LINCOLN — United States citizens’ rights and responsibilities and how people can affect positive change in their communities provide the framework for an original musical theater production, “A Glance at the Lincoln 5/6 Year,” by Lincoln Community School fifth- and sixth-graders. The Friday, May 6, production marks the culmination of a year-long study integrating the humanities and science.
Students have examined citizenship and positive change within the school, the Lincoln and Addison County communities, and beyond. They have raised awareness and funds for causes such as Homeward Bound, Zeno Mountain Farm, Meals on Wheels, and the Spectrum Homeless Youth Program.
Connecting their activism for positive change to the environment, these 11- and 12-year olds are raising native brook trout through the Trout in the Classroom program. From eggs to the fingerling stage of development, students are caring for the trout until their release under the guidance of Vermont Fish and Wildlife personnel into the New Haven River on May 16.
The play is a collection of musical acts interspersed with student-written vignettes that reflect students’ understanding of the interconnection between ecology and responsible citizenship. They have drawn inspiration from the book “Pay It Forward”by Catherine Hyde, which has encouraged the group of 40 students to spread kindness by “paying it forward.”
The Friends of LCS (www.friendsoflcs.org) funded both the Trout in the Classroom equipment and program, as well as the residency for theater and musical educators GraceFreeman and Helen Weston, who are collaborating with students to create and produce the play.
The May 6 performances are at 1:30 p.m. (dress rehearsal) and 6:30 p.m. For more information, contact Deirdre Zele at [email protected] or 453-2119.