ENDEAVOR
Twelve days before Christmas, a rare treat unfolded at the RCBC auditorium in Makati. For about two hours, parents, grandparents, and relatives of The Bridge School (TBS) students witnessed a spectacular musical mounted by kids from 3 to 11 years old after just over a month of rehearsals and preparations.
“An Unexpected Christmas” was chosen as the theme. Teacher Katrina del Rosario, took an existing children’s musical and rewrote the script, selected over 20 songs, to adapt to The Bridge School’s Christmas Show needs. She says: “The show was a remake of one we did seven years ago. But it seemed perfect considering our circumstances. The world has changed for everyone, even our children, since the pandemic. But through it all we learned to cope and make the best of it.”
Indeed, Christmas has many unexpected facets. It is better understood by reflecting on the vitality of human activity and interaction. The Christmas spirit is conveyed in the way we live our lives and tap into our potentials as human beings.
“I rewrote the show,” Teacher Katrina relates, “to emphasize that no matter who or what we are, God can use us.” She says, “Teachers or students, or as we witnessed in the show, even pirates and cheerleaders can share His Good News. Nothing in the world can shake us from God’s love!”
One hundred sixty-six students from Younger Preschool to Grade Six performed in the show, with Grades 3,4,5, and 6 performing for both the morning and afternoon show.
Preparations started on Nov. 3, or 40 days before the presentation. The number 40 is significant in Sacred Scripture as many Biblical events were held within a 40-day or 40-week span.
Teacher Katrina relates how the children “learned the lyrics to the songs through shared reading activities where the teachers integrated grammar and spelling into their lesson plans.” Aside from being performers, she narrates, “The grade school and preschool kids decorated the clouds and the sun and did all the sticking of crepe paper on the grass. We did not let them paint because we had to use real paint.”
It was truly a team effort of The Bridge School community that mobilized the creative energy and enthusiasm of all its members.
These are the people who worked to make the musical a successful endeavor:
• 166 Bridge students
• 24 Bridge teachers
• Four construction crew
• One music teacher
• Four helpers
• Three drivers and set crew
• Six Sound Check, Inc. crew
• 10 Digital Fusion video crew
• Seven RCBC crew
Consider these facts and figures on materials used to produce the show:
• 40 pieces of 4x8 feet plywood
• Four steel tubular bars to support sets
• 36 bags of costumes and small props
• 166 bags of shoes
• Four big bags of toys, books, and coloring materials
This year marked the 13th staging of the show. The first show, “You are Special,” was held in 2007 at the Alabang Country Club. In 2008 and 2009, it was held at the Festival Mall at Filinvest Corporate City. Then it was moved to the Insular Life auditorium in Filinvest in 2010 and 2011. From 2012 to 2018, it was held at the RCBC auditorium in Makati where it was revived this year after a three-year Covid gap.
The Bridge School’s Preschool was founded in 2001 and Grade School in 2008 by Tere Tabuena-del Rosario, Katrina T. del Rosario, Michelle Tabuena-Filart, and Denise Tabuena-Lumbad.
TBS adheres to the educational philosophy set forth by The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), USA: “Integrating the performance arts — music, drama, and dance — into core subjects helps young children learn better across the curriculum. Arts-integrated teaching taps into children’s natural desire for active learning through the senses. By singing, dancing, imagining, and connecting their bodies and minds, children learn more deeply and meaningfully, especially in subjects like reading, math, and science.”
Teacher Katrina expressed her gratitude to “the whole school community for their support and for cheering our kids on during the shows.” She said:
“I would also like to thank my whole teaching team and support staff who transformed themselves into dancers, set designers, singers, costume makers — really just about anything to make sure each and every student did their best on that stage! They stood behind the vision and really ran with it and helped me make sure that everything – every little detail was perfect! We are so blessed!”
“Our dazzle may be frazzled, but the story of God’s love still shines through; that God can use anyone, even pirates, to share the news about Jesus.” — A line from The Bridge School’s “Another Unexpected Christmas”