On Friday, December 16th, the entire Priory family including parents, relatives, friends and teachers were treated to a performance of this year's Priory Christmas Concert titled "Chili, The Snowboy", a re-telling of a favorite Christmas legend. The play dealt with the scenario of a "Brown Christmas" and how a group of imaginative, positive friends take matters into their own hands and make an unexpected new friend in the process.

Each of the classes sang with heart and spirit such classics as "Vive le vent", "Sleigh Ride", "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" and "Up On the Housetop". There were also some lesser known gems, such as "What Can You Give A Wookie For Christmas" and "If It Doesn't Snow On Christmas". The Grade 6 class pulled off a brilliant dramatic performance during the play that accompanied the music and delivered a heart-warming message to the audience by finishing off the performance with "Give Love On Christmas Day". A PPA bake sale and pre-sale of Concert DVD's, the proceeds of which will be donated to St. Gabriel's food bank, both added a delicious and entertaining spirit of giving. A huge "Thank-you" goes out to all the teachers and parents who helped with the performance and provided lovely decorations for this event which always begins in earnest, the Christmas Season.

A Thousand Paper Cranes: The Story of Sadako

"Peace Crane, I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world."

Sadako Sasaki was two years old when the bomb was dropped on her home city in Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. Sadako seemed to escape any ill effects after her exposure to the bomb, until, ten years later, she developed leukemia, "the atom bomb disease." Her fight to live started a worldwide movement for peace and her story continues to be an inspiration to this day. On Friday October 14th, 2011, in celebration of I Love to Read Week at The Priory, Geordie Productions was invited to perform this impactive play for the entire school community. The messages of peace were received by all attending the performance.
 

From the Mixed-up files of Roald Dahl - A Grade 4 play

This year the Grade 4 students shared a common passion for new and elaborate words. It is not surprising that they especially treasured the language of beloved author Roald Dahl and decided to pay tribute to his work. The class undertook a three-month project to imagine, write and perform a very unique theatrical production. Using some of their favourite Dahl stories, the class crafted a plot including new and classic characters. Using primary pad, an online text editor, all the students were involved in the writing process and built on each others’ ideas to create a script. They eventually traded their writing hats for acting hats and on June 7th, the class performed the play to The Priory School community. Led and inspired by their grade 4 teacher Mrs. Bouchard, the class performed with much excitement and the performance was a tremendous success, enjoyed by all!

 

Robot Annie: The Priory School Spring Concert

On Thursday, May 19, a gymnasium full of welcomed guests were treated to a performance of "Robot Annie", the title for this year's Priory Spring Concert. All of the students in the school took their turns to play instrumental pieces and sing out the catchy songs from the classical musical transformed into a futuristic story about technology, change and friendship. A big thanks to all the students, teachers, staff, and Mr. Lähteenmaa who helped make this concert one of the most memorable yet!

It was with great pleasure that The Priory welcomed back internationally recognized performing arts educator and director Sarina Condello and music director Darren Shearer for a one-week dance workshop which had students exploring “The Dance of Art”. Under Sarina’s inspiring direction, each grade concentrated their dance movements around a particular work of art while learning about artists Vincent Van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, Emily Carr, Henri Matisse, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, and Pablo Picaso. The week culminated in a school wide performance, unleashing the children's creativity and energy. It has been a privilege and a joy working with Sarina!
 

The Nutcracker Suite - The Nutchopper... Sweet!

The Priory proudly held its annual Christmas concert, and for those who came out on Friday, December 10th, it was a festive feast of Christmas warmth. Students from every class sung songs and played instruments, while the Grade 6 class presented a play exploring the theme of gift giving. Joined by the voices of parents and friends, the final number sent everyone home with a song in their heads and warmth in their hearts. A big "Thank You" goes out to all the the dedicated students, teachers and parents who helped make this memorable event possible!


A Play -  "Story Wars"

Geordie Productions' talented cast and crew performed "Story Wars", a play written by Harry Standjofski about Jo and Jim, fraternal twins who were banished to their room after a fight. Their punishment was to create a story together. What they came up with was an epic tale about the greatest gods, goddesses, titans and heroes from Greek Mythology. The performance was brilliant and the actors held our attention from beginning to end and kept us laughing the entire time. The play was an entertaining lesson in 'How to Tell a Story', a perfect introduction to our theme for "I Love to Read Week - Bedtime Stories". The children left the performance eager to create stories of their own.
 

We Need More Balloons!

Now that spring has fully arrived, summer is just around the corner. What will Priory students be doing during their summer vacation? Under the direction of music teacher, Mr. Lähteenmaa, family and friends thoroughly enjoyed a fictional answer to this question. The children performed superbly in this year's Spring Concert, acting their roles, singing with passion and fervor and playing several musical instruments. The beat of the music was infectious as many found themselves clapping along and tapping their toes. In “We Need More Balloons" many lessons were learned and one valuable lesson is how music can be a great uplifting and healing tool!
 

A Sci-Fi Christmas Spectacular!

The Priory proudly held its annual Christmas concert, and for those who came out on Friday, December 11^th, it was a treat! The children’s voices filled the school with beautiful music and brought the spirit of Christmas into our hearts. Family, friends and staff thoroughly enjoyed  a dramatic celebration of a few different kinds of Christmases that was "out of this world"! Many thanks to our music teacher, Mr. Lähteenmaa, for his tireless effort, his inspiration, and for bringing “A Sci-Fi Christmas Spectacular" to The Priory. May the glorious sounds of this day continue to echo in our hearts and homes this Christmas Season!
 

On June 9^th the Grade 4 class brought Charlie and the Chocolate Factory  to life. It was a wonderful and fun performance enjoyed by all! Thank you to Ms. Bouchard for her direction and for instilling a love of the arts in her students.  Thank you to the parents who helped with props, and to the children who put a lot of passion and effort into their performance!

Purple River - The Priory Has Talent!

Priory students danced their hearts out as they performed Purple River, for their audience. The energy in the air, the pride of accomplishment and the smiles on the faces of the children, parents and teachers made Purple River a pleasure to be a part of. It was an exceptional performance thoroughly enjoyed by all! A big thank you to Principal Deborah Heuff for bringing the performing arts to life at The Priory, to Mrs. Koper for her introduction, and to Sarina Condello for her direction and inspiration.


A Taste of Shakespeare