The Wemmick Who Sings Like a Bird

A couple of weeks back I received a SMS from my daughter's school asking if I could write/contribute an article for their school publication. My initial reply was : what about and when is it due? I did not want to commit right away as I have little and big things to attend to, and I just had to be sure I would be able to deliver. Deadline was the following week and it's just about our Literary Program experience, so I said yes. Found myself idle (and feeling really lazy) the following afternoon, got my laptop and stared at a blank Microsoft word page. Drank two glasses of Coke to jumpstart my senses and came up with this:

The Wemmick Who Sings Like A Bird

A Wemmick’s Mom’s Account of Rosemont School’s Literary Program

Teacher Noime Salamat’s Senior Kinder class showed off their theatrical talent in Rosemont School’s “Punchinelo,” a play based on one of Max Lucado’s children’s book series: You Are Special. In one of our chitchats, Teacher Noime mentioned how the kids would go up to her for an “ambush audition” after announcing that there would be a play for the Literary Program. Having an open communication line with us, she is aware of Bea’s activities outside school… voice and ballet. Thus the role of “the Wemmick-who-sings-like-a-bird” was given to her. It is a part wherein she has to sing (solo) Cinderella’s “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes.” When I first learned about it, I was like but she just started with her voice lessons, it’s just once a week and her voice coach is not in town! I don’t even know what a Wemmick looks like!!! But even with these thoughts running through my head, deep inside I know she would be able to pull it off. I have faith in my daughter. After watching Cinderella a gazillion times, I’m sure it won’t be that hard. Besides, Teacher Noime is there to (patiently) rehearse with each one of them and tell us what the children will need for the play.

But of course, Teacher Noime can only do so much. After I heard Bea sing it exactly a la Cinderella with matching “shaking” of the voice and scrubbing of the floor, not to mention the “Dong! Dong!” (mimicking the sound of the clock signaling the end of Cinderella’s song), home support is also needed. And a good in-tune singing voice is something my husband and I were not blessed with – we are practically tone-deaf! So off to the mall I went, to look for a CD our daughter can use for practice, it has to be something a kid can sing along with. I scoured all the music and record shops in the area, but they did not have a CD with that song and arrangement on stock. Two weeks before the big day, Ms. Ning San Jose (the voice coach) arrived from a trip abroad; she performs with the Philippine Madrigal Singers. Bea continued her sessions with her at the house. Ms. San Jose even made a minus one CD, with the musical arrangement tailored fit for her, to be used for school rehearsals and the actual play. What a big help!

On to the big day, 26 November 2010. The stage was set up as Wemmicksville, thanks to the teachers and auxiliary staff of Rosemont. And all the young thespians were decked out as the Wemmick they are portraying. Bea looked fabulous in her chocolate and gold colored balloon dress with matching gold shoes, which she personally chose. Stage fright and shyness are words foreign to my daughter. There’s not a single “shy” bone in her body, anybody who knows her can attest to that. She confidently and perfectly sang her solo. She was all smiles during and after the show. My husband came from Makati to catch our only child perform and went back to the office right after; two of her lolas (my mom and an aunt from Cagayan de Oro) and my sister-in-law came to see her. We were all there to watch her. We are all so proud of our little Bea.

Reading this, some might say, “Hey, it’s just a school play. What’s all the fuss about?” Our take on this: the Literary Program, or what my then Nursery daughter used to call “wittewawy pwogwam,” serves as a venue for our kids to showcase their talent on stage. Knowing our Bea’s love for role playing, singing and dancing, it is an event we always look forward to. For us, it is important that we support our child’s creative interests and that our child comes prepared, with get up and all. It helps boost her self-confidence. We appreciate the school recognizing the need for our kids to participate in activities such as this one. It encourages our children to be creative, learn how to take turns, cooperate, socialize; it teaches them how to be confident with people and they also learn new things in the process (like new words). I.Q and E.Q. go hand in hand in real life. I love how the chosen story showed the different talents of the children. I was amazed at how all the kids performed, they were all convincing actors. They all know who’s next, the role of each classmate, and their lines too! I saw how supportive they were of each other.

That day, the dad and I went home with pride and big smiles on our faces. Bea went home with confidence level several notches higher, closer to her classmates and teachers, and with fun memories to make her smile for years to come.

Bea's solo