Superior Idol showcases young talent

Can you twirl a hula hoop going while standing on one foot? How about while doing the Macarena dance? What about card tricks or singing?

Students at Superior Elementary demonstrated several talents last week to a huge audience during the Superior Idol Talent Show, hosted by the Superior Elementary Student Council.

Aiden Patko, president of the student council, said that when they started brainstorming ideas for a fundraiser they remembered that the idea of holding a talent show had been tossed around a couple of years ago.

“But it sort of faded away and so we thought we might start it up and try to do it annually,” Patko said. “It sounded really fun.”

Twenty-five people performed. Principal Scott Kinney emceed the evening introducing the student’s acts.

“You won’t find such quality acts anywhere else,” Kinney said.

Jump roping was a popular act and there were also quite a few pairs of singers. Third grader Emma Hopwood played the piano and Donteah Mellen and Mark Coleman teamed to dazzle with some card tricks. Some students also danced and others did some hula hooping.

“If there are any Hollywood producers in the audience they can forget about signing these acts because these kids aren’t leaving Superior Elementary,” Kinney said.

Patko said that he was surprised by how many students chose to perform.

“I was pretty shocked. There were a lot more acts than I expected,” Patko said.

The student council put a lot of work into the show. They started planning a couple months in advance for the show. The money raised from the show will go to support a worthy cause.

“We are going to donate it to a high school kid who has cancer for surgery,” Patko said. “We really wanted to keep it local.”

Prior to the talent show, Donna Chambers and Barb Jasper also coordinated and hosted Healthy Family Fun Night.

“Students learn about nutrition from lessons with the CATCH program, which is Coordinated Approach to Child Health,” Jasper said. “Our goal was to make the night fun and interactive.”

Jasper said that Becky Newman, Superior head cook, planned a free healthy super of chicken soup, salad and homemade wheat breadsticks for the night.

Jasper said that Newman was very impressed with the students’ knowledge of healthy eating and need for physical activity.

“Students helped with food prep, serving, advertisement, set up and decorations.  After dinner families could play games and view information at different displays set up in the gym,” Jasper said.

Students and parents sampled foods at a taste testing booth where families could sample blackberries, soybeans and low fat granola.  Mineral Community Hospital, Mineral County Health Department, Western Montana Mental Health and the Snap Ed Nutrition Program from the Extension Office set up displays and handed out information on healthy lifestyles. Students and parents also got to dance and get active at another station.

Students and parents taste tested at one table and danced the night away at another station. Jasper said that they kicked the night off with an optional poster contest for the students.

“The results were creative with clear messages about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle,” Jasper said.

Ryder Hansen and Alex Hansen won for kindergarten through first grade. Kylie Plakke won for the second through third grade age group. Kathryn Parker won for grades four through sixth.