UP Elementary Students Share Talents During Fourth Grade Showcase

Looking for Talent? Turn off the TV and check out the fourth graders at University Park Elementary School.

Students danced, sang, tumbled, played musical instruments, and even performed skits that they had written themselves during the school’s Fourth Grade Showcase on Jan. 31.

The annual talent show is a relatively new tradition at University Park Elementary — it started just a few years ago. But the event has already become a highlight for soon-to-be graduates of HPISD’s third elementary school.

There are ample opportunities to reward fourth graders for their academic success, Principal Kim Banuelos said. The talent show gives students a chance to be applauded for skills that might not shine through on tests and quizzes.

“Academically, we have writing celebrations. They get celebrated for their good (Measures of Academic Progress test) scores,” she said. “But this is a chance for them to be celebrated for other skills, like for their creative skills.”

Banuelos and music specialist Monika Jordan organized the show with help from moms Carrie Hanna, Megan Beckner, and Luciana Rapisarda. 

The team assisted at student practices, which took place after school for about two weeks. But the fourth graders didn’t need much help with the performances.

“It’s really student led,” Jordan said. “We’ll guide them on ‘could you face the audience when you’re speaking?’ or ‘speak a little louder into the microphone.’ But other than that, they’re prepared on their own.”

More than 30 students chose to perform during the show. Fourth-grader Mila Bahrenkamp and friends told jokes to the audience.

“Me and my friends, we really like to laugh a lot,” Bahrenkamp explained. She said that practices were tricky because the group couldn’t stop laughing, but they made it through the skit on performance day.

“I feel really happy about it, and my friends, too,” she said.

Student hosts Anderson Myatt and Eleni Derksen introduced each performer before they took the stage. The musicians included Jessie Sun, who showed off her talent on the violin by playing a minuet. Other students showcased their piano skills thanks to a keyboard with a rolling stand funded by HP Arts.

An audience of parents, students, siblings, and teachers clapped along with the music during performances, and applauded loudly after every talent. 

Lauren Boan and other fourth-grade fans brought fathead cut outs of their children to the performance to show their support. 

“Performing in front of a group can be a big confidence boost. And I think it’s really important for them to be able to stand up in front of a group of kids, and parents, and teachers, and be able to perform,” Boan said after her son Charlie and friends donned jerseys, sunglasses, and hats to dance onstage to NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye.”

Nolan Petrone, who was in the “Bye Bye Bye” group, said his favorite part of being on stage was hearing the audience’s applause. 

“It made me feel good that everyone was happy for me and my group,” he said.