School Concert - both versions.
Oh, isn't it wonderful what they do at school these days. There's 600 kids in the primary school, and they put each and every one of them on stage for several items a piece, to sing and to dance and to have the most wonderful times of their lives, that they will remember always. Beautiful costumes, wonderfully organised and choreographed and such a pleasure to attend. Pity it had to end.
Now, the real story...
Man, I hate these things! The concert went for nearly three hours, was long, drawn out and largely boring. One spoken word item with a teacher reading a poem (about colour) went for at least 10 minutes, probably 15, and the kids just did movements to match - boring!! The rest pretty much was dancing to old songs, some were well done, others not so. The costumes were OK, and kept simple, which was good. The little bit of acting to tie it all together was good, and I enjoyed how they did that, plus a bit at the start where they told the story of St. Columba was really well done. It was disappointing that they gave more time to an item by the SRC Executive and House Captains (the in-crowd year 6's I assume) than many of the classes got. A friend I sat with, her daughter's class got a 3 minute song - and that was it. The SRC/HC item - about 7 minutes, was a mix of four or five songs. Thankfully I don't have to sit through the evening performance as well.
My real beef though, is that in a ten week term, pretty much the whole term is taken over by the concert. Even if it was actually good and entertaining (not just in a 'they're my kids, that makes it good' kind of way) I don't believe in something extra-curricular that takes so much time out of their schooling. Thankfully, it's bi-annual.
Maybe I'm just spoilt by what Scouts achieve with three months practise based largely on just Sunday evening rehearsals and volunteer efforts. Gang Shows (incl. Scout Shouts) are fantastic achievements by kids who want to be involved.
Now, the real story...
Man, I hate these things! The concert went for nearly three hours, was long, drawn out and largely boring. One spoken word item with a teacher reading a poem (about colour) went for at least 10 minutes, probably 15, and the kids just did movements to match - boring!! The rest pretty much was dancing to old songs, some were well done, others not so. The costumes were OK, and kept simple, which was good. The little bit of acting to tie it all together was good, and I enjoyed how they did that, plus a bit at the start where they told the story of St. Columba was really well done. It was disappointing that they gave more time to an item by the SRC Executive and House Captains (the in-crowd year 6's I assume) than many of the classes got. A friend I sat with, her daughter's class got a 3 minute song - and that was it. The SRC/HC item - about 7 minutes, was a mix of four or five songs. Thankfully I don't have to sit through the evening performance as well.
My real beef though, is that in a ten week term, pretty much the whole term is taken over by the concert. Even if it was actually good and entertaining (not just in a 'they're my kids, that makes it good' kind of way) I don't believe in something extra-curricular that takes so much time out of their schooling. Thankfully, it's bi-annual.
Maybe I'm just spoilt by what Scouts achieve with three months practise based largely on just Sunday evening rehearsals and volunteer efforts. Gang Shows (incl. Scout Shouts) are fantastic achievements by kids who want to be involved.