Something Rotten

Eleanor tried out for her school's musical this year - our first theater experience. This is, by far, the most intensive thing Eleanor has ever been involved in. We were so proud of her for the hours of work she put in every week (at school alone, there was between 8 and 18 hours of practice per week - they were actually pulled out of classes for two entire school days for rehearsals, and at home she put in hours every night learning choreography). 

The school did Something Rotten - a play about a guy who is trying to make a name for himself during the Renaissance, so his competition is Shakespeare. There are a lot of fun nods to other musicals and Shakespearean plays and sonnets, and the entire play was very funny!

She loved it. She actually got a callback after auditions, which she was thrilled about, and ended up in the ensemble. She also auditioned for tap dancer, which she got! We were pretty surprised because she has never tapped in her life. She also played a "grim reaper" and then had a duet with a friend as a "Sad Little Egg." Here was her headshot for one of the numbers:

We had lots of carpool groups to make this happen:

Lots of hair and make-up sessions, and some Starbucks.

Eleanor as the "sad little egg:"

Program bio:

Eleanor had SO MANY people come see her perform! Many who came are not pictured. Our hearts were so, so grateful. She was supported every single night and afternoon of the play :) Some people even come more than once!

There was an understudy performance:

With some of her friends on stage after the understudy performance:

For the actual show, Eleanor was blocked front and center for pretty much all the songs, so it was great to be able to see her well!

She did so well - we were all so impressed, and very, very proud of all the time and effort she put in! 

This is a (very long) video of clips from her play that I am posting here just so she'll have a record. The play ran 2 full hours with a 15 minute intermission, so I tried to narrow it down to pieces!

Battle of the Books

Jane has been working hard all year to make her school's Battle of the Books team and she competed within her school and was one of the 6 people to make the competition team this year!

She found some friends on other teams.

Their team didn't make it to the finals this year but she had a great time doing it. We are very proud of Jane for making the team this year as a 4th grader!

Basketball

Basketball season was long this year! Due to lots of canceled games and practices due to snow, it didn't end for everyone until March 11th! 

Jane got her #23 again - Lebron Jane! She played for the Captains this year and they had a great team, losing only 2 games, but also having many close ones.

One particularly close game ended with Jane scoring some game winning free throws:

Ben's team, the Pacers, didn't have their best season. Ben is still learning how to go after the ball and make sure he's getting rebounds, but he enjoyed playing.

Rosie's team, the Fever, was pretty dominant this year and won all their games except for the last, which they tied. She had a great time, and was potentially the high scorer for her team.

Some of Rosie's baskets:

Eleanor's team, the Panthers, also did great, winning most of their games! Eleanor came out of nowhere this year being a pretty awesome defensive player. She scored 6 points in her first game, and a few points in most games after that, but was great on defense, even against girls twice her size.

Jane's team had the opportunity to play at half time of a W&M Women's basketball game. Jane scored two points! The team had a great time and celebrated their season with pizza and ice cream at Meadows.