Details For Event Tomorrow - DON'T MISS OUT! ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES

A NIGHT AT THE PALM - Thursday, April 25, 6 to 8 p.m. at the School

How does it work?

• From 6 to 8 p.m. performances, activities and workshops will take place in the gym and simultaneously in classrooms on the main floor of the school.

• In half of the gym there will be performances at set times and in the other half there will be hands-on activities for everyone to participate in and enjoy throughout the evening.

• In the library, music room and a handful of classrooms on the main floor there will be workshops taking place every 15 or 20 minutes that students can participate in on their own or with their parents. Activities for all ages are available.

• VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED TO MAKE THIS EVENT A SUCCESS! Click HERE to volunteer for Thursday night! We still need volunteers to set up, oversee activities (instructions will be provided so you just need to show up!), and clean up. Reminder that we encourage Palmerston Alumni High School Students to donate their time as VP will sign for volunteer hours! 

A run down of the different types of evening performances and activities attendees can expect during A NIGHT AT THE PALM below:

JOIN YOUR KIDS AND GET ACTIVE:

In half the gym, the evening will kick off at 6 p.m. with a 30 minute parent/child X-MOVEMENT Community Session at 6 pm in the gym. This parent/child activity will build on the X-Movement classroom sessions taking place this week for all the students! This high energy and fun session gives the students an opportunity to participate in a range of activities, such as dance, fitness, sports, martial-arts, mindfulness and more together with their families/guardians.

Note: Led by X-Movement instructor, this program will last approximately 30 minutes. Anyone can join in!

In the other half of the gym, tables will be set up for a multitude of activities for kids and their parents to participate in. Drop in and check out what is of interest to you! See list of activities below.

On the school’s main floor different workshops will take place from 6-7:45 p.m. approximately:

Kouraba Drumming Workshop Station:

The Kouraba Foli Drumming Station is an interactive, high energy, and fun experience for participants, of all ages and drumming levels. Led by Master percussionist Amara Kante  participants can expect to experience authentic West African music traditions that include singing and creative movement.  The drumming workshops are evenly paced, providing clear and simple instructions that are easy to follow.  

• NOTE: 15 participants per workshop - each will run for 15 minutes each from 6 to 7:20 approx.

• Don’t miss the Kouraba Drumming performance in the gym at 7:30 p.m.

Poetry Workshop

Wondering what makes a poem tick? In this quick workshop,  Brendan McLeod former Canadian SLAM poetry champ will take students (and interested parents!) through a variety of figures of speech to help give poems more flavor. He'll also touch on the rhythm of poetry, especially when it's spoken, and the tricks you can use to give your poems pulse!  

• NOTE: Up to 30 participants per 20 minute workshop. Two workshops will run at 6 and 6:25.

• Don’t miss the spoken word performance of Holy Guacamole, it's a Poetry Show! At 7 pm in the Gym.

Ballet Pointe Shoe Demonstration

Parent Tiffany Mosher who was a soloist with the National Ballet of Canada for twenty years before retiring in 2020 will lead a show and tell and talk about pointe shoes so kids can  see what goes into making them ready to wear on stage in a ballet performance. She will also describe how they’re made and demonstrate a few steps!

Human Centred Design Workshop

Kids will be asked to design a space to help someone they know! (30 Minutes)

S.T.E.M Timed Challenges!

Try all three. Build towers and boats with household items that can withstand the weight of tennis balls and coins!

In the half of the gym the following activities will be drop in and check out:

Grab a Paintbrush: Painting Pots

Coloring/decorating mini Terra Cotta pots with paint/markers. Let it dry and take it home at the end of the night.

Palmerston Gardening Activities:

Check out three different activity stations that connect the students and their families to the Palmerston Wildlife Garden and help prepare for this spring’s school Food Garden. Students will connect to some of the plants that are making a home at Palmerston, paint garden signage, make seed necklaces, prep seed trays and more!

S.T.E.M. activities in the gym will include (Volunteers still required to ensure we can run all the activities):

• Create Mighty Balloon Rockets

• Create Paper Airplane and launched them into the atmosphere

• Build your own Ninja Star

• STEAM KIT: How do gears work?

• Create a Marble Run

• Coding Cars

• K-NEX building station

• Earthquake Simulator

• MATH POSTERS: What do you notice?

City Nature Challenge

Pick up your take away Scavenger Hunt Handout and learn more about local charity EcoSpark’s City Nature Challenge, an opportunity for community members to share nature observations Apr 26-29th for biodiversity. 

PERFORMANCE IN GYM, 7 to 7:30 p.m.: 

Holy Guacamole, it's a Poetry Show! is a kinetic feast of words and song that is both entertaining for the ears and challenging for the mind! Written by former Canadian SLAM champ and award-winning musician Brendan McLeod, it showcases the thrill of word play while presenting lessons about rhythm and figurative language. Accompanying himself on banjo, guitar, and ukulele, Brendan presents a dinosaur rap, songs about planets and pets, hilarious haikus, and poems about everything from climate change to the lettuce in your lunch box.

PERFORMANCE IN THE GYM, 7:30 to 7:40 p.m.

Kouraba Drumming Performance led by Amara Kanté, the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Kouraba, a Toronto based non-profit organization that promotes authentic world music events, to both local and international audiences. Amara Kanté identifies as Malinke of the Numu clan and speaks up to 6 languages, including French and English.   Kanté is an accomplished musician, historian, composer, producer, and teacher.  His repertoire of instruments include: Djembe drum, Dunun drums, Talking-drum, Bolon, Krin, Bara and Congas. The performance will be introduced with a short video and then Amara will be joined by two of his company's master percussionists for the performance. 

JOIN IN AND SING, Community Sing-A-Long in the Gym, 7:45 to 8 p.m.

Join JK student Luna’s uncle Eugene who will lead a sing-a-long for kids and their parents. He is a York District music teacher and art lead at  Phoebe Gilman Public School who looks forward to closing out a Night at the Palm with a fun selection of songs that everyone can join in on. He will be bring his guitar and a couple extra instruments for a fun interactive event. 

THE END!

If you made it this far, THANK YOU!

We still need some volunteers for set up, to oversee activities (instructions will be provided so you just need to show up!), and clean up! Click HERE to volunteer for Thursday night! Reminder that we encourage Palmerston Alumni High School Students to donate their time as VP will sign for volunteer hours! Hope to see you all Thursday at 6 pm!

A NIGHT AT THE PALM is a Palmerston School Council initiative.