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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 2018)
CHOIR GARDENING CLUB From doo-wop to today, choir is on the rise Going green at the high school Gardening from Page 4B By Katherine Lacaze students who have devel- opmental disabilities. They are with her two to five pe- riods per day depending on their individual education plans. Botkins provides ac- ademic support for reading, math, and language arts but also teaches the students practical life skills, such as preparing food, doing laundry, and other means of caring for themselves after school. “I was looking for dif- ferent ways to teach the kids,” Botkins said. “I thought the garden would be a great place to teach them some of those things and the academics they have to learn.” For Seaside Signal Thanks to Seaside High School seniors Taylor Car- son and Holly Snook, the choir will once again be putting on a winter musical revue to entertain the pub- lic and raise money for their program. The revue will take place at 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at the high school’s cafeteria/auditori- um and feature songs from throughout the past several decades, from the 1950s to the 2000s. The selection in- cludes “Rockin’ Robin” and “Man in the Mirror” by Mi- chael Jackson; “The Boys are Back in Town” by Thin Lizzy; “ Single Ladies” by Beyonce; and “Waterfalls” by TLC. Unlike the choir’s three performance concerts, held at the end of each trimester and featuring classic choral music, the musical revue is geared more toward enter- tainment, featuring dancing, theatrics, and costumes, Car- son said. Choir teacher Kimber Parker agreed, adding, “Mu- sical revues are straight-up pop, really fun to watch.” Creating a bond The choir put on musical revues for a few years under the previous choir director, Vanessa Rush. After missing last year, Snook and Carson were determined to bring back the tradition, organiz- ing the event as their joint Pacifica Project. When they were un- derclassmen, they felt the musical revue helped them mature as performers, grow closer to their classmates, and learn to be comfortable in their own skin. “It really opens you up KATHERINE LACAZE/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL Seaside High School choir director Kimber Parker leads the students in song during class. while having a lot of fun,” Snook said. Carson, who said she was shy as a freshman, believes having a mixture of grade levels helps the older students set a positive example for the younger ones. “We get taught how to come out of our shells and love ourselves a little more at an early stage, because we have older kids who have al- ready been through the pro- cess,” she said. “It’s nice to be a senior now, and I’m like, ‘OK, I need to step up to the plate and start to get close to these kids and teach them it’s OK to be themselves.’” 10 • Seagull Pride • Fall 2018 Parker also thinks of the musical revue as a team-building experience for the choir students, particu- larly ahead of competition season. The choir has “grown exponentially,” she said, from 37 students last school year to 65 this year. “It will be a really good way to create a bond, and that will make us stronger go- ing into the rest of the year,” Parker said. ”Kids are going to trust each other after this.” All the choir students par- ticipate in some capacity, pri- marily by performing but also working backstage, providing technical support, or running the snack bar during intermis- sion. Former Seaside student Anita Barbic, who attends Clatsop Community College, is helping Snook and Carson with choreography. Students also plan to conduct a drawing for audience members to win the prize of sitting on a couch at the front of the auditorium during the musical revue. Building confidence The choir is getting pre- pared for competition season in other ways, as well. Last season, they performed well, making it to the state compe- tition where they excelled at sight-reading. “We’re much farther along this year than we were last year,” Parker said. “We’re better this year.” Carson agreed, adding she feels the students collectively have a stronger grasp on all the components of music, in- cluding theory and technique. A main aspect of Parker’s teaching philosophy is help- ing the students thoroughly understand music. She fo- cuses on sight-reading, vocal technique, and emoting. “I want to turn kids into independent musicians, so they can get a piece of music and know what to do with it,” she said. GO GULLS! LOCATIONS IN: ASTORIA SEASIDE CANNON BEACH LINCOLN CITY NEWPORT OPEN DAILY www.pignpancake.com