Sharing a laugh with Ms. Cristina
On April 6th, the Foundation partnered with our beloved Ms. Cristina to plan the very first musical kick-off party. The Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate parent-only event also served as the Foundation's first Parents' Night Out (PNO). This event aimed to inform the parents about the upcoming musical as well as the broader music program in both the upper and lower campuses, while providing the space and opportunity for parents to socialize and get to know one another. It also served as a fundraiser to support the musical costs. The kick-off party succeeded on all levels!
Parents and teachers sipped wine and indulged in chocolates that were graciously donated by a few of our amazing parents while also nibbling on delicious cheese platters which were donated by our local cheese shop, Van Hook Cheese and Grocery (if you haven't been here yet, check it out. The cheeses were amazing and we love to support local small businesses that support our children!). The room was outfitted in various Willy Wonka Jr. props including chocolate bars, Wonka's purple coat, and the impressive gates to Wonka's factory created by our talented WFM teachers.
Ms. Cristina and Jenn Prichard welcoming the parents
Ms. Cristina gave a brief presentation which included clips from the lower campus's Nutcracker performances, the newly formed upper campus orchestra, and the upper campus's grade-level musical concerts, which featured original songs written by the students as well as their own impressive dance moves. Ms. Cristina also presented a video of well wishes from the Broadway cast of The Lion King made for last year's Lion King Jr. cast - it was quite impressive to see Broadway's Simba telling our children to "break a leg"!
As the event also served as a fundraiser, the Foundation sold Willy Wonka Jr. rehearsal music CDs and Willy Wonka t-shirts in addition to the tickets which were purchased for the PNO event. Through these efforts and additional donations, we have raised $1,700 towards our goal of $10,000 to bring this incredible arts and education enrichment experience to our youth (and the surrounding community) each year. If you haven't yet donated or would like to learn more, we are always happy to talk shop anytime and welcome your questions and thoughts.
Our kick-off party brought together parents from both campuses. We had multiple teachers and staff members in attendance, showing their support for the musical and WSF. Everyone was eager to get involved. And that is the biggest success of all!