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Lakewood Creek Students Get a Chance to Rock Out

As a reward for increasing participation in this year's summer reading program, Principal Dave Brusak brought his drum set to school and put on a show.

 

Students at Lakewood Creek Elementary School in Montgomery got a special treat on Tuesday afternoon. They got to find out their principal, Dave Brusak, is a rock star.

Lakewood Creek students pumped up their participation in this year’s summer reading program, jumping from 160,705 minutes to 182,461 minutes. So as a reward, Brusak brought his drum set to the school’s gymnasium, and put on a show.

Brusak’s been drumming for years—he calls it a hobby, and he’s been in several bands. Students were wide-eyed, gasping and dancing along as he first explained the different drums and cymbals, and then played an extended solo. And when he accompanied the students in a rendition of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” the joy filled the room.

And he actually got to do it twice—staff at Lakewood Creek brought half the student body in at 2 p.m., and the other half at 2:45 p.m.

About 200 of Lakewood Creek’s roughly 750 students participated in the summer reading program, and those kids will get gift certificates from McDonald’s and Buona Beef.

Tuesday’s celebration kicked off a year-long program at Lakewood Creek called Reading Rocks. The school is in the midst of creating a reading lounge for students, and has launched several other programs to help encourage students to read.

Brusak said next year’s summer reading program will be gauged the same way, and if the numbers go up again, there will be another celebratory reward. But he admits they may have trouble topping this year’s.

Above you will find a video of Brusak’s performance, and audio of the first “Don’t Stop Believing” singalong.

Related Topics: Don't Stop Believing, Drumming, Journey, and Lakewood Creek Elementary School

Dana

12:45 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

A very creative way to celebrate the students accomplishments! I wish the video allowed the viewer to see the kids sing! I am sure that was a great visual!

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Andre Salles

1:02 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Dana, I wish it did too. They shut the lights off so the kids could read the lyrics projected on the wall, and that meant all the footage I got was unusably dark. It looked OK when I shot it, but murky and indistinct when I got it home. So this was the best compromise I could think of!

Paula Zavala Riordan

5:28 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

I think my comment was lost... in any event, thank you so much Andre for covering this story for us parents! My daughter told me about this show, but I had no idea it was so much fun! Thanks for the video, it was a nice treat!

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Andre Salles

9:52 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

You're welcome, Paula! I had a great time doing it!

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