Night of the Notables

Every year at the children's school, the 6th graders hold what is known as The Night of the Notables, which is the culmination of a whole year's course work. They are made to choose one Notable or a personality who has made a distinct contribution to the world. This involves a laborious method starting with all the stages of the research process and the various steps of staging a performance because on the designated evening they will dress up as their chosen notable and emulate their every characteristic. They pour over the biographies, draft the booth's floor plans, procure the furniture, and create the artwork. They each memorize a five-page spiel, which they will present to the audience highlighting the contributions of their notable and how they have made the world a better place.

Belli has prepared for this for many months. She has chosen Jane Austen and has read three of her six novels. Her reward after finishing each novel had been to watch the Hollywood remakes on film. Her bespoke costume is ready, her booth is all set up, and her spiel is memorized to the last pause, although she is still polishing up on that countryside English accent of Jane Austen.

I walked around the auditorium today, where the entire class of 20 six-graders have set up their booths. I'm not an openly sentimental person (okay, I'm closeted!) but I was moved by all the hard work that obviously went into these 12-year-olds' projects. Bea's booth on the Filipino artist, Pacita Abad's atelier was colorful and inspiring; Daniella's booth on Anne Frank was hair- raising and eerie because of that lone antique chair, a beat-up desk and a threadbare blanket; Luis' booth with Stan Lee's drafting table and a giant poster of Spiderman, which his Dad drew from scratch was waaaay cool; Bianca's booth on Oprah Winfrey was a faithful reproduction of Oprah's TV show set; Kai's booth on CNN's Christiane Amanpour was a rendering of a war zone in which her experiences has made her the credible and admirable journalist that she is today; and Jaime's booth on Howard Schulz, founder of Starbucks, was flashy with all those Starbucks gadgets.

Belli borrowed my good friend Mabek's beautiful desk and chair; she also commandeered my dresser chair, my mother's wedding china tea set and silver, an antique lace umbrella from God knows where, unearthed from the recesses of my closet. I wore my shoes out searching for that quill pen and finally found it at the eleventh hour in Ricky Toledo and Chito Vijandre's shop, Felicity, at the Shangri-La Plaza.

I am in awe of these children!