The tradition of CIA kids caroling the community continues
Just as sure as Santa making his rounds every Christmas Eve is the joyous sound of the young voices from the Cook Inlet Academy students as they tour the community bringing Holiday cheer to the places they visit.
For the last 12 years Becky Dwinnell, the pre-school teacher known as "Miss Becky" to everyone at Cook Inlet Academy, has been taking her CIA Carolers to places in the community that appreciate the kids the most. It's a huge undertaking that requires a multitude of parent support and about a month of rehearsal time at school.
Transporting some 45 pre-school through second graders filled with holiday excitement from place to place is masterful accomplishment in itself, but Miss Becky makes it look as easy as taking an apple pie out of the oven. "It gets larger every year and we couldn't do it without the parents and teachers help, everybody pitches in," said Miss Becky.
Within a three-hour period the group visits 5 different locations performing a 15 to 20 minute concert at each stop. This year the troupe made caroling tours on two days, December 11th, & 15th, visiting the Soldotna Senior Center, Heritage Place nursing home, Central Peninsula General Hospital, Beemun's Variety, and this year they added the Soldotna Safeway to their itinerary. Some of Miss Becky's original carolers are probably in College now or maybe even have children of their own, but the joy that children's voices bring to the hearts of the people at these special places each year never changes.