If there’s something weird in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call? Dr. James’ seventh-grade advisory! On Thursday, October 30, the members of Dr. James’ advisory – Vinny Amato, Emma Johnson, Priscilla Lambert, Coby Leibowitz, Caroline Moody, Ben Myers, Sarah Weiss, and Tatiana Ziff – went to The Waterford Senior and Independent Living facility and put on a Halloween show in which they were featured as ghostbusters, comedians, actors and actresses, singers, and dancers too!

At first though, the people at the Waterford were a little hesitant about having middle school students perform for the residents. They thought middle students would be too young and wild. But, Dr. James’ advisory would not give up. They wrote a formal letter on Benjamin letterhead stating that they knew the seriousness of the situation and how to act. The letter also stated that they did portray all of the Benjamin character traits, and included a picture of the entire advisory. And, eureka, they were accepted! So, for the last three months, all members of Dr. James’ advisory rehearsed, getting props, printing skits, and memorizing lines. Not once did anyone complain, or ask how many community service hours they would get. Every advisory was a rehearsal and started promptly when advisory started and ended satisfactorily with great progress when advisory ended. Hours upon hours were put into this performance, and the result proved that those hours upon hours were well spent.

At 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 30th all members of  Dr. James’ advisory boarded a Benjamin school bus and drove to the  Waterford,. The residents were seated as an audience in the main foyer and were all wearing halloween hats. Tatiana, Emma, Caroline, Sarah, Coby, Ben, Vinny, and Priscilla then opened with a dance they choreographed to the tune of “Ghostbusters.” Not only was there singing and dancing, there were multiple props too! From the ghostbusters gun, to a ghostbusters guitar, they had it all. Each advisee was required to bring in a prop and black or blue sunglasses, and they did. Also, each advisee bought a white t-shirt and emblazoned it with a letter from the word ‘ghostbusters!’, so that when they turned around, it spelled GHOSTBUSTERS! It was truly great!  After introductions, Tati and Emma entertained the crowd with a creative dance they choreographed on their own to Ariana Grande’s Problem. Vinny, Caroline, and Sarah then performed a skit called “What is Halloween?”. In “What is Halloween?”, Sarah and Caroline were two Trick or Treater’s who found themselves explaining Halloween to a man at whose house they go to trick or treat. The man was portrayed by Vinny, and the girls explain Halloween through poems. Afterwards, Coby Leibowitz, “The King of 7th grade comedy,” entertained the crowd with knock your socks off funny and Halloween jokes. One of his standout jokes was, “When I went trick or treating there were these two vampires that looked about five years old. They asked for a treat at a lady’s door. The lady at the door said, ‘Here, have some neck-tarines.’” After each joke, as Coby instructed, the crowd accented it with a little “ba dumdum.”

Shortly after, Priscilla Lambert took out her piccolo and played for the residents a song from The Nightmare Before Christmas, called “Sally’s Song.” To conclude its performance, the advisory handed out personalized cards to each resident along with a piece of candy (yum!). On the front of each card was a unique watercolor design created by Priscilla that she painted with no reference or model.

The Benjamin School’s co-founder, Mrs. Nancy Benjamin, lives at the Waterford, and Dr. James’ advisory dedicated its performance to her and also gave Mrs. Benjamin flowers. “My favorite part was seeing Mrs. Benjamin so happy and proud about what we were doing,” said seventh grader Sarah Weiss. After the performance, the advisory left with Mrs. Benjamin and drove to Tijuana Flats to have lunch with her. “[One of my favorite parts was]  just spending some time with [Mrs. Benjamin],” added Weiss. Mrs. Benjamin seemed to have enjoyed the experience, and I am positive Dr. James’ advisory did as well! As for plans for the future, “I think that we might go back to do some activities like read a book or do some puzzles with [the residents],” concluded an excited Weiss. Fellow advisee and seventh grader Tati Ziff added, “I would definitely go back because it is an enjoyable experience for everybody involved.”

Community service can be really enjoyable if you find the one that works for you! Community service isn’t just about the hours that you need to have. When committing to an act of community service, it’s about helping others. “My favorite part about the trip was interacting with all of the residents and really feeling good inside about what we were doing as an advisory representing The Benjamin School,” Ziff announced. “[My favorite part was] saying ‘hi,’ and meeting all the [elderly people],” said seventh grader Coby Leibowitz, who has obviously found his perfect community service venu. The perfect community service venue for you is out there too!