Grade 3 Production Dives into Underwater Adventure

An underwater adventure through the coral reef and its creatures awaited parents and the Lower School community as third-grade students performed their original play titled Reef Harmony, a Tale of Unity, in the Taylor Performing Arts Center.

The performance served as an immersive, cross-curricular project featuring elements of social studies, literature, theater, art, and music through the guidance of teachers Alexis Harris 2001 and Katherine Temple, Lower School art teacher Sue Bennett 1973, theater teacher Lisa Daly, and music teacher Rachael Jungkeit to conclude the Grade 3 unit of study on the coral reef.

As the lights dimmed, the students took the stage dressed in colorful, hand-made costumes and accessories that depicted the different creatures that inhabit the coral reef. Audience members were able to see a sea turtle, tiger shark, barracuda, leafy sea dragon, clown fish, and more up close. The play began with a quick narration from juniors and Lower School mentors Matt Maniatty and Neer Patel.

The script written by Mrs. Harris and Ms. Daly told the story of the beautiful coral reef and its sea creatures, who were busy swimming around in their usual routines. As the creatures were gliding through the waters, they all felt a disturbance and noticed garbage floating through the water. Gathering together, the creatures traveled to the East Australian Current to find the wise, old Gigi who told them it was pollution harming the currents and that they must fix it. In the end, all the sea creatures created a team and worked together to clean different areas of the reef and make it a beautiful home again. The performance ended with the song We Swim Together with Mrs. Jungkeit on the piano.

“I am so proud of our students and all the hard work they put into the performance and project,” said Mrs. Harris. “Each year, the final unit of study rotates between topics and we focus on the coral reef. Students were really excited to learn more about the creatures, and it’s always a wonderful opportunity to be able to fuse together all the different specialties at Hamden Hall.”

Following the morning performance, students and their families were invited back to the Grade 3 classroom for an interactive art show. As everyone walked through the doors, a colorful depiction of the coral reef welcomed them. Across the desks were individual stations full of tri-fold posters and other art projects the students completed in class. One corner of the room featured a wall of jellyfish cutouts, the Sea Turtle Coven full of string woven turtles, a blue coral reef photo booth, acrylic painting of the different creatures, and much more.

According to Ms. Temple, the students have been learning about the coral reef in social studies class since January. The students began researching the coral reef, its creatures, and ways to protect the coral reef. For the final performance, students chose which specific creature they wanted to learn more about and play. After they selected their particular creature, they dove into deep research and created poster boards with facts and illustrations on their creature.