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