Life at AnK headquarters is often hectic, insanely busy, with a to do list several pages long, thus this blog tends to be very neglected. Late last year we had a week that topped the scales in the Crazy Busy department. The kids were madly trying to finish their last unit of the new national curriculum 'School of the Air' papers and I was madly trying to get enough stock together for the Emerald Craft and Gift Fair (the biggest market that AnK attend each year).
My father in law had been ill for some time and unfortunately passed away one day short of his 81st birthday.
In the space of 5 days we attended the Craft Fair (Friday and Saturday), the kids end of year A Town dance performance (Sunday), my father in laws funeral and Kids in Space Dress rehearsal (Monday and 300km apart), and the kids school graduation and Kids In Space production (Tuesday). To say we were exhausted was an understatement and thanks to the support of family and friends we managed to make it through Crazy Busy Week.
So what was Kids In Space ?? For those of you who don't know my 11 year old twins are schooled through Distance Education (previously known as 'School of the Air'). Earlier in 2012 our deputy principal had come up with a grand plan of having an end of year musical. No easy feat considering the school enrolments cover an area more than twice the size of Victoria. Auditions were held via individual videos being sent to the school and a cast for Kids In Space was selected. Here they are:
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That's Kristy's Miss M front in green shirt and to her left
also in a green shirt is Angie's Miss M. |
The school got together for a cultural camp week in Term 3 and each year level also practiced their dance at their mini-school week. Otherwise all of the songs, dances and main cast lines were learnt 'on air' over the phone and with a DVD of our Deputy principal dancing all the dances !
Of course there were lots of supporting adults, in particular we had assistance from Sean Dennehy from Moving Opera QLD, school staff as makeup artists, sound technicians and general organisers. Somewhere along the journey I was asked if I could find some tutus and before I knew it I was costume designer. The costumes were literally sourced from all around the world, they had to fit the theme of each year level dance and be affordable and age appropriate, and also in the right size !! I chewed through massive amounts of internet sourcing costumes and our costume design team used Pinterest as a viewing board. {Note: I never knew how many websites Ed QLD staff were banned from accessing until we commenced this project !!}
Our govie at the time, Miss Courtney, also spent long hours altering and making costumes on the sewing machine. Other parents were coerced into packing, hemming, ironing and adjusting 120 odd costumes. Lots of phone calls, emails and Pinterest viewing later we were ready to rock and roll.
The kids did a dress rehearsal the night before the big performance and before we knew it the time had come to put on the show. And what a show they put on !!
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| Prep and Year 1 perform to Perpetual Motion |
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Year 2/3 Bubblegummers
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Yr 4 and Main Cast Robots - Felt Robot Costumes from
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| Yr 5 Eye in the Sky |
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| Yr 6 The Black Hole |
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| Year 7 and Main Cast Pirates - Singlets from MEandREEKIE |
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| The main cast and the finale of Kids In Space |
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| Mrs Moore (in black tee) celebrates the success of Kids in Space with LSODE mums Anita, Sarah and Lisa. |
It was a mind blowing performance supported by a group of AMAZING school staff and parents. Hats off to Mrs Moore for pulling off such a TERRIFIC showcase of the talent at LSODE. It was a pleasure to work with such a dedicated and fantastic team. I'm sure all those who had the opportunity to attend were amazed. We can't wait for the next one......bubblegum, bubblegum, bubble gum gum gum...BUBBLEGUM @!@
