Dear Parents,
Our students were looking pretty spectacular this week as they came dressed in special occasion attire and loaded the bus for the Houston Ballet performance of The Nutcracker. I'm being honest when I tell you that I was a little nervous about the whole school attending a 2-hour performance that began at 11:00 AM. If you are thinking like a teacher, you know that means the students would essentially not be able to eat lunch until after 1:30 PM. As with any situation, we plan in advance and hope for the best!
That's exactly what we got... the BEST!
I was so incredibly proud of our Crossroads students.
We arrived early to The Wortham Center, followed by streams of other school buses all lined up to deposit hoards of students from far ends of Houston. We had arranged in advance for special seating and thus we ended up in the second, third and fourth row of the theater. (A big thank you to Mr. Todd's wife, Christine for helping to arrange this.) Our students had the advantage of not being distracted by so many people around them. There was nothing to block their view of the orchestra pit and the stage of talented dancers performing in the midst of the elaborate scenery. One students told her Mom excitedly, "We were right TOE level!"
Our students were enthralled with the ballet. They sat for the 40 minutes in advance of the start and they sat through the performance. I thought we would be able to stand and stretch during the 20-minute intermission, but instead, there was a ballet educator who spoke to the audience during that time to explain background information about The Nutcracker. It was interesting that they raised the curtain to let the students see what happens "behind the curtain" as sets were changed and prepared for the second half. Some schools had trouble keeping their students quiet or in their seats while others were distracted by the "snow" that fell from the Wortham ceiling during the show. It was definitely an asset that we had all teachers and administrators in attendance at the show. No staff were left behind!
Once the ballet was over, it was a short walk to Market Square Park, where the students enjoyed the sunshine and cool weather while eating their lunches. The bus returned everyone to school with a little time before afternoon dismissal.
