It won’t just be high schoolers entertaining crowds in the PAC this holiday season. Preschool students, assisted by child development students, are set to take the stage. 

Rosemary Caparelli, the Little Bears teacher and Child Development teacher, has been doing the show with her preschool students (called the Little Bears) for 20 years. The shows, which are open to anyone but mostly geared for parents and grandparents, are the week before winter break, one for the three year olds on Friday the 21st and one for the four year olds on Thursday the 20th.

“It’s really nice to see how they have progressed through the year and their ability tomemorize songs, it has improved so much. It’s so exciting seeing what we’ve taught them, and seeing that we made an impact on them.” Jessica Kroczak, senior in the class, said.

There will be nothing new other than the songs in this year’s shows, and they will be dancing in their routines. As far as organization and the format of the show, Caparelli keeps these shows uniform because it’s been successful in past years.

“I know how the kids work, and I have my little elves, my high schoolers, to help me make sure the show runs smoothly,” Caparelli said.

Caparelli’s high schoolers are also there to help Caparelli with the copious amount of children, and some have been doing this for a while, like Kroczak. Another one of Caparelli’s helpers is Adrianna Franzen, junior in the class. In addition to helping, Caparelli’s students aim to keep the children focused for the show.

“They go into [the show] knowing that they are performing for their parents, so they want to do good already, and we practice a lot so that helps them memorize the songs.  Also, right before the show we sing [the songs] a few times,” Frazen said.

The other way the preschoolers are encouraged to focus is through the spirit of the Holiday according to Frazen.

“They really love Christmas because of the whole aspect, so they were already kind of into the Christmas songs,” Frazen said. “If you put forth more energy and get into it more, they are bound to focus more.”

Even with focus and practice, Caparelli’s preschoolers can still get nervous or scared before the show. According to Frazen it’s from the anticipation of seeing Santa who gives out presents to the children (played by Drivers Ed teacher Dan Strickler) or just performing in general or may be something else.

“We had to reassure them that they were okay and if they didn’t want to go up to see Santa, they didn’t have to because that was one of their biggest worries. Or sometimes we’d just make them look at their parents, and they’d feel relaxed because they were there,” Frazen said.

Another challenge could arise if the preschoolers speak another language instead of predominantly English because it makes it harder for the high school to communicate with the children.

“Some of the kids spoke Spanish, so we had people like Adrianna who speaks Spanish go over to them and communicate in Spanish and English to help them learn English better,” Kroczak said.

This whole show can bring them all together too according to Kroczak. The students need to be able to communicate as well if they want the show to run smoothly like Caparelli intends.

“Sometimes [the older students] had a hard time telling [her freshman class] what to do because my class wasn’t as close as [her class now] are. This year we’ve gotten a chance to get closer with each other so when we do tell someone what to do it is easier for them to listen because we are friends,” Kroczak said.

With all of everyone’s effort put in, things still can happen. They all prepare for any mishaps, and do the best they can to make this holiday show enjoyable for everyone; grandparents, parents, siblings, family, and anyone else.

“You never know what the little kids are going to do,” Caparelli said. “I’ve never had anyone fall off the stage or pee their pants, but you never know what will happen.”

It won’t just be high schoolers entertaining crowds in the PAC this holiday season. Preschool students, assisted by child development students, are set to take the stage.

Rosemary Caparelli, the Little Bears teacher and Child Development teacher, has been doing the show with her preschool students (called the Little Bears) for 20 years. The shows, which are open to anyone but mostly geared for parents and grandparents, are the week before winter break, one for the three year olds on Friday the 21st and one for the four year olds on Thursday the 20th.

“It’s really nice to see how they have progressed through the year and their ability to memorize songs, it has improved so much. It’s so exciting seeing what we’ve taught them, and seeing that we made an impact on them.” Jessica Kroczak, senior in the class, said.

There will be nothing new other than the songs in this year’s shows, and they will be dancing in their routines. As far as organization and the format of the show, Caparelli keeps these shows uniform because it’s been successful in past years.

“I know how the kids work, and I have my little elves, my high schoolers, to help me make sure the show runs smoothly,” Caparelli said.

Caparelli’s high schoolers are also there to help Caparelli with the copious amount of children, and some have been doing this for a while, like Kroczak. Another one of Caparelli’s helpers is Adrianna Franzen, junior in the class. In addition to helping, Caparelli’s students aim to keep the children focused for the show.

“They go into [the show] knowing that they are performing for their parents, so they want to do good already, and we practice a lot so that helps them memorize the songs.  Also, right before the show we sing [the songs] a few times,” Frazen said.

The other way the preschoolers are encouraged to focus is through the spirit of the Holiday according to Frazen.

“They really love Christmas because of the whole aspect, so they were already kind of into the Christmas songs,” Frazen said. “If you put forth more energy and get into it more, they are bound to focus more.”

Even with focus and practice, Caparelli’s preschoolers can still get nervous or scared before the show. According to Frazen it’s from the anticipation of seeing Santa who gives out presents to the children (played by Drivers Ed teacher Dan Strickler) or just performing in general or may be something else.

“We had to reassure them that they were okay and if they didn’t want to go up to see Santa, they didn’t have to because that was one of their biggest worries. Or sometimes we’d just make them look at their parents, and they’d feel relaxed because they were there,” Frazen said.

Another challenge could arise if the preschoolers speak another language instead of predominantly English because it makes it harder for the high school to communicate with the children.

“Some of the kids spoke Spanish, so we had people like Adrianna who speaks Spanish go over to them and communicate in Spanish and English to help them learn English better,” Kroczak said.

This whole show can bring them all together too according to Kroczak. The students need to be able to communicate as well if they want the show to run smoothly like Caparelli intends.

“Sometimes [the older students] had a hard time telling [her freshman class] what to do because my class wasn’t as close as [her class now] are. This year we’ve gotten a chance to get closer with each other so when we do tell someone what to do it is easier for them to listen because we are friends,” Kroczak said.

With all of everyone’s effort put in, things still can happen. They all prepare for any mishaps, and do the best they can to make this holiday show enjoyable for everyone; grandparents, parents, siblings, family, and anyone else.

“You never know what the little kids are going to do,” Caparelli said. “I’ve never had anyone fall off the stage or pee their pants, but you never know what will happen.”