School sings out for jubilee

Students at St. Stanislaus School record their own compact disc

By ANH HOANG
WCR Staff Writer
Edmonton

It's the time of the Great Jubilee.

For their jubilee project, the 223 students at the southside French immersion school compiled songs and personal reflections onto an hour long CD entitled Au Choeur de St. Stanislaus - Our Spirit Sings.

Each month since the start of the school year, the students have been learning about the jubilee themes - reconcile, restore, release, recreate and rejoice. The songs and words on the CD echo what they have learned.

"We're doing this because of jubilee," said Rochelle Welham, 11, who wasn't quite sure what jubilee meant.

Fellow classmate Michael Matar, 11, added, "It's a good year to do this."

The two gathered with their Grade 6 class and students from grades 4 and 5 for their last recording session April 11. Crowded into the school's music room, the students practised For the Beauty of the Earth before recording it four times.

Their eyes rolled and the sweat built up on their temples every time their teacher Jean Francois Bugeaud said "one more take."

Blankets were duct taped up along the walls to reduce the echo. The room's temperature rose way above normal, making it clear why the room has been dubbed the sweat lodge.

"The kids have been really patient about this," said Larry MacIsaac, a parent and owner of Archer Parker (recording) Studio. "They're understanding what it takes to put something like this together.

"They've really learned what it means to be patient."

Millennium projects are sprouting up across the archdiocese. Some schools are doing jubilee door decorations, while others have painted hallways or made jubilee quilts.

"This is our way of celebrating the jubilee," Duvoid said. "Every student is represented in this CD. They all contributed in some way."

The CD is expected to be released in June. There will be a special preview May 17 at St. Thomas More Church.

"This has brought the community together," Duvoid said. "It's something we can talk about . . . a common theme."

School secretary Monica Plamondon added, "This is a sense of pride for the students, not only in their school, but their faith."

Bugeaud said he chose songs like the Jubilee Song and Shine Jesus Shine because "they're songs with a spiritual lean to them. I wanted our Catholic identity to show up in this CD."

It was not only the Catholic identity which Bugeaud wanted to showcase, but also the school's French culture.

"That's the thing with a CD, it can always be forever," Bugeaud said. "Thirty years from now, (students) can go back and listen to their voices on it and remember the work they put into it."

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