By Thomas Sellers Jr.
E.A. Harrold Elementary’s and Millington Municipal Schools’ holiday gift to the residents of Millington was the production of “A Chipmunk Christmas.’ Students from E.A. Harrold presented the event at First Baptist Church Dec. 18 in front of a packed sanctuary. Under the direction of Lori Campbell and music by Nealie Dean, the children of E.A. Harrold performed holiday classics. Meanwhile the play continued behind the music in front of the stage decorations of Martina Fleming. E.A. Harrold Principal Dr. Amanda Compton welcomed the audience and gave the official start of the program. The Pre-K and Kindergarten song “Up on the Housetop” and “Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer.” Rudolph was played by Addisyn Carter. Then the first graders song “Jingle Bells” and “All I Want for Christmas My Two Front Teeth.” The second graders performed “Frosty the Snowman” and “Deck the Hall.” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” were the selections of the third graders. Fourth graders took to the stage to sing “Winter Wonderland” and “Over the River.” Then the children had the chorus of “Let It Snow.” The fifth graders handled “Twelve Days of Christmas” and “The Chipmunk Song.” Finally all the grades song “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Some of the notables were cast and crew Sam Curry (Alvin), Lane Declue (Simon), Carter Joyner (Theodore), Ben Halliburton (Dave), Christopher Galindo (Santa Claus), Hayley Fiene (Mrs. Clause), Aiden Palmer (narrator 1), Emily McKell (narrator 2), Ethan Mull (narrator 3), Joseph Hill (Winchester), Cameron Gentile (Frosty) and Skylar Raby (store clerk). The dancing reindeers were Daniel Garcia, Sofia Garcia, Osiel Castro, Liviya Frietal, Jalia Sumrell, Arianna Hartjen, Hanil Patel, Mya Soileau, Joshua Sherman and Kendall Carroll. The band members were Mattie Bole, Dantris McKinley and Franklin Hitchcock, and the Chipettes were Ariella Lewis, Tia Bryson, Jasmine Bernard, Apolonia DeLao and Aleeah Fiene. Lori Campbell wanted to express sincere gratitude to the Millington First Baptist Church for its generosity. Then she also gave a special thanks to all who made the production possible. “All the great students for their hard work and enthusiasm in making this night a success,” she said. “Dr. Amanda Compton, Kelly Cline and the E.A. Harrold faculty and staff for their help and support. Mr. and Mrs. Scott McKell, Heather Chalker, Raquel Snyder, Danielle Martin, Susan Clemons, Karla Hornsby, Ashley Royal and Jennifer Booker for giving their time to help and for working so hard to make this night possible.
“Ken Dean and his crew for engineering the sound and lights,” Campbell concluded. “Russ Good for helping with the decorations, props and furniture. All of the parents and families that gave their time to help.”
