special audience after concluding the program with “God Bless America.”
The first-grade students were accompanied on the piano by Courtney Larson.
After the program, the students found their grandparents in the audience and led their guests of honor to their classrooms and introduced them to their teacher, showed them their desk and presented them with a drawing as a keepsake of the special day.