Dartmouth’s summer school students were treated to a special performance on July 28, as several Dartmouth residents performed songs and dances for the crowd.

Over 350 students packed into the Dartmouth High auditorium to see the show, starring Dartmouth residents Cierra Vicente, Frances Howard, Amy Manny, Julia Olimpio, and Taylor Olimpio. All except Vicente are current Dartmouth Middle or Dartmouth High students; Vicente graduated from the high school in June and will be heading to college in the fall.

The five sang, danced, and played music from a variety of sources, including pop hits—with renditions of “Can’t Stop The Feeling” and “Unwritten”—and classic Disney tunes from movies such as "The Little Mermaid."

After the performance, the girls were excited to see how well received their show was.

“My favorite part was seeing all the kids get on their feet,” Vicente said. “They really enjoyed it.”

“I loved the audience,” Taylor said. “I’ve never seen this much energy come from our performances.”

The concert was organized by DeMello School teacher and summer school coordinator Robin Kolbeck. She organizes at least one big activity a week for the summer school program. In the past few weeks, the kids have learned karate and got an inside look at fellow Dartmouth teacher Kathleen Souza’s published children’s book, “August Skies.”

When Kolbeck was deciding on programming, she recalled that two of her students—the Olimpios—were involved in the performing arts, and wanted to highlight local performers.

“It’s so great to let [the girls] show their stuff and see opportunities at the high school,” Kolbeck said. “It takes [the kids] away from academics for some fun. We also feel that the arts are important.”