Last week, James Staley and his choir students―jazz and concert―all gather to visit the seventh and eighth students for a significant reason.

“We wanted to perform for the choir students,” he said. “To get those kids excited about signing in choir at high school and encourage them to keep participating in the fine arts.”

Staley wanted to inspire and encourage the students to proceed with their commitment in choir throughout their start of high school, as well as in the fine arts.

Sophomore Olivia Woodward-Shaw was one of the many other students in the choir class who was enjoying her visit; she had fun performing for the Santan choir students. At first, she was concerned the 13 and 14 year olds would be shy, but she said the young group actually had a lot to ask.

“It was so much fun,” she said. “They were asking a bunch of questions actually. We were nervous they were not going to ask any questions. But they were all really involved.”

Her message for the young choir students was to participate in high school.

“Get involved with [as] much as you can,” she said. “And whether you think you’re going to like it or not, just try it out because you never know what that’s going to lead you to.”

Along with senior James Cardon, he had fun performing for the Santan students. This trip taught him how to inspire other kids to create talent so that they can achieve what they can. He believes that being socially active in high school can be beneficial, as well as in the fine arts.

“It helps [them] grow socially to meet new people and to develop skills,” he said. “Especially in the fine arts…when you make cool music other people can enjoy it…is kind of like a service for others (to help develop theirs).”

Cardon even suggests the young students to keep doing choir because it is fun.

“Do choir. Keep, keep singing because it is a lot of fun.” he said with a smile.

During the field trip, Staley saw his students express positive emotions, as they are “promoting excitement about music [into] those younger kids.”

Most of Staley’s students got the chance to reconnect with the school again. They were able to show off Wendy Umbrianna Santan’s choir teacher—how much their talent has develop as they continue choir in high school. It gave the younger kids an idea of how proceeding with choir can help develop a high level of talent.

When moving on to high school, most students stop taking fine arts when they are going into high school and halt their development. It is hard for them to pick up where they left off, which is why Staley is encouraging the youngsters to continue choir.

Staley said: “Sometimes, most students participate in fine arts in junior high and then they transfer to high school; they stop doing something which makes [it] hard to pick up later.”