A visit from sister duo act spices up Millersburg Elementary's Right to Read Week
Millersburg Elementary took Right to Read Week to new heights when the school got a visit from a national singing duo who brightened up the week with their inspirational music.
Camille and Haley Harris from Tulsa, Oklahoma, stopped by to spice up Right to Read Week and helped create a fun-loving atmosphere in a unique way that kept the kids singing and dancing. The musical duo went from room to room at the elementary on Wednesday, May 17, entertaining classes with some lively, uplifting music that hit home with the kids.
“Our goal is to encourage the joy of music,” said Camille Harris, the elder of the two sisters who hail from a large musical family of eight children.
The singer/songwriter duo was touring through Ohio and connected with Millersburg Elementary teacher Janet Yoder, who helped bring them in to perform a quick concert in celebration of the Garden of Hope project, the garden created by speech therapy teacher Lynda Park, who has special needs students planting, caring for and harvesting the fresh food and presenting it to various organizations in the area.
“We had a special concert for them because we really have a heart for special needs kids, and we have enjoyed getting a chance to sing with each of the classes here at school,” Camille Harris said. “This is really inspiring us to make more music with positive messages that is targeted for schools.”
Haley Harris said touring with her sister is a dream come true and that they share so many special bonds that make each experience worthwhile.
“Camille is my other half,” Haley Harris said. “As long as she is with me, I am good to go. We have spent two days here at Millersburg and will be singing at a church in Columbus for a fundraiser for an orphanage in Kenya. It’s been a busy trip through Ohio.”
Millersburg Elementary music teacher Georgia Jaeb had shown the students music videos featuring the duo, so the students were familiar with them before they arrived.
Millersburg Elementary principal Renee Woods said having the singing sisters in house was a blessing for the school and especially for the Garden of Hope students who got to sing with the sisters at the concert.
“They had a little concert at the garden, and they actually helped give away some produce to a local pantry as well as giving away some plants to people from plants we had started as seeds,” Woods said. “They asked the people to pay it forward to someone in need when the plants produce. It was a neat experience. They even made a really cute video that is a parody of one of the songs the girls sing, and we made a video that people can purchase for a donation, and all of that money will go back to the Garden of Hope fund.”
The videos are available at the school.
The Millersburg Right to Read Week featured a camping theme, complete with a giant tent in the foyer area of the school where students gathered to read during the 10-minute Drop Everything and Read times as well as other designated times throughout each day.
Woods said they created some serious goals for the classes including 20,000 minutes of reading for the classes in second through fifth grade as well as having the kindergarten and first-grade classes read 600 books, a goal they blew past with several days to go.
“We actually are trying to double that goal,” Woods said of the younger grades’ success.
Each day during the week also had some fun themes including camouflage day, dress like a camper day, bring a bear to school day and read a T-shirt day.
“They are fun themes that keep the kids excited and interested in building reading fundamentals,” Woods said. “It’s about creating a joy for reading.”