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Elementary Talent Show and Art Gallery - 2017

Article, photos and video news package produced by Olivia Fieger and Maddie Field
 
 
 
 
Familiar event changes organizers
(May 24, 2017)
 

The grade school PTO hosts an annual talent show and art gallery. This year Ann Rupp, district nurse, was the manager of this year’s talent show. Rupp explained her thoughts on running this event.

“It was stressful, a little more than I thought because, just all the backstage stuff that we had to do, getting everyone lined up all their props, everything out there. Plus keeping it going so that the parents and everybody weren’t there all night. But, yes, it was a little more stressful than I realized. Plus, while we were practicing I was also Nurse Ann,” she said.

Bridget Remer, long-time PTO member, organized the talent show for the first eight years. However, Rupp and another volunteer, Teuka Kruger, were given this responsibility.

“...I was kinda asked and told at the same time to help. I am not afraid of the microphone, and so they thought I would be a good MC for the evening,” Rupp explained. “And then of course, it turned into more organizing and stuff, too...”

Before she was given the job of organizing the talent show, Rupp was just a mom in the crowd who watched her children perform. She elaborated on her thoughts about watching the show from behind the curtain.

“... I didn't get to sit back and relax and enjoy the show, and I didn't know how well it went because I was standing behind the scenes and the chaos back there. But it's still one of my favorite shows or things that the PTO puts on. So I was glad to keep it going,” she said.

Jarrett Davis, a sixth-grader, has participated in this event for the past seven years. Davis described why he chose to sing “Stand in The Light” by Jordan Smith.

“I chose this song because I just felt like it had a good message to it,” he said.

Davis has been singing since he was in kindergarten. He explained what impact singing has had on his life so far.

“It has affected it a lot, just because I sing all the time and I just have really fun singing,” he said.

Davis’s first public appearance was at the talent show in kindergarten and his platform has grown. He sang at the wedding of Third-Grade Teacher Angie (Broxterman) Roberts, and has also sang “The National Anthem” at several high school basketball games this year.

A group of fifth-grade boys also entered the talent show. Tanner Martin stated that they have been doing the talent show for three years.

The boys have been together every year that they have been in the talent show. Spencer Johnson, another group member, explained why the practices are different from the actual performance.

“When we’re practicing, we are not standing in front of a whole crowd of people. It's just us and my mom, who’s helping us. So it's not as scary and embarrassing,” Johnson said.

The boys have performed three acts in the past three years. Barnes explained what his favorite act has been.

“Our favorite act was probably when we did ‘Pitch Perfect’ because it was probably the funniest one by far,” he said.

The boys focus on many aspects of their act. Renfro described what they focus on more, comedy or dance moves.

“We focus more on, in an act, probably comedy. Well, Tanner probably focuses on dance moves. We just kinda like making everyone laugh, I guess,” he said.

However, the talent show isn’t the only event that brings together community members.

Paula Johnson, paraprofessional, always runs the art gallery, which takes place on the same night as the talent show. She elaborated on her reasons behind organizing this event.

“I decided to run this event when our art class was taken away here at the grade school,” she said.

The art gallery, similar to the talent show, also produces a decent amount of stress for the organizer of that event.

“The hardest part about being in charge of the event is that it takes so much time to put together,” Johnson said. “A very large amount of time. And also that the kids wait till the last second to get creative and put something in.”

Many different types of art, such as Lego sculptures, paintings, photography, crayola melting, were included in this year’s art gallery. Johnson also described how the event turned out.

“We had a 123 entries,” Johnson said, “and that was great. That was about a fourth of the school.”

Cutlines:

Top Photo: Sixth Graders Mason Brokaw and Braxton McDaniel read the notes and play their instruments to entertain the crowd. 

Middle Photo: Third Graders Paige Heiman, Jaiden Wise, Kylie Podlena, Journey Manhart, and Kaelyn Worthington show off their dance moves at the elementary talent show. (Makenna Wathke was also in the group.)

Left – Talent show participants stretch and have fun while dancing during an intermission.