Last month, staff at Makuhari International School rushed around worrying whether the Christmas performance would be as good as the previous year’s, whether children would remember their lines, and whether the pianist would get through 15 songs without any mistakes!
But there was no need to worry, and kindergarten staff breathed a sigh of relief after surviving the performance; described by parents as being “wonderful, super, with fantastic staging, and with lovely singing.” “Penguin Pete” was the theme of the show, and to see the children waddling around the stage as penguins while singing about their “flip flap feet” was a really fun experience.
As the school gets bigger (with almost 200 in the elementary school now) it gets more difficult to organize entire school performances, so the older students held a pirate-themed Christmas show the day after the kindergarteners’ show.
Secret Santa visited all classes on December 21, bringing presents at the beginning of the class parties, as excited children and tired staff wished each other a Happy Christmas and looked forward to their Christmas break. — PAUL ROGERS