Previously postponed Pat Hardy Christmas concerts took place last week

When temperatures in Whitecourt dipped far into the minus thirties just before Christmas with a windchill dancing around -50, many planned events were postponed or outright cancelled. With buses not running for several days, community schools had to change their seasonal plans thanks to the frigid temps. For Pat Hardy Primary School students, that meant finding new dates for their yearly Christmas concerts.

Teachers moved the two-day affair into January with no options to make up the dates ahead of Christmas. At the end of the first week back at school, students finally took the stage and sang their hearts out in front of their parents.

On Thursday, January 12, at 10 am, the first half of the kindergarten students kicked things off and did a wonderful job with their performances. Forty-five minutes later, the grade one students had their turn under the bright lights. Pat Hardy Primary School music teacher Danielle Nimco guided her students from the front of the stage. First up was Ms. Klatt’s class, who sang about a red bird flying away. Next was Mrs. Govereau’s class, who brought a little bit of country to the concert by dancing arm in arm, playing air guitar and ending their performance with a boisterous “yeehaw!”

With winter gear on, including toques, mittens, sweaters and puffy jackets, Mrs. Merrick’s class dressed the part perfectly for their winter-themed song. The group sang about bundling up and staying warm for their musical number and did a fantastic job staying in sync with their movements.

The next grade one class to perform was Mrs. Crouser’s class. Students wore pretty crowns with shiny, silver snowflakes and used streamers and drums. The children sang about going outside for a winter walk and what it would be like. The fifth grade one class to perform on Thursday morning was Ms. Kinloch’s class. The youngsters wore sunglasses and bowler hats for their catchy rock and roll number about a cool snowman.

After the classes wrapped up their performances, it was time for the grade one choir to take the stage for two big numbers. The first performance had the large group dressed in dark colours with white gloves and big white snowflakes on their chests. The lights on the stage went dark as black lights made the snowflakes and gloves glow brightly. The choir sang beautifully about snow falling at night, landing on the dark ground like a blanket.

For their second performance, the grade one choir sang Deck the Halls. The performance can be viewed in full on the Whitecourt Press Facebook page. On Friday, January 13, the second half of the kindergarten students, the grade two classes and the grade two choir performed their songs. Speaking after the Thursday concert, Mrs. Nimco said she was proud to see the students perform. She said the students were sad when the concerts were cancelled in December. Getting to finally perform had everyone excited. “They were proud that their parents could finally come to see them.”

The two-day concert was the first since before restrictions closed things down. “For some grade two students, this is their first time on stage. I am really, really, really happy to be back in the role (as a music teacher). Music is important for life because it’s not only developing musical skills but it’s developing confidence on stage. It’s also developing a lot of phonemic awareness when your singing songs. For a lot of kids who are dysregulated, when they enter into music, it actually reregulates them with beat and rhythm. So, it’s important for all,” explained Mrs. Nimco.

“It’s also a way of assisting mental health with skills they can turn to when they are older. Those are some of the essential skills they develop, and it’s all-encompassing. We do a lot of math with rhythm and beat, and notation. There’s also a lot of literacy with learning a new vocabulary and expanding on rhythm, syllables, and rhyming words. It expands on culture because of the different songs and is also a bit scientific. So, it encompasses everything in the core subjects.” Mrs. Nimco said the students should be very proud of themselves for a job well done.