IN THE CLASSROOM:

Elementary students throughout Newport-Mesa are taking the stage this week, as schools gear up for their annual holiday music programs.

Officials at schools across the district said their student bodies were hard at work on their upcoming holiday shows, with special schedules this week to get the last bits of rehearsal in.

At Newport Elementary, the hundreds of kids involved took the last couple of hours of school Monday packed into the multi-purpose room to sing and play through the entirety of their show. Many of the songs go way beyond “Jingle Bells,” and that’s something the music program did intentionally.

Tiffany Lewis’ fifth-graders sang the German carol “Still, Still, Still” and the “African Noel,” while others picked up recorders and even clarinets — for those in the higher grades — to serenade the hall packed with their fellow students.

Classical music is something both the parents and the students are very receptive to, said Nick St. Royal, a Newport Elementary music teacher.

“I tried to push classical hard,” St. Royal said. “These kids are doing Beethoven and Haydn. I find they really get enthusiastic; they’re still at that age where they’re curious, and they really love to learn new things.”

Students have been working since September, 45 minutes a week, on their music, and St. Royal said he was working from “day one” of the school year on planning the show.

“It takes that when you only see them once a week,” he said. “It’s my first year here, and this has been a very enthusiastic group of kids. Doing this teaches them more than just music; they learn self-discipline as well.”

The finished product will be on display at 8:15 a.m. Thursday, and Principal Amy Nagy said she was looking forward to the results.

“They’re doing beautifully,” she said.

MICHAEL ALEXANDER may be reached at (714) 966-4618 or at [email protected].