Holiday classics like “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Deck The Halls” and “Frosty The Snowman” were brought to life at Lincoln Elementary School in Bemidji at their holiday concert.

“We’ve been doing this for many years, and it’s kind of grown bigger and bigger as each year has gone on. The main difference is we didn’t have 4^th and 5^th grade this year, so I wanted the lower grades to have something special,” says Janna Carlson, the Lincoln Elementary School music teacher.

For the first time, all 350 kids at Lincoln Elementary were given the chance to step up on the risers thanks to the new set up. Each grade led two songs of the sing-a-long.

“We had to rotate students a little bit more and it took a little bit more time, but it was really nice because students were able to get up on the stage and parents were able to see them a little bit better this year,” says Jason Luksik, the principal at Lincoln Elementary.

The kids had practiced the music since Thanksgiving, so a lot of work goes into the production. Some kids even get a special part during the “12 Days of Christmas” song. A few staff members also get a chance to shine during the “12 Days” number as well.

“My favorite part is being able to see all of our students get up and sing a song and perform for their families. It’s a really nice piece of our year to be able to see how much those kids have grown and see the wonderful job that our students and Mrs. Carlson have done with our holiday program,” says Luksik.

The sing-a-long not only puts a smile on the teachers’ and their parents’ faces, but the kids really enjoy it as well.

Carlson says, “They practice so hard and some kids are really nervous about coming up, but once they came up and I saw the smiles on their faces and they were just singing strong, and I knew that they were happy.”

By — Shirelle Moore