Nine years ago, a tradition began at Hillcrest School in Moncton.
Peter Trainor, who was the Principal at the time was a musician at heart and he decided to bring the Coffee House to the school.
He retired at the end of last year, but due to a huge demand from the students, teachers decided this tradition must continue.
Erica Trail, who is a teacher at the school says, “It’s all about a love for the Arts. Obviously, academics is our first priority and then we have people who play on sports teams, but we also have drama and a lot of musicians. This is a night for a lot of them to showcase their talents, and help out others in the community.”
Teacher Julie O’Donnell says there are a variety of student performers, “We’ll have some students who will sing acapella, play an instrument, guitar, violin, cello, piano and sometimes the teachers will team up with the students and do some performances.”..
Trail says it’s really special to see these kids perform, “As a teacher, that is the best part, is seeing them shine in their element and loving what they’re doing and performing in front of people and seeing their hard work pay off. It’s really the best feeling.”
All of the proceeds from the Coffee House go to charity, which Trail says is a great feeling for the kids, because they are helping someone in need.
Teachers Julie O’Donnell and Erica Trail perform.
