You may have noticed that during December the whole school was undergoing a change. The teachers and pupils gradually turned into script writers, directors, actors, singers and dancers.
To start with, the Christmas Show preparations were merely an enrichment of the ordinary timetable. However, further down the line it was the ordinary timetable that became the enrichment of the rehearsal schedule. The children took part in an intensive course on how to perform in front of an audience or how to act in a role. The children exercised their memories and opened up to channel their creativity. Last but not least we all experienced the need to pull together as a team since the final performance was a result of cumulative effort.
The fantastic culmination of the rehearsal process was an evening in the Auditorium of the Pedagogická fakulta UP. The comperes for the night in both English and Czech were one of the oldest students Natálie and Maxim. Their performance was a great success. After the initial welcome the stage was taken over by the youngest actors and actresses from Years 1 and 2 who performed a story about a family attending a concert. By coincidence the concert takes place next to a ZOO. The narrator is a child who falls asleep during the show. As it happens, the ensuing child's dream becomes an incredible mix of impressions and experiences with an intoxicating effect on the audience. The animals from the ZOO take over the orchestra, which leads to the children finishing off with a message: ¨accept the unpredictable symphony of life´.
The following performance by the Year 3 and 4 children encouraged us to think about what constitutes the best gift of all. A little girl receives a small Christmas present and feels disappointed as she has expected something grand and fabulous. She loses no time and embarks on a journey to look for that special great gift. However, along her journey she discovers that the greatest gifts are often those that seem the most ordinary. The audience could join the girl in realising that ´the best gift is to spend our time with those we love´.
After the intermission, the Years 5 and 6 pupils were ready to present their performance which was inspired by the story of the Musicians of Bremen. In this fairy tale a few animal friends decide to leave home to become famous musicians. During their truly unbelievable journey they solve a crime and on top of that they save the Olomouc Christmas market. The children presented us with their message, which was: ´It is never too late to fulfil your dreams´.
The performance by the Secondary students (i.e. the Years 7 and 8/9) followed. It was based on the film Jumanji. In the story, as if by miracle, some children find themselves in the Christmas world of Jumanji. Here they have to face various trials and tribulations. They have to act together to be able to transport themselves back home. Everyone involved - the actors, the characters in the story and the audience - felt keenly the message of the performance: ´We are stronger as a team´.
All the plays up until this point were in English. The final performance was, however, in Czech. It was presented by pupils who take Czech as a Second Language lessons. We were all thoroughly impressed by their performance. Their play was inspired by the well known Czech fairy tale The Twelve Months. In this story an evil stepmother no longer wants to celebrate Christmas in December when it is dark and cold. She sends her stepdaughter Maruška to visit the Twelve Months. They mull the stepmother´s wish over and each month describes itself with a short poem. Their decision becomes the final message: ´Christmas brings light and warmth in the midst of the December darkness and cold.´
After the final curtain call the audience were addressed by the Head of School and her Deputy. All the teachers also appeared on the stage for a brief moment. Finally, the whole school gathered together to sing Christmas songs in Czech and English, in which they were joined by the audience.
After the show we departed into a foggy night. We hope that our show helped you to adjust to a mood reflective of the fact that Christmas is just around the corner. We promise to do our best to turn our ´theatre company´ back into a school once the festive season is over.
Why should your child attend iSchool?
They will gain perfect knowledge of English.
Your child will become a global citizen with wide understanding of local and international topics.
We put a strong emphasis on the development on subject specific skills rather than on acquisition of knowledge.
Emphasis on skills development (not just memorising).
Individual approach; school’s ability to motivate for improvement.
Your child will be excited to come to school.
School philosophy
You are not buying success, you are paying for the school to monitor your child’s progress to their goals and motivate them to fulfil their potential.
We are not a selective school: we believe that everybody can be successful.
