Glee at Aotea Centre:

Watching our Glee cast of 66 children perform at Stage Quest 2023 at the Aotea Centre last term was an immense privilege.

My seat was unsuitable for photos, but we will have quality photos to share with you soon.

Our children were brilliant. We had children as young as six performing - the youngest performers there. Many of our children were at the Aotea Centre for over 12 hours on performance day and night. All were there for more than ten hours. That is a huge day - inside all day - for children as young as ours. 

Their focus and self-management throughout the day were awesome. Their performance on the night was flawless to my admittedly untrained eye. We were incredibly proud of every child on the stage - and those like Chloe who played vital behind-the-scenes roles. In Chloe's case, she was managing stage lighting for our performance and won first place for this for us on the night.

We also gained first place for Video Wall. Our storyline was brilliant, as were the costumes and make-up. Make-up for our children was all done by our children. Seeing our senior girls doing such a brilliant and creative job with make-up was wonderful for all involved.

Having our own Glee Club was the brainchild of Annette Pram and Nicole Spanhake. Their passion, drive, enthusiasm and creativity are infectious - the group grows in size and popularity each year.

Some of the feedback they received:

Hi Annette and Nicole

Thank you for all the hard work and long hours you and Nicole put into the Glee preparations this year. This is the first time Sapphire has participated in something this big, and she was so excited in the lead-up to the “big day”. Watching last night got us all so emotional. We were so proud of all the kids. I only regret not getting everyone's family tickets to see it all in person!

Thank you for letting Sapphire be a part of it all, and I believe it played a crucial part in building her confidence. She's already looking forward to joining again next year.

Hi Annette and Nicole,

Just wanted to send you a quick message to THANK YOU for your amazing effort with Showquest.

Mikayla just had the best time last Thursday, and it was so fantastic watching the performance; all the kids did so well.

She's still on a high from it and is already talking about next year; she's recruited more friends to join, and even her brother in 2025, apparently  😂

Hi Nicole and Annette, 

I just wanted to tell you what an amazing job you both did with the children, they performed so well, but most importantly, Jay had a fabulous time learning and performing!! You both should be recognised for this effort!

Thank you for being what teachers should always be ❤️❤️❤️.