CMSD performers wow OH Perry crowd at annual 'Molly Day' celebration

The annual "Molly Day" performances by Cleveland Metropolitan School District students at O.H. Perry School that memorialize the late daughter of retired U.S. Sen. George Voinovich and his wife Janet each year are always rousing, heartfelt and sometimes hilarious.  

They certainly brought a smile to the face of the Voinovich family, to Cleveland City Councilman Mike Polensek and to a crowd of more than 100 people at the school Nov. 6, including school District CEO Eric Gordon.

“This is one of my favorite days of the year,” Gordon told the crowd. “This is one of my favorites because we get to see our tremendous students doing the great things they do every day here. But let’s also make sure we remember that this is what goes on in every CMSD school, every single day and that’s why they are committed to being here every day.”

His remarks followed what could only be described as a neo-variety show that included traditional recorder music, a drumline, high-steppers, math-based storytelling, a faux senatorial debate, nosy newspaper reporters and finally the pure bedlam of a group dance number finale to support the District’s attendance initiative. 

The entire performance can be seen online at http://bit.ly/CMSD_MollyDay2015, or go to CMSD-TV Youtube page or clevelandmetroschools.org to see more District videos, news stories and more.

Many of the performances at "Molly Day" this year referenced the District’s “Get 2 School. You Can Make It!” campaign. Several of the student performances gave a nod to the attendance initiative, including a show-stopping “At10Dance,” which Gordon had kicked off at the start of the school year with a youtube video.

Voinovich picked up on that theme, reminding the students in his closing remarks that perseverance pays off.   "You stay you work hard in this program and you are going to go way out there, you are going to do really great," he said. "I have this saying, that if 'You do a good job with the job you have, the future will take care of itself."  

It seemed to work for Voinovich. The retired Republican senator had a long and varied career in the state. He mayor of the City of Cleveland from 1980-89. He served as Ohio’s governor from 1991-98 and then as a U.S. senator from 1999 until retiring in 2011.    

"So you know what your job is, right?" he said. "You get to school, stay in school, work hard, get good grades and the future will take care of itself."

Remembering Molly Agnes Voinovich

Molly Day has been a tradition at the Cleveland Metropolitan School District K-8 school for decades as a way to honor the memory of Molly Agnes Voinovich, who was struck and killed by a vehicle on Oct. 8, 1979. 

The Voinovich’s nine-year-old daughter had been student of the Gifted and Talented Program at O.H. Perry, which is beneficiary of the interest each year from the Molly Fund, administered by The Cleveland Foundation.

The Gifted and Talented Program at Whitney M. Young Leadership Academy was selected as a co-recipient this year for the annual award money. Each year a second school in the city is also selected to join O.H. Perry in receiving funding. Both schools received about $3,500 this year.

“We are so excited about this,” said Whitney Young Principal Karen Byron-Johnson. “Right now we have students who are writing plays, writing music and writing their own songs, but now we will have the money to get things like a sound system, some new instruments and some of the scripts they want to explore.”

New O.H. Perry Principal Ann Priemer said she was wowed by her students during the Nov. 6 performance.

“I think the most powerful thing for me was realizing how much the kids loved being on stage, how happy they were to be performing,” she said. “Gosh, I would love to be able to bring more arts education into the school and this money will help with that.”

Musical performances inspire

O.H. Perry is one among 11 schools in partnership with The Center For Arts Inspired Learning, whose Jimmie Wood orchestrated much of Friday’s show.

“Well, I played a part but it’s their hands that are all over it,” he said. He said he had been working with the O.H. Perry performers once a week since Sept. 1 and was particularly proud of students who blossomed under the arts-centric program at the school.

“We have a tremendous number of gifted and talented kids and we also have some others who may not have been given that, but who grown by their exposure to the arts – to acting, to music and dance,” he said. “And they memorized their lines impressively.”

The O.H. Perry students performed most of the music and other performances, but students from Whitney Young took the stage for “The Education Song,” a lyrically re-worked version of Bruno Mars “Grenade.” 

“I’ll go to college and I’ll get a good grade for you,” a stageful of students crooned to an appreciative crowd. “I’ll even get straight A’s for you. You can’t distract me, baby, I need to educate.”