If You've Got a Minute...

**AmyBoz** · 02-29-2008, 10:53 PM

...or two, as it were, I would love for you to check this out.

The MEF (Morris Educational Foundation) recently had a fundraiser in our town called "Morristown's Got Talent." The MEF raises money to provide scholarships to graduating seniors as well as grants to teachers (I won a $1000 grant last year to buy historical fiction books for my history classroom in a proposal I called "History's Mysteries").

Anyway, the has been going on for the past few months, a'la American Idol, and the finale is a culminating show at the local Community Theater. There were adults and children from all over my town (very large town...mini-NYC, if you will) doing all sorts of things.

If you click on this link:
http://www.nj.com/morristown/index.s...for_morri.html
You will see the runners-up. If you scroll down through the page, you'll see Liz Wells who is a teacher at my school, Jane Cracovaner, who is a former student of mine, Lexi Greenberg, who was a former student and was my Annie when we put on "Annie" two years ago (I'm the choral director for our spring musical), and the Select Chorus from my school.

If you click on this link:
http://www.nj.com/morristown/index.s...ow_perfor.html
You'll see the three top place winners. The actual winners is a jazz group, called Timeless Jazz, that is completely composed of students, grades 7-9. Gus is the leader of the band (tall boy all the way to the left of the screen) and he is my Beast in this years "Beauty and the Beast" and Isabel is my Belle in our show this year. Another member of the band is my Cogsworth in the show. The second place act is made up 3 girls who were in my school last year, and the third place act is made up of 3 boys who I taught when they were little, tiny pipsqueaks in 8th grade. Look at them now!

Anyway, I share this with you, not because I had anything to do with any of it, but because I am just so darn proud of my kids! It takes so much guts to get up there and perform in front of a packed house (the theater seats over 1,000) and they do it like it's nothing. With regards to the winners, Timeless Jazz, they created their jazz band all on their own. It was Gus's idea, and his friends loved it and they recruited Izzy to sing for them, and there you have it. I just think it is such a positive, POSITIVE thing for young kids to be doing when there are so many horrible things they could be doing instead.

Anyway, if you have a second, check some of them out. I think they are great and I couldn't be prouder, even if they were my own little chickadees.

**Missy** · 02-29-2008, 11:22 PM

There's a lot of talent in those two links. Thanks for sharing them with us!

Jo · 03-01-2008, 07:50 AM

How fun...and I've been to that theatre many times!!

**Darlene** · 03-01-2008, 09:00 AM

Wow, a lot of talent is right! Thanks for sharing.
Have a special place in my heart for Jazz ensembles because Nicole played trumpet in hers. I will always remember the trumpet solo she had in her last concert, she was so nervous, did awesome & I was crying, lol. She wrote a killer paper about her thoughts & feelings on those moments & I still have it. She blew me away.
So much time & effort goes into performing. Your chickadees did well. Bravo!