These Montessori students are 'going places' while on stage

RICHMOND, Va. - Every year, students at the Richmond Montessori School write a play inspired by things going on around them, then perform the play for other students and parents.

This year, COVID almost derailed those plans. But oh, the places you can go, with a little positive thinking.

Students Ezra Dow and Ellie Loverde are looking forward to summer.

"There's no sign that COVID won't be gone by summer,” Ezra said. “Fingers crossed, but I am looking forward to graduating."

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That's a positive thought. And their entire class can thank their teacher, Ms. Bree Linton for helping put it there.

She was reading Dr. Seuss' "Oh, The Places You'll Go" when the class decided they'd like to write a play loosely based on the message.

"We went through the whole writing process,” Ms. Linton said. “So, we were, 'what do we want our message to be? What do we want our audience to walk away with?'"

"When I heard it was based on a Dr. Seuss book, I was like ugh! It's gonna be a child play," Ellie said.

But by giving the students the freedom to write, build the sets, and design the costumes, the process taught them some valuable lessons.

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"They learn a lot about cooperation and compromise and group decision making; those really, kind of important skills," Linton said.

It also helped them cope with the pitfalls of the pandemic. Instead of performing the play live, they recorded it and played it for fellow students and parents.

"I know my parents were very happy and excited to see the play," Ellie said. “And I was not telling them hardly anything about the play, so it was like top secret!"

The secret's out now. These kids are going places by building positivity and Building Better Minds.