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What can I say????? THE LION KING JR had us ALL awestruck!!!!!!!!

My 2 grandchildren, Lily 7 and Charlie almost 4, were mesmerized, friends from outside of school were amazed and thoroughly entertained.  We laughed, we cried, and we clapped until our hands were sore!  My grandson and granddaughter joined in with spirit and at one point, Charlie was clapping on his head!!!! I was just bursting with pride for the students' hard and focused work with long hours, colleagues that I have always admired for their professionalism and creativity, are now super heroes and heroines! Last but anything but the least were all the parents who took ownership and with pride helped in every way imaginable, including making costumes and masks that were extraordinary.  Never have I felt so much a part of a "creative happening" that yielded such astonishing results.  Students, teachers, parents (of course those professionals behind the stage and new Performing Arts Center were a TEAM in the finest sense of the word.....Way to go everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It may be "the end" of an unforgettable performance but the spirit of all the animals remain with me, especially Joy the elephant....Autumn and Walter the giraffes will also be near and dear to my heart....along with those special students who through their own creative spirit brought these animals to life.  With love to everyone, Alice

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Along with The LION KING, the 5th grade students are showing off their Africa inspired hats!

This beautiful and colorful exhibition was inspire by Stacy Miller's visit from NY who brought along an extraordinary group of African hats and headdresses.  This modern approach clearly demonstrates the influence of the shape and materials of the hats and headdresses they observed...Special thanks to Stacy who teaches far and wide about the various cultures of the world through sharing her own personal stories of being in that culture.  Using the hats in her collection of 1500 hats and other head gear is a unique, fascinating and visual approach to teaching culture and history! She has even taken some of her collection for an interview on the TODAY show! 

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Meet Autumn and Walter, soon to appear in The Lion King!

Autumn and Walter are almost ready to be fitted for 2 tall students in The Lion King. During the process of creating these very "tall heads", at some point we all felt them come to life!  Their names came from our two giraffes at the Greenville Zoo, much loved by all of us who have seen them.  Autumn and Walter's baby, Tatu (In Swahili it means 3rd child) has become the most recent celebrity at the zoo since his birth on February 2nd 2016.

What can I say except that many of us are forming an emotional attachment to Autumn and Walter....Hope you will come see them in action on May 6th and 7th at CCES! 

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Here's wishing all of you out there, family, friends and strangers, Peace, Joy and Love on this Easter Sunday!

One of my most vivid memories of living in Paris from the ages of 10-12, was my father coming home from work in downtown Paris with bunches of tulips purchased from the flower market for my mother. Thus, for me, tulips have come to symbolize the deep love that my parents shared throughout their marriage, even during those difficult years for Paris, Europe and the world, of 1955 to 1958...

Imagine this, my mother Alice, lived her entire adult life in Florence, SC until she met my father Norman Ballard during WWII. They met when he was stationed in Florence in 1944 where I came along a year later.  After a couple of moves stateside, I wonder how she was able manage with 2 children and life in the neighborhood of Saint Cloud on the outskirts of Paris.  The Hungarian Revolt, the shut down of the Suez canal during the winter (this meant no heat one winter because there was no coal), the flooding of the Marne River where we lived, along with the unrest and bombings in the city of Paris due to the difficult relations between the French and the Algerians, were all events that happened during the years we lived in and loved Paris... Way to go MOM, is all I can say!  

One of my tulips that has returned for a second year.  Did I mention that tulips always remind me of Easter.

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