Dancing (and Singing) The Day Away
VERNON -- It was an afternoon of music, art and dance in the Cedar Mountain School Monday afternoon as students from Walnut Ridge and Cedar Mountain displayed their artwork and took to the stage to perform in the Art and Music Expo.
Proud parents and family members applauded as various groups of students sang, played instruments and danced.
Kindergarten and first-graders from Walnut Ridge sang songs including "The Number Rock," "There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" and "ABC Rock." A group of second- through fourth- graders from Cedar Mountain played instruments, including electric guitar and maracas, and sang songs, including the chorus to Green Day's "When September Ends."
The performance portion of the program ended with a dance performance by Cedar Mountain students to "We Got the Beat."
Megan Logue, an eighth-grade student at Glen Meadow, gave up time every day after school to choreograph and teach the students dance moves for the production.
"My mom worked here anyway," she said. "And since I love doing anything with kids I started coming for a few days a week. It turned into an every day thing. It was so much fun to share my love of dance with them."
Linda Nasarow, site coordinator for the Kids Educational Enrichment Program in Vernon, said the Expo was made possible thanks to a grant from the Sussex County Arts & Heritage Council, which helped pay for art supplies, instruments and teachers' salaries.
"This program gives students the opportunity to make friends," she said. "And it helps parents by keeping afterschool care affordable."
The Vernon after-school program began in 2006 through a grant from New Jersey After 3 and is a partnership among Kids Educational Enrichment Program Inc., the Vernon Township School District and New Jersey After 3.
The more than 130 students from Walnut Ridge Primary, Cedar Mountain and Rolling Hills enrolled in the program can participate in activities including building healthy communities, computer technology, music and science fun.
After finishing the music and dance program, attendees were invited to the cafeteria to peruse a variety of abstract watercolors, paper butterflies and cartoons created by the students.
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