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Bretton Woods Comes Alive
On Thursday, May 24th, 2018 the performance space at Bretton Woods was alive with color and song as 2nd grade students presented “Lemonade.” It was the last play to be produced by Ms. Phoebe Czachor.
Here is what Ms. Czachor had to say about the play and her retirement:
“The play as you know is in line with the districts growth mindset initiative. “When you have lemons, make lemonade.” The characters looked at their problem in a positive growth mindset.
The children worked very hard practicing songs and parts since November. We practiced the last thirty minutes of each day. Since the play did not have the usual dance numbers, I decided to end my last play with a song from my favorite actor, Hugh Jackman’s movie “The Greatest Showman.” I thought “Come Alive” was an appropriate song to end with since many of my students came alive from being shy and timid to confident performers on the stage.
Ms. Beck, Ms. Narang, Ms. Cane, Ms. Ress and Mr. Babyak took on the huge task of creating most of the costumes and all the scenery. The stars with the faces of the children on a poster when they entered the cafeteria lifted their spirits and gave them even more confidence.
This was very bitter sweet for me. I have taught at Bretton Woods for 27 years. I served as a 2nd grade, Kindergarten and Enrichment teacher during my time here. Most of those years I put on play performances with my students. Initially, it was a way to get the children active, especially during the winter months when they could not go out and play. Instead, it became a creative outlet for them. Every year without fail, there were students who very quiet and introverted that seemed to “Come Alive” during the play. Most of them didn’t want to even do a play. Many became soloists that shocked their parents. A few years ago, there was a student who was adamant that she didn’t want to perform. She choreographed most of the dances for the play and performed them in the front. Her father was shocked that his daughter hid her talent from all of them. Watching my students succeed and seeing the glow about them after performing is one of my greatest satisfactions as a teacher. The only other thing that compares is watching a kindergartener learn to read. I will miss my students and colleagues in Hauppauge. I thought I was going to lose it altogether when my former students in grades 3-5 yelled that they loved me.
Even though I am retiring, my teaching will not be ending. I have six beautiful grandchildren that I hope to help teach to read and I will be taking a position as a Student Teacher Supervisor. I also look forward to time spent with my wonderful, patient husband who has been by my side throughout the challenges and successes of my career. He will be my number one priority when I leave Hauppauge. That will be the sweetest part of retirement.
Thank you for sharing this experience with us.”