Principal Symra Dee Brown’s vision of exposing students to some of the biggest names in the St. Thomas music scene while raising money to purchase uniforms for the Ulla Muller Elementary marching band—the only elementary school marching band in the St. Thomas-St. John District—was realized in a huge way with seven live bands, mascots, food and more at the “Biggest Kiddie Concert Ever, VI Style” fundraiser held Saturday, Oct. 24 on the school’s field.
With admission at $5 for children and $7 for adults, Ms. Brown said she hoped to raise $5,000 or more to help purchase the uniforms.
“We cannot use federal funds to purchase certain items, so we wanted to hold this fundraiser to help purchase the uniforms,” she explained.
According to Elesta Morton, a Muller 6th grade teacher and member of the fundraising committee, the school’s marching band has been around for two years and often performs at school-related events, such as the career fair in November and other similar activities.
Approximately 500 parents and youngsters filed through the school’s gates over the course of the five-hour event, according to Ms. Brown. Attendees could be seen dancing, eating, playing games or relaxing under trees as entertainers, such as Pressure, Daddy Shaw and HP Jammers, SESA, Malverne and Lorna, and others took to the stage to perform some of their major hits. Many of the artists spoke on the importance of education. SESA, the reigning Rookie of the Year, was heard encouraging students to “stay in school” during his performance.
Principal Brown said she was pleased with the turn out and grateful for the participation of the performers, who donated their time in support of the effort. “I am happy that this is a manageable crowd and parents are here teaching their children how to attend a concert,” Ms. Brown said. “This is something we wanted to do to expose our students to local artists as they perform clean versions of their songs.”
The ‘Biggest Kiddie Concert’ was the first of its kind and Principal Brown said she hopes to make it an annual event. The next fundraiser planned for Muller school is its popular ‘Muller Magical’ Christmas event, which finds the school’s field decorated like a winter wonderland each December.
Superintendent Dionne Wells-Hedrington and Deputy Superintendent Racquel Berry-Benjamin attended Saturday’s concert.
Tags: muller school concert
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