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Dance, theatre cap school year in SD43

There’s less than a month to go before the end of this academic year.

There’s less than a month to go before the end of this academic year.

And at several Tri-City schools, students and teachers are gearing up for final performances — many of them on show for the public.

ELEMENTARY
A new teacher at Irvine elementary brings something fresh to the Port Coquitlam school for its year end: a musical production.
Dawn Jetté, who previously worked in the Surrey school district, directs around 50 Irvine students in the Disney show The Lion King: Kids.
In January, Jetté held an open call for the extracurricular program, signing up young actors, fellow teachers (current and retired), parents and even SD43’s energy manager, Marilyn Christensen, to the team. “It’s been about bringing the community together,” Jetté said, adding, “We’ve had a role for everyone.”
Written by Elton John and Tim Rice — with songs that include Circle of Life, Can You Feel the Love Tonight and Hakuna Matata — The Lion King: Kids runs June 6 (1:30 and 6:30 p.m.) and June 7 (6:30 p.m.) at the school (3862 Wellington St., PoCo). Tickets are $5 at the door.

MIDDLE
Megan Smith leads a cast of 53 students at Port Coquitlam’s Minnekhada middle school next month in a historical fictional drama set during the Second World War.
Smith portrays 10-year-old Annemarie Johansen whose family is among the Danish Jews relocated to Sweden by the Resistance in German-occupied Denmark in 1943.
The students are acting out the work, Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry, as part of their Living Language Arts classes with teachers Phil Hughes and Frank Lore.
They have six performances but only one viewing for the public: June 7 at 7 p.m. at the school (1390 Laurier Ave., PoCo). Donations will be accepted to Make Change for Africa, a charity that helps to pay for school fees for orphans in Zimbabwe.

SECONDARY
Greg Jungco may already have his sights set for Point Park University — where he’s received a $60,000 scholarship to study dance at the Pittsburgh institution — but before he leaves, the Grade 12 student will star in a dance recital with Ysanne Yong, Natasha Pavan and other students under teacher Natalee Fera, at the Coquitlam high school on June 7 and 8.
Their final farewell will include contemporary, hip hop and Bollywood numbers.