Now in its second year at Cedar Creek Elementary School (CCES), the Bee the Change Choir is bringing joy and positivity to the school through song.
The choir is a Community Education program comprised of students in 3rd through 5th grade who meet after school to rehearse. This year, a total of 53 students signed up, which include five from neighboring East Bethel Elementary School (EBES). The group was created last year by CCES music teacher Nancy Porter with a mission of starting a positive activity for students to be involved in and use music as a mission to show kids they could be a change in the world.
“The world seems to focus and spend time on negative behaviors,” Porter said. “This group brings a light to the schools to show them they are amazing young people and using their gifts and talents helps everyone.”
This week the group performed for students at both CCES and EBES and welcomed families and the community for an evening performance. The performance theme was "Live Your Story…be determined to fight for your dreams.”
“The greatest positive thing is we have started a school culture where students are all believing that they can make a change in the world...even at their young age,” Porter said.
View photos and a short video from the Bee the Change Choir performance at CCES.
"The goals for community education are to provide students with activities that encourage personal growth and enjoyment," said Chris Schlottman, the Community Education K-5 Youth Enrichment Manager. "When Nancy presented her ideas for a choir I was thrilled. We had lost our previous choir and drama teacher and the programs were sorely missed. Choir was an instant success and has seen considerable growth. Nancy added another section to allow more students to be able to attend and opened the class up to all 3-5 grade students across the district."