Grosse Pointe Farms

Students bond with some help from Dr. Seuss

By April Lehmbeck
C & G Staff Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo by April Lehmbeck Students at St. Paul School take the stage for a performance of “The Sneeches” last week. Photo by April Lehmbeck Students at St. Paul School take the stage for a performance of “The Sneeches” last week.

FARMS — A sea of students donning large yellow noses filled the stage at St. Paul Catholic School during a performance of “The Sneeches” by Dr. Seuss as part of a “play-in-a-day” activity.

It was performed as a play, but it was more like a bonding experience.

“This really isn’t a play,” school social worker JoAnne Keating said in an email. “It’s more of a story, but I like the message.

“I chose this play/story as it teaches a great lesson in a fun way,” Keating said in the email. “Since we are putting the play on for the younger grades, the junior high students get the message as well by teaching it.”

That message was all about accepting each other and working together. It’s about peace and community.

That message seems to fit right in with a program that the junior high students at St. Paul take part in to “get to know each other.” The program involves activities throughout the year involving sixth- to eighth-grade students who are placed in groups so they can work together, according to information from the school.

The kickoff activity was last week’s performance of “The Sneeches.”

The junior high students worked on everything from costumes to scenery. Some students were actors while others were singers and readers, but they all worked together.

During the performance, the younger students giggled and clapped to the music from their seats.

The junior high students seemed to enjoy the performance, as well.

Seventh-grade student Micaela Fraser, who performed as one of the singers in the show, said she learned “just not to bully and to have fun. Everyone’s different.”

“It was fun,” she said.

Other students also said they learned something through the performance. One commented on how much teamwork it took to get the play ready for the stage. Another said they learned about each other through the process.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer April Lehmbeck at alehmbeck@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1043.