Jun. 18, 2014:  Ladies and gentlemen, the Lecture Series program of Bronxville Elementary School and the third graders proudly presented Circus Around the World!

Third graders at Bronxville Elementary School just spent the last two weeks traveling around the world with Circus Minimus and ringmaster Kevin O'Keefe. The circus practices started on the Tuesday after Memorial Day and concluded with the big show on Friday, June 6, 2014. Every classroom teacher chose a different country from around the world, including France, Jamaica, China, Ireland, England, and India. First, the entire third grade met with Kevin O'Keefe and we learned a dance called the bhangra. The bhangra is an Indian dance of joy! Then during each school day, we met Kevin as individual classes and worked on learning our circus routines. We worked hard together to perfect our acts!

During the two weeks, we were all asked to do research about our country. My class was France, so we researched the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, Napoleon, and of course French food. Each class made big banners that said the name of their country and the children decorated them.

All of our hard work paid off! The circus was great! The third grade had two shows--one for the elementary school kids and teachers and one for the third grade parents.

The first act was Ireland, the tumblers, Ms. Cramer's class. They had Irish step dancers and leprechauns. They also did gymnastics. The audience "oohed" and "aahed" when students did front handsprings, cartwheels, and so much more.

Next came Jamaica, Ms. Blauner's class. They made a human ship and sailed to Jamaica. They had yo-yos and Diablos and made a bobsled team. The famous Jamaican runner "Usain Bolt" zipped across the stage and tore through the finish line as the grand finale.

After that came France, Mrs. Kohlhoff's class. The third graders balanced feathers and made the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and the Arc de Triomphe out of our bodies, played a game called Who We Are, and walked across tightwires.

Then there was China, Mrs. Visoky's class. One student played Confucius and another played his servant. The class did cartwheels and then had a dragon parade with a dragon they borrowed from the kindergarteners. Finally, they practiced tai chi with partners and made the Great Wall of China using partner acrobatics.

The next act was England, Mrs. Fata's class. First the audience greeted Queen Elizabeth--who was a boy! Then the kids flipped their hair to the beat of rock music. The performance included juggling with humans, scarves, and balls. Kevin levitated girls and then they formed the London Bridge and the London Eye.

Last but not least was India, Ms. Payne's class. The group started off with lots of yoga poses. They were very peaceful and calm. They waved a silk scarf to make a mountain and a river. Then they formed the Taj Mahal using human pyramids with a real reflecting pool.

As the grand finale, the entire third grade class danced the bhangra. Audience participation was a must! It was the perfect way to end our amazing experience and performance.

Charlie Clifford from Ms. Blauner's class commented, "I think the circus was a great experience for all third graders and for everyone who watched the show! Having a teacher like Kevin O'Keefe was one of the best experiences of my life!"

Ted Heraty, also from Blauner's bunch, stated, " What I thought was most amazing is that he [Kevin] taught us all the acts, tricks, and the dance in only nine days! Kevin was amazing but other people like Ms. Aronson, Ms. Fousek [Lecture Series co-chairs] and all the third grade teachers were great, too!"

Mrs. Kohlhoff explained, "After the performance, teachers helped the students make connections from our circus residency to our schoolwide Character Counts program. Teachers asked kids to think of ways we used respect, trustworthiness, citizenship, caring, and responsibility as we worked over the two-week period to prepare for the final performance. It was amazing to hear how kids made insightful comments about each value." Verena Rasinski reflected on how she was responsible during the circus by saying, "Responsibility means to take care of someone or something when asked to do something. In the circus, we had to be responsible when picking up the peacock feathers off the ground because they were delicate and expensive. We also had to be responsible to put the balancing beams away. If we didn't do it at the right time, the next act wouldn't be ready!"

The well-loved annual third grade circus residency is funded solely through generous parent donations to our Lecture Series program. The teachers, students, and community at large value this wonderful community-building experience and is often a memory students take with them all through The Bronxville School. We can't wait until next year already!

To see photos of this year's circus, click here: Bronxville School Third Grade Circus 2014.

Photos by Dianne Aronson