Stagecoach

Jonathan Harrison of Further Stages is our very last remaining original student from day one of Stagecoach Darlington - 13 years this coming April. He has a brother Matthew who is not a Stagecoach student.

I received this e mail from Jonathan`s dad recently:-

Currently, Matthew is working at Tesco to fund his walk of over 1200 miles from John O’ Groats to Land’s End to raise money for Parkinson’s UK.  Please click on the link below to go to his Just Giving page for his full itinerary, etc:

http://www.justgiving.com/matthewharrison25

If you can help him in any way he will be most appreciative.

Thank you to those of you who have already donated &/or pledged help.

If you feel it appropriate, please forward this to your contacts; if every contact of every contact were to give just £1, I’m sure he can burst through his £10K target!

Thank you.

Regards,

Steven

I am touched by such a challenge particularly as my dad has been diagnosed with Parkinson`s disease, as I know Jonathan`s and Matthew`s grandad was too.  Perhaps if you have personal connections with the disease that you may wish to support Matthew.  I wish him very well and look forward to listening to news of his progress, both with his fundraising and the walk itself.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

TO ALL OUR STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES WITH ALL THE BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY NEW YEAR IN 2011 FROM TRUDY, JEFF -  AND LILY

If you would like to see an animated Christmas greeting from Lily then click on the link:-

http://www.dancingsantacard.com/en/?santa=515350

Singing Sue found this site last year and it really made me laugh. You can make your own version for FREE and send to your friends and family. Here is another lovely one:-

http://ak.imgag.com/imgag/product/preview/flash/bws8Shell_fps24.swf?ihost=http://ak.imgag.com/imgag&brandldrPath=/product/full/el/&cardNum=/product/full/ap/3166187/graphic1

CHRISTMAS “R” FACTOR  

There is one thing that brings that Christmas feeling to even the hardest of hearts - little children singing - so please click below to listen to one of our Early stages classes in 2004 sing `Away in a Manger` - then click on the link below for more of the `R` (arh!) Factor

Away in a Manger  `Away in a Manger` as sung by the Thursday Early Stages Class of 2004 - where are you all now ?

More `R`Factor - http://www.darlingtonandyarm.co.uk/stagecoach/2010/12/17/other-early-stages-songs-to-raise-the-raah-factor/

Aaron Chilton of Darlington Saturday AM school is very proud of his dad who is one of the three singers in `The Soldiers` who appeared last Saturday on `Strictly Come Dancing`. His dad was interviewed in the Northern Echo and was kind enough to give us a mention. Thank you very much.

Janie sent me this clip from Youtube. Have you ever seen anything as mind-blowing??

http://www.nzwide.com/swanlake.htm

Aaron Chilton`s dad (Aaron is in Darlington Saturday AM school) is pictured in this clip from the Northern Echo presenting money to charities who help servicemen injured in battle. Gary Chilton is himself a serving soldier and one of a group called “The Soldiers” who have had some great recording and touring success lately. That is a magnificent amount to have raised.

Elle Lamming of Yarm AM school recently went to London to see “Billy Elliot” in the West End. She waited at the stage door with her mum and was rewarded with the chance of a photo with the boy who played Billy.

Here are Nicole and Nadia Fenwick (Darlington Early Stages) with their snowmen for the album. Great girls!!

Well done to  Christopher Bayliss (Darlington Further Stages), Charlotte Churchman (Darlington Further Stages) Amy Lee (Darlington Friday School) and Hannah Greenwood (Sunday PM School) for all gaining merits and Distinctions in their LAMDA Musical Theatre Singing Exams that they sat very recently. They were entered for their exams by Caterina Rea (Singing teacher for Yarm PM School and both Further Stages groups) after taking private Singing lessons for several months. The members of the group sat the exams at Grade 4 and 5 level. Once the gradings move to Grade 6 and above they are worth UCAS points for university entrance.

Congratulations go to all the students and to Cat.  If you are a Further Stages student or are in Stage 3 in any of our main schools and would like to take private lessons with the aim of sitting these exams then you should ring me and I will put you in contact with Cat because she will have a couple of vacant slots soon.