2020 Manitoba Music Festival
On Friday, March 6 the Grade 2-3 Junior Choir Club performed "Come Out To Play" arranged by Douglas Beam, assisted by Grade 5 Music Prefect Marek on the soprano recorder and Mrs. Windsor on piano (she is our accompanist for all choirs), and "Thunder and Lightning" by Clifford Crawley.
Junior Choir Club is a group of students who really love to sing and choose to represent our school at the Festival. This is an enrichment program, without auditions and the students rehearse on Fridays during lunch recess in Term 2. This group really rose to the challenge and earned their gold standing. Gold is given for 88% and over and is considered to be a Mark of Distinction. Local Adjudicator Justin Odwak was very impressed. He said that our Junior Choir demonstrated "Fantastic singing - well rehearsed and performed!" He thought their "diction and storytelling was very clear throughout! Absolutely fantastic performance!"
On Wednesday, March 11, all Grade 4-5 Boys performed two songs at the Festival. Participation in Boys' Choir is mandatory and the boys rehearse for one period in our 8 Day cycle.
The boys sang "Hockey" by Marilyn E. Broughton and "On the Back of an Eagle" by Nancy Telfer. They were awarded a Gold standing! It was a lucky day overall, and the Grade 4 hockey players won their game the same night! Thank you to all of the SJR Eagles who lent their hockey jerseys to the choir for their performance and a big thank you to Hockey Moms Mrs. Patti Backman and Ms. Meghan Wright for rounding up all of the hockey jerseys for Ms. Kozier - this definitely added a fun factor for the boys.
On Thursday, March 12, the Grade 4-5 Girls worked very hard to earn their Gold. As with the 4/5 Boys choir, this is mandatory, with the girls rehearsing 1 period per 8 day cycle. Ms. Kozier could not be more proud. They sang "How Doth the Little Crocodile" by Mark Burrows, assisted by Rob Siwik on Bongos and Ms. Sandra Benum (Junior School Music Sub) on the guiro, along with Mrs. Windsor at the piano.
Their second selection was "The Clouds" by Cynthia Gray. Adjudicator Melissa Morgan praised our girls for being "Well prepared! A very lovely choir. Your words are crisp and clear. Thank you for stagger breathing. Bravo on your performance today!"
SJR is proud to be accredited and affiliated with several local, national and international educational organizations.
St. John’s-Ravenscourt School was founded in 1820 principally to serve the children of the Selkirk settlers. By 1834 there were forty students, evenly split between boys and girls. SJR has inevitably grown and changed over the years since, though its success throughout has been unimpeachable. We have graduated 18 Rhodes scholars, for example, and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II granted patronage and established a scholarship in her name in 1981. Today the programs are as strong as our reputation. A strong academic program is paired with an equally strong attention to the values of stewardship, ethical leadership, and excellence in all areas of academic, social and athletic life.