By Nicole Burns

For the FCT

Phil Campbell Memorial Park was alive with the sound of music and visual arts last week. Parents, students and community members met for Phil Campbell Elementary School’s second annual Art in the Park.

Original artwork adorned the trees and the ground and spilled over into a gallery set up in the gym of First Baptist Church.

“We started this last year to have an opportunity to showcase what the children have done throughout the year,” said PCES art teacher Jessica Peppers. “It’s an opportunity for the parents and the community to come out. Sometimes we forget how important the community is to our school and vice versa. Visual arts and music is one way to bring everybody together.”

Peppers teaches art at PCES and helps teachers connect their students to the subject matter with the help of visual art projects. “We just feel like the arts and music are so important, and we would love to see more students get on board and become involved,” said show choir director Michelle Marbutt. “The only thing that has really been proven to lift test scores and lift self-esteem is the arts, and the kids love it.”

The PCES show choir consists of students in grades three through six who stay after school to work on their music. The students learned some old time rock ‘n roll throughout the year as well as drumming skills. “They go home and tell me how they annoy their parents with their drumming with pots and pans or their teachers because they’re drumming with their pencils on their desks,” said percussionist Lauryn Clark. “But you know what? They’re building bigger futures.”

After the show choir finished their performances, PC Idol participants had the opportunity to take the stage again. They showed off their talents for the crowd. “It’s important for us to realize that when we recognize what our kids have done, that it encourages them to do more and to do it better,” said Peppers.