7th Grade Presents The Little Prince

On Friday, March 17, 7th grade students presented their Little Prince plays developed throughout this bimester for Spanish class in The Columbus School’s theater. seven judges in the audience determined the best play.

During the 3rd bimester, 7th grade students studied theater as they created a version of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, which was modified and developed by the students. Out of the five Spanish classes, 7º1’s Luna Verde won first place in the contest with 92 points, followed by Princepolis with 88 points, Mas alla de las estrellas with 85 points, Teatro sin contrato with 70 points, and in last place Magia de las estrellas with 60 points; in a point scale out of 100 points.

“The winner group will present in four performances; for Elementary,  for Dia Del Idioma, for the sister schools as a gift for them, and another one along with a professional theater group from Medellin during the school’s 70th anniversary,” Marta Vargas, 7th grade Spanish teacher and professional actor in Hora 25 theater in Medellin, said.

Students claimed working on the plays was a positive journey mainly because of the things learned as a group, such as teamwork and confidence. Extensive practice to make the plays better and solve probelms improved cooperation among the students.

“During this process we had multiple problems but we could fix them with lots of teamwork. At the end we ended as the winners!” Juan Salvador Alvarez, 7th grade student acting in Luna Verde, said.

This theater unit allowed students not only to show their academic skills but also their artistic skills, which students don’t normally have the opportunity to show. The judges, which were a group of teachers who highlighted the artistic abilities of many students which are not often seen in most academic activities.

“The teachers, were impressed by seeing the artistic ambit of each student, which is not normally seen in class, and were also impressed  seeing how some students that were shy at class were outstanding in their roles,” Vargas said.

As the students learned about theater in a interactive way. Many also learned really valuable life skills such as confronting their fears of public speaking and acting in front of an audience. 

“I was able to overcome my shyness. I was always shy of presenting in class before this, but now I learned to control this and now I am able to perform in public,” Juan Luis Posada, 7th grade student acting in Luna Verde, said.