Our Class Choir Sings at the Manurewa RSA

We were invited to sing at the Manurewa RSA after some of their members attended our ANZAC Assembly last month.

We arrived at the Manurewa R.S.A to discover that we would be singing in front of not 20 people, but around 100 RSA members. As we entered, we noticed another school performing a simple yet intricate Irish dance, followed by a solo song by a young girl.When our cue presented itself (in the form of President Graham) we walked in a single-file line, wondering whether to stay or to rush in front of all those people.

Hunter announced who we were and what songs we were going to sing. Subtly, everyone was shaking with fear and anticipation. Mrs Vincent turned from her back-to-audience position and added a few words to Hunter's, though slightly louder.

When we finished our performance, a voice out of nowhere was telling us to stay. We were wondering who it was - then we saw a woman walking along the side of the make-shift stage with a microphone. It was Lyn, the lady who invited us. We got asked to do an encore and that is when we realised they really liked us. We each got a packet of chips and a Coca Cola or Sprite as a thank-you reward.

' When we went through the second round of singing, I noticed that hardly anyone wasn't singing along.' Ricki-Jean

'I was really nervous because I thought there wouldn't be many people, but when we went in to the R.S.A there were about 100 people there. I started feeling confident after singing the first few songs.' Caitlin

'I was really nervous at first, but when we got up there and started singing, I didn't feel nervous any more. It was very fun after a while. I think the R.S.A members really liked it. I did too.' Tegan

'When we got in to the R.S.A, I felt like going back to school, after I saw how many people were there. But when we went up and started singing, I was only nervous for the first few songs, then I started getting in to it. ' Shayla

'At first I was really really nervous, then once we were out there singing, I didn't feel that scared any more. When I walked in I was shaking.' Bhaban

' When we were arriving, I had butterflies and felt excited. After the performance, I felt really good, happy and proud that I had the guts to get up there and sing. On the way back to school, I was really happy they gave us a thank-you treat. ' Sarah

' When we were in the car, we were talking so that our butterflies did not show. Walking in, we were very nervous. Then unexpectedly, Mrs Vincent asked me to introduce the Huia1 Choir, so Mrs Vincent and I went in to the corridor so that I could practice. By accepting this, it made me 50 times more nervous.' Hunter

Karnjeet was away sick when we wrote this so we do not have a comment from him.

We would like to thank Mr McLean and Mrs Kesby for helping with transport to and from the RSA.

by Ricki-Jean, Sarah and Hunter