Just to reassure you, this is not a summary of general end-of-term behaviour! Although excitement levels are growing as we reach the end of term, it is of course a reference to the wonderful year 5 & 6 production of Madagascar Jnr, which has wowed audiences this week.
Madagascar Jnr has been a truly collaborative effort. It exemplified the very best of our school community and I am so grateful to everyone who has contributed to this show. Set and prop building and decorating from Paul and Damien, part of our incredible site team, Mrs Clark, Dr Baines, Mr Ayling have all turned their skills to creating amazing scenery and costumes. Mr Jeens and Mr Tunnell expertly coordinating lights and sound and a special mention to Mrs Claire Jeens who has volunteered huge amounts of her own time and effort to support this production – what a wonderful gesture of support, for which we are very grateful. And of course, Mrs Dziedziela and Mrs Lane who have masterminded the acting and singing and created an environment where our children have had the bravery and skills to step onto the stage and demonstrate talents and confidence to culminate in truly wonderful performances.
For Year 5, this end of year production sees them fulfilling a range of roles and providing the backbone of the ensemble numbers with plenty of cameo moments too. They know their time in the spotlight will come next year and I think it is such a huge credit to their character that they give it 100%, truly embracing our belief that being a part of something bigger has huge importance in life, regardless of the part you play. Give whatever you do your best effort, and your reward will be so much richer. This is an essential skill in my mind, and it speaks volumes about the children that they can give the same effort and energy to a supporting role as they would a leading part. In life we try and surround ourselves with people like this, don’t we? They made the show the success it was – it would not have been the same without their commitment and energy.
The leading roles were wonderfully performed by our Year 6 boys and what an amazing choice of production that allowed them all to shine and show us all their incredible characters and personalities. Mrs L and Mrs D are masters at this, and it shows yet again how well our staff know our children. Who knew that hiding inside our boys we had Monkeys, Giraffes, Lions, Hippos, Lemurs, Zebras, mischievous penguins? I suspect many of us had these suspicions but in the most wonderful way we watched our children bring these characters to life and bring their own wonderful personalities to each role. Absolutely brilliantly!
The power of being part of a group, team or ensemble is awesome. Watching our children, support, encourage and most importantly enjoy this experience together adds to the magic of a show. In a year where we have celebrated our pride in the children, this will live long in the memory as a moment of genuine pride for us all.
One week to go and we look forward to celebrating with everyone next week!
