The evening of December 5th, 2024 dazzled parents and students alike as North Park Secondary School hosted its Winter A’n’T Night. It was a wonderful night, which showcased all the creativity students have to offer. The future looks bright for North Park’s Arts and Technology departments.
The night began at 6:20 PM, with the commons walls adorned by the incredible art of the visual art classes. Several tables were also set up which showcased the amazing woodworking of the woodshop class. Along with beautiful works of art, attendees got to participate in cookie decorating and ornament crafting, as well as pick up some hot cocoa or cider from the volunteer-run Cozy Cafe.
When 7:00 PM hit, the doors opened to the cafeteria for attendees to take their seats for the next series of performances, and just after 7:10 PM they began. The Concert Band kicked off the night with a Dorian Dreamscape and several Michael Jackson songs. Then advertisements for household items created by the grade 9 technology class were presented to the audience. After them, the grade 9 keyboard class performed wonderful renditions of Memories and Stay, which were followed by the mixed grade keyboard class’ excellent renditions of Fly Me To The Moon and Can’t Help Falling In Love. Next, North Park’s own jazz band, the Octonauts, astounded the crowd with a swinging rendition of Sleigh Ride. After them, the North Park choir serenaded the crowd with a beautiful acapella version of Snowman and Last Christmas. Finally the music council took the stage and began a sing along with the audience to finish the night.
Ms. Umachandran was a major coordinator for the night and described the experience as, “it was fantastic! It was really great. I’m working with teachers who are super passionate about what they do, so it was easy. It was a matter of asking, ‘should we do it for this winter?’ and everyone says ‘yeah of course.’ And equally so the students that they have who wanted to participate were equally and wanted to be involved. So there was no, you know, pulling teeth.” Ms. Dunlop who helped with organization of A’n’T night described it as, “it was a lot of fun. It was wonderful to have many students from various classes come together. So we had woodworking represented from woodworking classes and we had computer engineering represented and visual artists and musicians. It was, yeah, very cool.”
When asked what the best part of the Winter A’n’T night was, Ms. Umachandran responded, “Seeing families at the end of the night being proud of their kids, and students being proud of their school and what they accomplished. Before any performance, before any presentation, before any production the nerves are super, super high and we usually think about the worst thing that could possibly happen. But as soon as that presentation, production, performance is done there’s a sense of accomplishment that no one else can give you, you can only do for yourself. I saw a lot of that in students post A’n’T night.”
That message was echoed in the volunteers and performers we talked to after the show who said “I think it was a very fun and valuable experience,” and “I had fun talking to all the parents and students who came out to the A’n’T Night tonight!” When asked if they volunteer or perform against there was only one answer: Yes! Which is good because when asked if there’s going to be another A’n’T Night Ms. Umachandran responded “I would absolutely love to. Hopefully a spring version so it includes students from next semester.”
It was an incredible night that showcased all the terrific talent here at North Park. Everyone involved should be proud of the amazing work they have done. Everyone is so excited for the next A’n’T night!
THE NORTH STAR 