Two Westerville elementary schools organized musical performances in videos to be shared with families and across the school.
At Robert Frost Elementary, music teacher Jen Hall led students in a performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing" in American Sign Language. Watch the performance here.
At Cherrington Elementary, music teacher Julie Porretta led a virtual musical with fourth-graders called “Making the Band.” The musical, which focuses on how kids discovered the elements of music and created a garage band, includes popular songs such as “Twist and Shout,” “Stand By Me” and “Livin’ on a Prayer.”
Students typically perform a musical in May to parents but Porretta pivoted to a video this year because of the pandemic. Fourth-grade students remained with their classes for the song performances and those with speaking parts were filmed in front of a green screen in small groups for two-minute segments.
“While this year had many unexpected turns, we were thankful to have technology that still allowed us to make music together,” Porretta said.