Practice pays off

Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.

The presentation began with several dance performances. The first was a choreographed performance to the worship song, To You Be The Glory, where dancers wearing long, flowing gowns took to the stage. This dance was taught by teacher Laura Leonard, and performed by students MadiLynn Boyd, Gretchen Brown, Lillie Carroll, Crickett Lee and Eva Lee.
The second dance featured the JCHAI Beginner Ballet class of Joelle Bass. The adorable young students in this beginner class donned traditional ballet costumes and performed their dance to the song, Joyfully. Students Madi DeMoro, Daniel Brookins, Dorothy Lunsford, Charlotte Lunsford, Erilyn Scott and Yeevah Scott made up the class.
Additional members of Joelle Bass's beginner class came out on stage to perform We Dance, dressed in graceful turquoise dresses. These students, who were in an older grouping than the other beginner class, were Lyria Vargas, Evelyn Vargas and Emily Dule.
The dance classes finished with a fun and energetic dance to the worship song You Are Wonderful, performed by MadiLynn Boyd, Gretchen Brown, Lillie Carroll, Cricket Lee and Eva Lee.
During the intermission, Tammy Brookins stepped onto the stage and while the string orchestra was setting up, gave some history about the Homeschool scene in Florida, and how far progress in legislature has come in creating a much more welcoming situation for parents who wish to homeschool their children. She also listed ways that the local homeschool group has grown as support continues to build.
“Here we are in 2022, She began, and gosh, its only been a year that we incorporated our homeschool association here in Jefferson County. We are leasing space from the county commissioners at the old jail office, and we now have dance classes, string orchestra, and a band! This year we had a civics class, and we had a Spanish class. We have a pre-k group; we call them Sprouts! Next year, they'll be Saplings- to start a theme. Its just been an amazing year; it's been a lot of work, but it's been a lot of fun.” Members of the crowd began to call out with enthusiasm.
“Art!” said a member of the crowd.
“Oh! Art! Oh my gosh,” exclaimed Brookins in response, telling the crowd about a recent clay class that was offered at the Jefferson Arts Gallery for students.
“Robotics!” yelled another member of the crowd cheerfully.
“Robotics!” echoed Brookins, “We had our first year of Lego Robotics, led by Heather Boyd and her brother, Len Hughes. And Laura, our dance teacher, is a first robotics representative in our North Florida area, so she helped get our team established and coached the coaches on how to coach the kids.” She gave a nervous glance behind her at the stage curtain and laughed, “I'm just going to keep talking until they start opening the curtain!” Members of the crowd chuckled with her.
“Our Homeschool Association is a registered 501C3, tax-deductible organization, so if you ever want to make contributions, I can give you a receipt for your taxes next year.” Brookins continued, before moving on to additional recent homeschool association events, like mock trials, Shakespeare performances, the Spring Formal that was recently held, as well as an announcement about an upcoming Fall Casual dance coming up in the fall, which will be open to both students and families.
When the curtains opened, the String Orchestra was presented with their director, Kristine Joubert, who took a bow before leading the orchestra through the first song, America: Sweet Land of Liberty. On violins were Lacy Bigham, Charles Boyd, Vania Bufano, Madeline Carlan, Allie Dollar, Danika Lee, Adolai Scott, Corie Watts and Julie Zelek. Playing cellos were Tessia Brookins, Genevieve Bufano and Joshua Holley. Playing string bass was Reid Brookins, and Maggie Boyd played piano. During the performance, Allie Dollar played a fiddle solo, and several young beginners were featured in the song, The Bows on the Bus; Aubrie Matveichik and Erilyn Scott. Little Isaac Brookins also preformed a small piano solo for the crowd.
After the Strings Orchestra took their bow, the Band set up on stage, and gave their performance. Flute was played by Angela Holley and Dakota Henderson, Trumpet was played by Joshua Holley and Benjamin Wallace. Clarinet was played by Hunter Benton, Tessia Brookins, Cheyenne Henderson and Cricket Lee. Alex Castro performed on percussion. Trombone was played by Nicholas Brookins and Tre Scott, and Reid Brookings played the saxophone. The band was introduced as being very new, some members only having been playing for a couple of months, but they sure gave it their all, showing that practice does pay off, even in the very beginning! The band was directed by Patricia Shartran, who expressed her pleasure at having all of her grandchildren playing during the performance. All of the students showed diligence and poise as they performed, and it can be certain that with every passing lesson, they will continue to grow in experience, talent and flare! Indeed, this is just the beginning for the Homeschool Association's wonderful music students! Monticello looks forward to even more wonderful melodies to come.
For more information on the Jefferson County Homeschool Association, contact Tammy Brookins at (850) 210-3653.