STUDENTS at Eaton Arrowsmith School spend a good portion of their days doing mental olympic training.
They get to the root causes of their learning disabilities by rewiring the weaker areas of their brain that have been standing in the way of academic and social success. They are resilient, courageous boys and girls who work hard each day in order to carve a new path for themselves, one that enables them to leave their learning challenges behind.
These challenges, however, do not define our students. There is not one student at our school that does not possess a special talent or passion. We celebrate these gifts every day in our classrooms. Each May, however, our students have the opportunity to take part in the school's annual talent show. Singers, dancers, musicians, artists (new and seasoned) come together to put on a fantastic show for the EAS community.
The event is greatly anticipated every year, for both the acts and the incredible courage and confidence our students show on stage, despite the fact that they may be new at their chosen media, or they may be working on strengthening their ability to express themselves. The entire school community stands behind the students, cheers them on, and applauds them not only for their performance, but their tenacious spirit. The talent show is just one more way that Eaton Arrowsmith School demonstrates our support of our students. Since 2009, we've finished off the year at Eaton Arrowsmith's sister school Magnussen School with the annual Shakespeare Festival. Starting in April, students study a play by Shakespeare, learning the plot, characters, major lines, and themes. From there, each student becomes involved in putting on the yearend production, whether they are actors, set designers, prop managers or assistant directors.
We bring in the Bard in the Classroom workshop to help students hone their knowledge of the play, and in the end, they put on an amazing performance at the Freddie Wood Theatre at UBC for all our families.
It is truly remarkable to watch these students, some as young as Grade 5, memorize and perform Shakespeare.
