Bashaw has never been too shy when it comes to showing off community spirit.
So, it didn’t come as a complete surprise when the staff at Bashaw School accepted a challenge tossed their way Feb. 5 regarding innovative ‘school bus cancellation’ announcements. The division had cancelled rural bus service the previous day along with each day the rest of the week.
“I’d been watching the videos that other schools all over Canada and the U.S. have been posting online about their snow days and I thought it would be pretty awesome if we could make one too,” explained Grade 1 teacher Janine England.
“I texted a few staff members with the idea Monday night (Feb. 4) and once they replied, “I’m in,” I sent out the invite to the rest of the staff first thing Tuesday morning.”
The initial response to getting up and singing in front of a camera was about as warm as the outside temperature, but that soon began to change.
“As more staff arrived at school and felt the excitement growing, everyone was pretty eager,” she said.
While the idea was easy, coming up with a tune and lyrics were a bit more complicated. However, once England heard an iconic song, things came together fast.
“I scrolled through my phone to see if any songs jumped out at me, and once I got started, the lyrics came together pretty easily,” she said.
“Bohemian Rhapsody is so well known I thought it would be perfect for everyone to try and learn quickly, seeing as I was trying to pull this together in one night with no time to practice.”
The video has elicited a great response since it was posted to the school’s Facebook page and others began sharing it on their social media platforms.
“The reaction has been extremely positive and there is certainly a buzz around our video. Having social media as a platform to share things like this really helps to build a stronger sense of community both in the school and online,” she stated.
“We’ve been hearing students and parents talk about it in the hallways, and the comments online have been pretty wonderful to read. The talents of our little school have been shared all over Facebook and Twitter. It will be interesting to see if any other schools in the division join in on the fun.”
She also hopes that the students in Bashaw take away how cool and talented their teachers are from this experience.
People can check out the video by heading to the Bashaw School’s social media platforms or by heading to https://www.wevideo.com/view/1300990792.
jordie.dwyer@ponokanews.com
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