Dare to Dance

Last night, family and friends of the Dryden Dance Company delighted in their showcase performance. Students in this club come from all backgrounds and levels of dance experience. They worked together and formed strong friendships during their time in this club. 

Mrs. Pemberton, their dance instructor and choreographer, highlighted the many benefits the dance experience brings to individuals:

• Self-confidence
• Cultural appreciation
• Physical fitness
• Coordination
• Brain development
• Teamwork
• Positive relationships
• Creative expression

Dance can also be a medium for story-telling. One of my favorite dances was to the song "Technologic" by Daft Punk. Mrs. Pemberton explained that the story was about how information can spread very quickly through the Internet, and that it is also important to balance "time on tech" with enjoying time away from technology throughout your life.

The Dryden Dance Company's debut was a big success. We are so proud of our dancers' courage, creativity, collaboration and coordination!

Volleyball Night Highlights

We thank the PTA for a wonderful, action-packed evening of friendly volleyball competition!

Since volleyball is not a competitive sport at this age level, the competition puts all students who participate on an even playing field. 

Parent volunteers help with supervising teams, refereeing, handing out refreshments and keeping score. 

Students enjoy the opportunity hang out with their friends and cheer each other on. 

The most exciting game is the championship game at the end. 

What a fun evening! These fifth graders will have many fond memories of their time at Dryden!

Celebrating Culture and History

It was so wonderful to celebrate, learn and experience the different world cultures of the families in our school district at the PTA Cultural Arts Fair this past Wednesday. 

Armenian Display

There were beautiful displays of artifacts, posters, maps, artwork and clothing from over 15 different countries.

Filipino Display

The music and dance performances by the students were truly remarkable!

Indian Bollywood Dance

Traditional Polish Dance

In addition to the global focus of learning and celebrating so many cultures from around the world, 

I got to learn about Illinois history over the decades from our third grade students. 

Each group wrote and performed a script highlighting important events from Illinois history. 

Between each performance, they summarized and recorded notes on a timeline. 

It was so great to see how the students were so actively teaching and learning from one another!

I was so impressed!