The Rocky Mount Academy Cafetorium (and parking lot of course) was packed as per usual on Thursday, December 8th for the annual Rocky Mount Academy Holiday Concert. Parents, grandparents, friends and students arrived early to snag a good seat in anticipation of the wonderful event. As guests entered Proctor hall, they were greeted by Media Office members selling DVD’s of the concert, Youth and Government club members selling raffle tickets and the Parents’ Organization selling leftover items from the Dewey’s bakery fundraiser. Also, friendly fourth grade students passed out programs at the door for those attending the concert.

Headmaster Beth Covolo opened the concert at promptly 6:00, addressing the elephant in the tightly packed room- Rocky Mount Academy has obtained so many lovely students and therefore outgrown the space we have! This was the perfect time for Ms. Covolo to discuss the new additions that Rocky Mount Academy has planned, and offered to talk to anyone interested in learning more about the plans. There are great things planned for the future!

After Ms. Covolo opened the concert, the talented lower school actors began the concert. Perhaps concert is not the most accurate title, as there were actors and a plot throughout the entirety of the evening. Entitled “Santa Gets an iPad”, the play presented a creative and modern tale about Santa Claus, played by Vann Davis, learning to use his brand new iPad. Given to him by the Easter Bunny and his little bunny, played by Parker Sherrod and Mary Powell Chesnut, his iPad brings about technology that is new to Santa. He is introduced to Facebook, Skype and the idea of making a playlist. Throughout the play, Mrs. Claus, played by Greyson Thorne, would add a song to the playlist and it was performed by either the pre-k and kindergarten, lower school students, middle and upper school chorus or the Spanish IV and V class.

The first songs were “Christmas Time is Here” and “The Chipmunk Song” performed by RMA’s youngest and perhaps most adorable students in Pre-K and Kindergarten. Not only were their voices precious, but the motions they did with the song made it enjoyable and fun to watch! Following them, the lower school sang “Candy Cane Lane”. Next, the middle and upper school chorus performed the classic Christmas song “Holiday Road” from the infamous movie titled National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Following the upper and middle school, lower school took over again to sing a jazzy song “Sugar Cookie”, making everyone in the audience wish they had a cookie to eat! Spanish IV and V students, led by Profesora Marin, performed the classic Hispanic Christmas song, “Mi Burrito Sabanero”. And no, sadly the song is not about burritos as one may think! It translates to “My Little Donkey”. Following this song was the favorite song of many students, “Moves Like Santa” which was a parody of “Moves like Jagger”. It was very upbeat and accompanied by a dancing Santa! Another parody, the upper and middle school chorus performed “The Twelve Days of a Regifted Christmas” before the last song of the night, “Thankful.” The song made popular by Josh Groban was a tear-jerker for sure, as the lower school and upper school voices came together, sending the message of thankfulness at this special season.

The concert was a huge success and was enjoyed by many. When asked about the concert, lower school music teacher and therefore organizer of the concert, Gloriane Jeffreys stated; “Putting a show like this together is always fun for me. From picking the songs to hearing the students perform, it’s an absolute joy and I feel so very privileged to have had a part. I also love how all the faculty rally around the fine arts department to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. They are unsung heroes! The older I get, the more I see how it truly takes a village, and at RMA, our village rocks!” Without Mrs. Jeffrey’s leadership, Shawn Leonard’s student band and sound help and Dawn Whitehurst as the drama director, the show would not have been such a large success.