A Day at Elkhart North Side Middle School and Greencroft Retirement Community!

I was so privileged to spend a day with the students, teachers and faculty at Elkhart North Side Middle School.

My first stop on a very busy day was to spend some time with the Special Education Class. I talked to the students and explained why I was visiting their class with a sparkly crown on my head. I told them to always follow their dreams, I am following mine and maybe someday I will be the next Miss America! I sang some songs for them since they agreed to sing a few Christmas Carols with me! I had so much fun with the students sharing my love of music and spreading Christmas Cheer!

My next stop was to visit with the 7th and 8th grade Choirs. I had the opportunity to talk to these students about my platform of "Supporting the Arts" and share with them the many ways to be involved in Arts programs in college and beyond. I sang for them and allowed them to ask questions about my experiences as Miss Elkhart County and music programs.

After spending time with the choirs, I went to further promote my platform in three English classes. You may wonder what the Arts has to do with English. Well, I believe that the Arts can, and should be integrated into many areas of the academic curriculum. The 7th and 8th graders I worked with learned that a play is 'a literary work on its feet.' So we took a common known literary work and put on a play in their English class. The students chose to take the story of the Three Little Pigs to direct, cast, narrate and perform in a matter of minutes. I think the students were amazed that without any planning they could work together to put on a play in the middle of their English classes. I was amazed at the willingness of these students to learn, play and incorporate drama into their class.

I rushed out of North Side Middle School as the final bell rang and made my way to Greencroft Retirement Community. There I met with Katie, Miss Elkhart County 2009. We were able to sing some Christmas Carols to some of the residents, meet with them and brighten their day. Katie played her violin and I sang songs that were requested by the residents. I was able to 'crown' some of the residents and make them feel like kings and queens for the day!

It was a busy but an extremely enjoyable day promoting my platform everywhere I went, and representing the Miss America Organization.