Taylor School presents "Friendly Neighborhood Helpers"

TROY, NY (12/07/2010)(readMedia)-- Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre at the Arts Center, 265 River Street, Troy. Students in kindergarten, first and second grades from the Susan Odell Taylor School will perform the musical, "Friendly Neighborhood Helpers".

The 25-minute performance includes eleven numbers and features songs about firefighters, mail carriers, grocers, dentists and many more who work every day to make their neighborhood a better place to live.

Jennifer Philbin, grade 1-2 teacher at the Taylor School, directs the musical. Kourtney LaDu, Kindergarten teacher, will assist to organize the students and get them into costumes. Each student has made his/her own costume for the performance.

Philbin explains that the students have been working on this project since September. It is a culmination of several methods of studying the inner workings of a community. The students learn; what a neighborhood is, how families live and work together, what family traditions are and how communities solve problems.

The students then create (physically through an art project constructing model homes/buildings) a neighborhood with families, homes and businesses. Problems develop (for example) when the neighborhood becomes littered and when a speeding car injures a neighbor. Students (as members of this community) learn about civic participation and the efforts necessary to make a neighborhood safe.

To deepen the learning experience, the students also visited the Albany International Airport and a local fire station to learn about the roles they each play in the community. As a way to encapsulate the learning experience, each year the school does a play.

The performance is a free event, open to the public. After the show, there will be a meet and greet with the cast and refreshments will be served. A great family event.