Clements/Parsons students are rocking through the decades

Elvis Presley’s gyrating hips. Michael Jackson’s single glove. Poodle skirts of the 50’s. Students at Clements/Parsons Elementary not only got a history lesson through music, but they decided specifically what they would learn and what they would present to the public.

For more than two months, students prepared for a music concert but that was only after going through literally decades of music, learning the lessons behind the music, what prompted the ballads, the beats, the tones and the messages the various songs presented.

Under the direction of music teachers Ivan Calzada and Tino Sanchez, students sifted through hundreds of songs from the 1950’s to the 1990’s selected by the voting results of 4th and 5th grade students who would be singing in the concert entitled Rockin’ through the Decades.

“We gathered song choices for each decade and held a vote to see which songs we would sing. This allowed the students to take more ownership of the program,” Calzada said. “We were worried at first about the selections they chose because some of the selections made high demands, vocally. But much to our surprise, they were able to overcome these obstacles.”

Some of the songs the students sang in the concert included Three Little Birds by Bob Marley and Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson. Each student had his favorite song and his favorite decade and 5th grader Helena Bryant was no exception.

“My favorite song was Man in the Mirror because I like the beat to the song and I like my speaking part,” she said.

While she enjoyed all the songs and also had a speaking part, for 5th grader Audrey Martin, there was no contest in which performance topped the others.

“I think we did the best on Rockin’ Robin,” Martin said.

Calzada and Sanchez said the students became even more excited when they learned that their concert would be held in the Lea Ledger Auditorium and worked even harder on their performances.

“To be able to pull off a program like that, with such a short amount of time, takes early preparation. We are very proud of the work and effort our students put into their program,” Sanchez said. “We are very appreciative to be working with such talented students.”