Third Graders at St. Anne’s Producing
Original Opera about Dangerous Thrills

     January 23, 2008, Middletown, DE --  For the past several years, the third grade classes at St. Anne’s Episcopal School have written, produced and performed an original opera. This year’s opera, produced by the Third Grade Crystal Clear Opera Company, is titled Dangerous Thrills.
     According to Michael Fiorile and Joseph Sardo, members of the Opera Company’s Public Relations Team, the story line for Dangerous Thrills includes a situation where a person is teased, and to then to retaliate against the person who did the teasing, dares the individual to journey into a zoo – at night, by himself.
     Third grader Tyler Gross said he likes it when Danielle, one of the characters, ends up in the zoo, and then hides from the guard trying to find her.
     There are 31 students in the two third-grade classes at St. Anne’s Episcopal School. This year, they formed the Crystal Clear Opera Company. The students then auditioned for jobs in the opera company, such as public relations team, composer, carpenter, make-up artist and costume designer, set designer, electrician, performer, historian, writer, stage managers, and production manager.  They have worked together to write the script, compose the music, design and build sets, wire foot lights, design makeup and costumes, and publicize the show. There’s even an historian who documents the whole process.
     “I like to be assistant stage manager because I get to spend time with performers and I think the Opera is very funny to watch,” said Andrew Ball. Andrew’s sister was the stage manager when she was in third grade at St. Anne’s.
     Mrs. Jo Harney, choral director at St. Anne’s, brought the idea of a class opera with her when she came from another school who performed one every year under her direction. “Every year is different,” she said, “and each year’s opera is very good.”
     G. Harvey Zendt, Head of St. Anne’s School, says that when children talk about their experience at St. Anne’s, they always talk about their memorable experiences with the third grade Opera. “I love to watch the preparation, he said. “The children are involved in every aspect – from building the sets and wiring the lighting, to performing in the show. It’s a unique experience and a great education for the children involved.”
     St. Anne’s Episcopal School is located at 211 Silver Lake Road in Middletown. Performances will be on Wednesday, March 12^th and Thursday, March 13th.  Admission is free.  For more information, please call the school at (302) 378-3179, ext. 323 for Mrs. Harney, or ext. 347 for Lisa Chase, Director of Marketing and Development.
     Creating Original Opera is a program of the Metropolitan Opera Guild.  This Creating Original Opera project is made possible by the Metropolitan Opera Guild Education Department, the G.E. Fund, and Geraldine R. Dodge Fountain.

Middle School Students at St. Anne’s Episcopal School Award $10,000 in Grants to Local Charities

       Middletown, DE, December 14, 2007 -- Each year, the Sunshine Lady Foundation gives St. Anne’s Episcopal School a $10,000 grant for the purpose of distributing the money to local organizations in need. The Sunshine Lady Foundation’s mission is to invest in organizations and programs dedicated to providing opportunities for the advancement of education, well being and new life choices for disadvantaged people. The foundation is located in Morehead City, North Carolina, and was founded by Doris Buffett.   
     Students in the Middle School at St. Anne’s incorporate the foundation’s mission into their school projects by forming a relationship with a local charity.  The students spend a month researching their assigned charity and at the end they give a formal presentation in which they seek to convince the audience that their charity deserves the support of The SLF and St. Anne’s. Students vie to give the best presentation about their organization.  The top project earns a $3,000 grant for the charity.
     This past year, the school supported 19 charities.  Each organization that participated received a $250 minimum contribution.  This year’s best project award went to Amani Clark and Julie Macedo for their work with Urban Promise in Wilmington.  Urban Promise received $3,000 grant that they will use to improve facilities and provide scholarships to families of need. Second place went to Drew Price and Joseph Xu whose work with Friendship House landed the organization a $1,500 grant.
      “The Philanthropy project is wonderful in so many ways, but most importantly, it empowers our students to understand the positive impact they can have on their community,” said Matt Wolinski, a social studies teacher at St. Anne’s. “The responsibility of giving away $10,000 to worthy causes is a remarkable challenge for 13 and 14 year olds.  We were overwhelmed by the maturity, compassion, and dedication that our students demonstrated.” 
     Amani Clark, winner of the overall project along with Julie Macedo, visited Urban Promise in order to research her project and said it was an unforgettable experience.
     “The students of Urban Promise were very open of accepting new friends, and we bonded immediately after sharing common hobbies and interest,” she said.  “Overall I loved the experience of visiting and the project all together. The hard work paid off!”
     Rob Prestowitz, Executive Director of Urban Promise said that the grant from St. Anne’s, backed by the $10,000 gift from the Sunshine Lady, made a huge difference in one young man’s life at Urban Promise. “That gift was absolutely vital to enabling a young man in our school to get the education deliberately requested for by a state agency,” he said. “If we did not receive that gift, we would not have had the means to make this positive difference in this child’s life.”

Drew and Joseph present Bill Perkins, Director of Friendship House in Wilmington, with a $1,500 check.

 

St. Anne’s Fourth Graders Enjoy Special Miracle on 34^th Street Courtroom scene performed by St. Anne’s Trustee

 December 19, 2007, Middletown, DE -- Since December of 2004, courtrooms throughout Delaware have delighted school-aged children with the reenactment of the courtroom scene of Miracle on 34^th Street so they can see a real courtroom and how the legal process works.
     The fourth graders at St. Anne’s Episcopal School had an opportunity to see this performance at the Kent County Courthouse on December 12th.   Justice Henry DuPont Ridgely, who serves on the Delaware Supreme court, is a trustee of St. Anne’s Episcopal School.
     “It was a very awesome play,” said Ethan Bloomfield, who lives in Middletown. “I thought it was cool how the judge really was a judge, and I even got to talk to him.”
     Ridgely was approached by attorney Richard Herrmann, Esq. about this educational and memorable program. “Without hesitation, I thought this would be a wonderful way to teach about the courts while spreading the spirit of the Christmas season,” Justice Ridgely, who plays the presiding judge, said. The court obtained permission from Twentieth Century Fox to use their script and developed a program to present to elementary school children in Wilmington, Dover and Georgetown.
     Justice Ridgely’s “Miracle Team,” includes Kris Kringle, who is played by Dan Slipetsky.  Madeline Hughes is a very talented young actress who plays the prosecutor’s daughter.  The prosecutor is played by former Attorney General M. Jane Brady, now a superior court judge.  Eric Robbins plays the Delaware Postmaster.  Franny Haney of the AOC coordinates arrangements in each courthouse and with the schools. 
     This year, more than 1,950 elementary school students learned about Delaware’s court system and trial procedures through the performance of the courtroom scene in Miracle on 34^th Street. Delaware judges, lawyers, and others working in the justice system gave 12 performances which were presented in Georgetown, Dover and Wilmington. Since 2004, more than 6,400 students have seen the show.
     Jocelyn Sanders, a fourth grade teacher at St. Anne’s exclaimed after the show,” I know my rights, I know the law, I truly believe that man is Santa Claus,” she told the children on the bus ride back to school.
     “It is a special experience for me and all who participated to teach the kids in this unique way and to share the spirit of Christmas,” said Justice Henry DuPont Ridgely.  “The movie, Miracle on 34^th Street, is absolutely is my favorite. There are two versions and I prefer the original. That is the one we use for our reenactment.
     “It is truly a group effort by our “Miracle Team.” And we have the full collaboration of the Delaware Superior Court and the Administrative Office of the Courts as well. Together, we have created a unique learning experience for Delaware students and unforgettable memories for ourselves about teaching the legal process with the spirit of the holidays. We believe.”