The Show Must Go On

I don't know if I ever mentioned this before, but my school is very much into school spirit. So much so that we all gather in the cafeteria, in the morning, every morning to sing the school song, do the pledge and hear the morning announcements. It's a tedious task, but in a weird way I've grown to like it because this school has a sense of community like no other I've worked at or been to.

So, it should come as no surprise that my principal also really likes school assemblies put on by the actual students. We have chorus concerts, drama shows and miscellaneous talent shows. All of these are on a volunteer, extra curricular basis. But then there's the one that everyone must do, also known as the grade level show.

My school is grades K-4. There are roughly 8 classes in every grade. Every class collectively puts on a grade level show with each individual class getting a turn to strut their stuff. Way in the beginning of the year each grade puts dibs on when they want to go. Some grades scramble to get a holiday like Halloween or Christmas because those have built in themes, while others go the route of putting it off to the last minute.

Guess which camp the third grade fell into.

Now that all of the big tests (and let's face it, much of the learning) is out of the way, we have our school show coming up in June. When I first heard we put on a grade level show, I panicked. I'm not a music director. I'm not a choreographer. If I was, I would be teaching music or dance, not third grade, which, the last time I checked, is what I signed up for.

So the other, more seasoned third grade teachers, pulled a theme out of their asses back in September just to get it out of the way. They chose summer. June, summer, that makes sense. But then a few weeks ago, they decided that summer had a been there, done that vibe, so instead they opted for Disney songs.

I was a bit surprised they decided to go with Disney because I thought that by third grade, some kids are starting to think Disney is a little bit babyish, but I was a good little first year teacher and went along with the program. And then it hit me.

What the hell am I going to do with these kids and perhaps more importantly, when am I going to find the time to do it?!

Things went from bad to worse when I started hearing, through the grapevine, that teachers have a way of pairing up so that they combine a few classes. Sure, let all the tenured teachers pair up and leave the new kid to fend for herself. That makes sense.

Regardless, I reluctantly just started my search for the perfect song for my kids when I came across the underrated gem, "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" from The Lion King. Suddenly it was like I went fron ordinary teacher to Bob Fosse in 60 seconds. In my mind, I could picture what they would do. And ya gotta love a song title that has a double meaning. I thought the kids could hold a big banner at the end "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" (or queen) of the school, considering they are going to be the "senior class" so to speak as they are going into fourth grade. Well, most of them are anyway.

Of course, seeing it come to life in my mind and actually making it come to life for a group of 17 third graders are two entirely different matters completely.

So what do y'all think? Is it a hit or a miss?

And is there something much simpler I could do that I'm just completely missing?