 J. W. Smith Elementary School in Bemidji is decking out some holidays here just in time for Christmas. Our own Charel Moore has the story from the halls for this week's Golden Apple. There was strumming, a few high notes, and even some theatrics. The 4th and 5th graders at J. W. L. Bemidji School graced the stage today for their annual Christmas concert. It's completely optional and what they do is they come in one day a week during recess to practice. So we started at the beginning of the school year and we practiced a few songs together and then we just do a winter concert with the rest of the school. The orchestra opened the show with three songs, including two re-enditions of Hot Cross Buttons. Then the choir brought it home, the gym was packed with other students, teachers, and of course parents. The journey getting here has been one of pure determination. I've started, you know, learned some warm-ups and some things and then generally kind of once November rolls around then we'll kind of pull up some Christmas songs and practice those. And if you ask the kids, they're all pretty proud of themselves. You feel nervous at the beginning of it but once you get on stage you feel good and then you get all and then you get all happy. It was the scariest first but then it got very fun to remember all the words. 50 kids were in J. W. Smith's choir today and 10 were in the orchestra. The choir sang songs like... At the end of the concert, the lights went out and classic Christmas carols were sung, with the words projected on the wall so everybody could join along. I think music's really important. It's a great outlet for kids that really don't have a lot of opportunities necessarily. Maybe they're not as likely gifted but it's another outlet for them to release some creative energy and just to be a part of something or another organization where they can learn teamwork and work ethic and all that sort of things. Reporting of Amidji with this week's Golden Apple, Sramar, Lakeland News. All right the J. W. Smith Orchestra Enquirer will now begin prepping for their spring concert. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.