Fall performance celebrates firsts

Fall performance celebrates firsts
Posted on 11/21/2018
Plumas Charter School enrichment instructor Saraha Michelle Black receives flowers and a hug after the school’s fall performance, as her students of all ages look on from the stage. Black produced this year’s event. Photo by Ingrid BurkeA standing-room-only crowd filled the Town Hall Theatre Nov. 15 as more than 100 Plumas Charter School students took to the stage for their annual fall performance.

“This is a year of firsts for our fall performance,” said PCS Executive Director Taletha Washburn. This is the first time the school has performed at the Town Hall Theatre. It also marks the first time junior high and high school students have participated in the event.

The newly expanded roles of two PCS teachers also made their fall performance debut this year: enrichment instructor Saraha Michelle Black “organized the whole thing,” said Washburn, and music teacher Greg Willis made significant contributions.

Black teaches drama, movement, and voice to PCS Quincy students. She produced the event, facilitating performances by students at every level from transitional kindergarten to 10th grade.

As the event’s program states, “Cultivating creativity and inspiring students to reach beyond traditional outlets for their energies and pursuits is fundamentally important at Plumas Charter School.” The evening’s performances covered a broad range of genres, from a traditional Nigerian welcome song to a cardio workout demonstration to dramatic improvisation.

Willis teaches music craft, digital audio, and guitar at PCS. In addition to performing with his students, he helped them build kalimbas (thumb pianos) to offer for sale at the event in support of the PCS music programs.

Longtime local music teacher Johny McDonald and her students filled out the night’s program with string and band ensemble pieces.

In a parent meeting before the show, Washburn and PCS Quincy Site Director Patrick Joseph offered an update on the school’s new facility. With a contractor—Modern Building Co., of Chico—selected and planning underway, Phase I is nearly completed. The new school will be located at Kelsey Lane and Quincy Junction Road, behind Quincy Junior-Senior High School.

Plumas Charter School serves students at learning centers in Quincy, Chester, and Indian Valley. For more information, call 530-283-3851.

By Ingrid Burke, I. Burke Writing & Editing
[email protected]


In the photo: Plumas Charter School enrichment instructor Saraha Michelle Black receives flowers and a hug after the school’s fall performance, as her students of all ages look on from the stage. Black produced this year’s event. Photo by Ingrid Burke
Watch the Fall Performance below, and visit our YouTube channel for more videos!