The past weekend was the culmination of 74 days of hard work by the JIS Junior School students (Years 3 to 5) and the staff involved in the whole production of Peter Pan. From the stage set-up to the costumes and lights, the show was made possible through a great team of people co-ordinating very well together.

As the voice teacher of some of the students involved, I am definitely proud of this show. The two female leads, Breanna Lee (as Wendy) and Sienna Holmes (as Tinkerbell) are two of my voice students who brilliantly pulled off their acts like pros. Sienna started singing lessons when she was 6 years old. She has sung in many performances and concerts, and has joined the World Championship of Performing Arts in the USA in 2015 winning Gold Medals in various categories. Breanna, on the other hand, started singing lessons around 3 years ago, and she has progressed so very quickly! She joined the Kota Kinabalu Music Competition last year and won Gold for her outstanding performance for her song, Colours of the Wind from Pocahontas under the genre, Musical Theatre. I am very happy for what Breanna and Sienna have accomplished thus far. I do look forward to more successes that they can achieve in the future.

My other students who have just begun singing lessons this year, but nevertheless did very well in the show are:

Maddie Fillion (as the fairy, Silvermist)

Kiara Kruger (as Jukes)

Lois Hogan (as Smee)

Abbie Bannister (as one of the Raccoon Twins)

Melodee Goh (as the Brave Oak)

Lessons from Peter Pan

Musicals like this are very beneficial for students in many ways. And personally, it has given me some important reminders too!

• Peter said, “Think of the happiest things, it’s the same as having wings. Think of a wonderful thought, any merry little thought…like a reindeer in the sky, you can fly, you can fly!” Those are such great lines, aren’t they? Figuratively speaking. Apparently, medical science is in support.  According to Dr. William R. Klemm of Psychology Today, “Happiness can be good for your brain. Positive mood states promote effective thinking and problem solving.”
• In the song, What Makes the Brave Man Brave, there are so many powerful lyrics:

“..but we found quicker than running away is simply just run through…“ – this encourages us to face challenges; face our fears and overcome any obstacles that come our way;

“No one can make you feel small, unless you agree to feel small.” – this line reminds us to be brave; to not be overwhelmed by seemingly great tasks or by people who try to put us down;

” There are some boys like that true, all too proud of what they do, taking credit whenever they can. But if glory they don’t share, don’t be silent and stare, tell ’em quick, tell ’em true of the noble things in you. Not just boys are fighters, not just boys are strong…” – this encourages us all to respect each other regardless of gender.

“Strength and truth keep the brave ones brave!” – this final line of the song reminds us about the importance of these noble traits – being strong and being truthful.

• At the end of the show, we realise that Peter Pan is a noble character because he keeps his promises.

I am sure there are so many great things our students learnt from this show.  It would be interesting to get their feedback, and I do look forward to discussing these in our lessons.

Apart from the morals of the story,  we also learn that….

It takes not only hard work, but smart work to achieve success.

With so many Public Holidays within this term, it was only through a well-planned rehearsal system that we still managed to put on a good show.

It takes a great team to put it all together.

Students from various year levels and their teachers designed and created the amazing array of props and costumes; the Drama and Singing teachers as well as the Parents and the Students themselves coordinated to ensure that they (the students) rehearsed their parts well; the lights and sounds had to be carefully coordinated with what the performers had to do on stage; and so many more behind the stage work.

Reminds me of this African proverb:

“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”

Huge congratulations to all the students, teachers and parents, and the various logistic teams for making the show possible!