More about our Seasonal Concert (December 15th, 2011)

You can find all of the photos I took of this event in an earlier post but Carl has been a big help and written all about the performances. His report follows:

It was yet another successful Seasonal Concert with fantastic performances from all the pupils from Junior 1 up to Senior 6. Parents have commented on how great the show was this year and how impressed they were with the talent of the school. Mrs. Smart’s hard work obviously paid off.

Highlights of the show included:

The Junior School

Little Cherub Choir (J1-J3) who sang ‘Basil Belmont’ and ‘All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth’- which was suitable for some of the children on stage!

J4-J6 Choir who dazzled us with ‘Santa Fever’ and their ‘Showbiz Snowman’ song, in a stupendous Broadway / Winter style with walking sticks and woolly hats instead of canes and top hats.

Junior crackers (J5 Soloists) - Violinists Olivia G and Jackie M who played ‘Jingle Bells’.

Trumpeter - Struan B who played ‘Good King Wenceslas’.

Definitely talent for the future!

The Senior School

Guitar Club (S1 to S6 performed ‘Marry You’ by Bruno Mars with Ed M and Dylan M who played the bells. Jodie M (S3) was our ‘front-woman’ both singing and playing the guitar while the Senior Choir joined in with the chorus.

Celtic Group which never fails to impress, performed the Indiana Jones theme, 'Palladio' and 'Celtic Christmas'. They also performed the ‘Fairytale of New York’ and with a different spin had the lovely Alison B dance on stage in her colourful Irish dancing dress.

Soloists- (S3 Girls) Miriam S, Aqsa S, Jodie M and Tara P sang a lovely cover of ‘When You Wish upon a Star’.

(Ashleigh M)- sang ‘Hallelujah’ and then a duet of ‘Silent Night’ on piano with Cameron M. Both songs were beautifully performed which meant that the audience could sit back and relax.

(Austin M)- who played the guitar to ‘Sound the Bells’. As usual, our very own Jimmy Hendrix sounded superb.

(Me- Carl M)- I sang ‘You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch’ from the film; you guessed it, The Grinch. I don’t know how it sounded, so it could have been terrible, but I enjoyed singing it anyway because it was a fun song to doJ.

(Drama)- Throughout the evening we were entertained by some of the junior senior members of the Drama Club who performed Christmas monologues. Well done to Abigail L, Lauren S, Hannah B, Robyn L, Nairne C and Jack R.

(Staff/ Senior Choir)- we performed the songs 'Dinner Bell' and 'Now in Bethlehem'. Staff appearances included Mr. Pichotka (who was held the part 2’s together), Mr. Lee and Mr. Doak (who were hiding at the back of the choir) and Jennifer Moore.

Elf Bell Ringers- now some of these names may ring a bell; Jonny T, Andrew W, Ryan M and Sam A rang bells to 'Jingle Bells' which was absolutely hilarious. Santa Claus was also able to make a special visit to Belmont when the audience joined in with Jingle Bells. Santa was great, the kids were hyper and we were bombarded with sweets. Everybody won!

Senior Choir- performed 'Movin’ On Up' (which we recorded for the BBC for Children In Need), performed Where You Lead (the song from Gilmore Girls), 'Silver Bells', 'It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year' and A Holiday Sing-along (to end off the show with the Celtic Group).

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Good bless us everyone!

In case you missed our Remembrance Day Play...

Jennifer has prepared an excellent synopsis of it for us:

The one act plays were put together by the drama group and Ms. Miller to honour Remembrance Day. It was predominantly to allow pupils from transitus to S3 to showcase their talents to their parents. The first play, "An Old Woman Shows Her Medals" by James Barrie, was the more serious and sentimental of the two. Set during WWII, it is about a lonely old woman and a soldier from the war who find happiness in one another’s friendship. The purpose of the second, Anton Chekhov’s "The Proposal", is the one I performed in and was for comic relief. Ivan Vassiliyitch Lomov, attempts to propose to his neighbour Stephan Stepanovitch Chubukov’s daughter Natalya (my character). Things get completely out of order as the couple-to-be are a little too argumentative for their own good. Not only did the play relieve the audience's mood, it was a fun and relaxing performance to give. The characters were very over the top, so we could really express ourselves and have fun with it. Also we didn't have copious amounts of dialogue to learn; it was an off-the-script reading. Another thing I liked about it was the set up - there was no stage or lighting, just a ring of seats around a small makeshift scene. This made the performance more intimate and less intimidating for the younger actors. The evening was also accompanied by the choir, so everyone got involved. A lot of effort and dedication was evident on the night, it was enjoyable for both the performers and the audience.

Belmont's Seasonal Concert -- In Pictures

Junior and Senior Choirs prepare to perform!

The Little Cherubs relax and watch the older students take centre stage.

"Hey, Jingle Belmont!"

"Silver Bells".

"It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year".

Olivia & Jackie

Struan

The Orchestra perform "Palladio".

"Celtic Christmas".

"Basil Belmont".

"Santa Fever".

"The Night Before Christmas" -- Nairne & Jack

"Hallelujah" -- Ashleigh

"When You Wish Upon A Star" -- S3

"Where You Lead"

"Marry You"

"Moving On Up"

"Showbiz Snowman".

"Mr. Grinch".

"Dinner Bell" -- Staff & Senior Choir

"Now In Bethlehem"

Hey, Jingle Belmont!

 

Belmont House School recently held its annual Christmas extravaganza, “Jingle Belmont”, hosting a diverse range of stallholders and a plethora of fun activities for the children: from mini golf to meeting Santa and his elves!

Adults paid £5 for entry and refreshments and were serenaded on arrival by Belmont’s own string ensemble, the Celtic Group, performing an array of traditional holiday songs.

Adults browsed the stalls, getting in some early Christmas shopping for goods including children’s books, handcrafted scarves, ornaments and traditional holiday gifts, Scottish cheeses, oatcakes and jams, decorative holiday cupcakes, toys and novelty items for children, handbags, all-natural soaps and bath products, candles....But by far the most popular item for sale was jewellery and kids’ jewellery. Let's take a look at what was on offer!

Ken Reid Photography. He generously donates £25 to the school if you mention Belmont when you book a session.

Maggie, a former PTA member and Hamish, a former pupil. Maggie studied Textile Design at the Glasgow School of Art, where Hamish is currently working towards a degree in Jewellery and Silversmithing.

On top of this, manicures, eyebrow waxes and spa treatments were available all night along with home-pampering gift sets.

Our most ambitious students skilfully managed their stalls alongside their experienced competitors.

Girls from the Junior School’s Raggy Dolls club applied hard selling strategies with great profit (much to the envy of the stallholders around them).

The Fair Trade group had ethical and affordable snacks on offer.

The Enterprise Group presented a variety of sweets and odds and ends.

The aforementioned Enterprising lads.

Inside Santa's Grotto.

Our younger pupils were delighted to meet Santa, a former member of our Board of Governors, and discuss their particular requirements for this holiday season.

Last year, the PTA donated £4000 to the School for the purchase of portable staging. We’re aiming to smash last year’s total and obtain a sound system for the school hall by next summer. We managed to raise close to £2,000 from this year's Jingle Belmont, which gives us a great start for this project!



Principal Melvyn Shanks on the left and Allan Gibson (Board of Governors) on the right.



This blog is going on a brief holiday hiatus with the rest of us but be sure to watch this space in early 2012 as we'll be discussing our Seasonal Concert and Junior School Christmas Play as well as working through some more of 2011's important news while keeping you up-to-date with exciting, ongoing Belmont events -- like our week-long ski trip to Italy!

 

Merry Christmas from all of us at Belmont!