Ana Dailey and Stephanie Miles are a jig and a kick closer to earning their International Baccalaureate (IB) Diplomas. On Sunday, Sept. 19, the Park High School (PHS) twelfth graders presented the Irish Music and Dance Show to the residents of Southview Senior Living.

PHS in Cottage Grove is an IB World School. According to a slideshow created by the institution, the IB Diploma Programme prepares students for college and beyond. It follows a “balanced” and “challenging” curriculum. In an overthe- phone interview with The Journal, Dailey outlined its purpose: “The whole point of the IB Programme is to have really, high level students that are also well-rounded.”

Teens at PHS may act as parttime or full-time IB students. Part-time IB students involve themselves in a combination of general and IB classes. Fulltime ones commit to obtaining an IB Diploma. In order for them to secure one, they must, within two years, earn an average of 4/7 points across six exams, complete the Theory of Knowledge course, craft an extended essay, and fulfill the CAS requirements.

CAS is an acronym that means, “Creativity, Activity and Service.” Liesel Werner Thomas is the CAS coordinator at PHS. She defined the program to The Journal: “Every student…in the full Diploma Programme is required to do a group project that takes at least a month and fits into the categories of creativity, activity, or service…that’s it. Which is super open-ended, which is so cool.”

Utilizing the freedom that the CAS program allotted to them, Miles and Dailey executed a showcase that was artistic and thoughtful.

As residents were filing into the community room, Dailey previewed her musical skills on a lever harp. Once all were situated, she introduced the Irish Music and Dance Show. Then, Dailey and two other O’Shea Irish Dance students, Bridget Gerber and Caitlin Murray, performed the “Soft Shoe Dances.” In Irish culture, soft shoes produce minimal noise. They also allow one to see the point of dancers’ feet. This is according to Miles. Throughout the presentation, she voiced her knowledge about Irish culture.

Three songs carried the Irish Music and Dance Show onward. First, Dailey harped a lyrical piece entitled, “Keen O’ Harris.” “The Eagle’s Whistle” was the proceeding tune that she plucked out. To wrap up the music portion of the program, Gerber and Murray joined Ana in “Caledonia.” All of the girls lifted their voices alongside Dailey’s harp accompaniment.

“Hard Shoe Dances” concluded the afternoon with a bang! In Irish dance, hard shoes resemble tap shoes. They are designed to produce noise and rhythm. The final number that Dailey, Gerber and Murray executed was especially loud. For “Treble Light Jig,” Dailey and Murray were clothed in solo dresses. “Every little Irish dancer dreams of the day she’ll get her solo dress,” Miles informed the room. “Because of all the crystals on these dresses, they’re beautiful and stunning, but also very heavy and expensive. The fancy dresses are another part of Irish dancing tradition.”

Dailey and Miles carved time out of their summer break and senior year to serve an assisted living home. They did this deed to make progress on earning their IB Diplomas. However, personal fulfillment was not their only motive. Dailey loves engaging with nursing homes and she does so often. She confessed, “I’ve always really had a heart for the elderly. Every summer…I would go down to my grandma. I would always bring my viola down and play some songs for her and her other friends. And, since then, I just really wanted to perform at nursing homes ‘cause I know sometimes the people living there can feel isolated and disconnected from the community, especially if they’re not able to leave.”

“And then, the pandemic happened and it kind of exasperated that problem…Now that we’re…able to have performance[ s] again, I really wanted to go to the nursing home…to be able to make their day.”

With this mission cemented, Dailey and Miles motioned towards finishing their CAS project- independently. “It is intended to be mostly student-run,” Dailey stated, “…the whole point of the CAS project is to give us experience in organizing events, and managing the details, and delegating tasks, and finding our strengths and how that can serve the community.”

Still, Dailey and Miles were required to have an advisor. Werner Thomas took on that role for them. “I’m kind of like the safety net and I offer guidance,” she claimed.

Leading up to the Irish Music and Dance Show, Werner Thomas ensured that Dailey and Miles were keeping on track. She checked in with them consistently, wondering if they gained permission to perform at Southview Senior Living, advertised, and were going to complete the CAS project by Spring 2022.

The fact that her students chose to develop the Irish Music and Dance Show is “incredible” to Werner Thomas. “I’m always so proud of our IB candidates because they work so hard. And, frequently they choose things that are…close to their own heart and they make a difference. And, another big part of CAS is reflection, and so when we talk about the experiences… hearing how they have been changed by helping others is really incredible.”

Helping others is exactly what Miles and Dailey did on Sunday, Sept. 19. Before March of 2020, activities such as the Irish Music and Dance Show occurred at Southview Senior Living. They cultivated happiness among residents, recalled Donna Peltier. In an interview with The Journal, the activities director remembered, “We had Minnehaha Orchestra come in here to perform and it just lighten[ed] their day. We do…have performances monthly. We have birthday celebrations… and we do holiday celebrations.”

Then, the COVID-19 Pandemic erupted. “We had zero activities” Peltier confirmed. “…Everything stopped. Everything was door-to-door.”

For over one year, Peltier was delivering amusements in that fashion. She distributed BINGO cards and happy hour treats to the rooms of her residents. Furthermore, it is tradition for Southview Senior Living to welcome the seniors’ families into their facility each Christmas. That gathering was scrapped in 2020.

May of 2021 arrived. Peltier recounted the change that appeared with it. “Ana contacted me and we, at that point, started opening up activities; entertainments. So, it was just perfect timing.”

By the time that gatherings were relaunching at Southview Senior Living, members were accustomed to isolation. Peltier reported that it has been “hard” to encourage them out: “It’s getting better. So, they’re coming out more and they’re enjoying it, but they also are stuck in their rooms. They were for a long time, so it’s hard for them to come back out again.”

If readers would have attended the Irish Music and Dance Show, they would not have speculated the struggle that Peltier described. Southview Senior Living’s community room was full. While social distancing, mask wearing, and sanitizing was in-practice, residents were engaged-mostly. Gerber justified, “I thought it was really great, watching people be able to clap along or nod and acknowledge the stuff that we were saying…We met people that were Irish after the show, too. So, I think it’s really cool to connect with where they came from. I liked listening to Ana play [harp]…people fell asleep. It was really awesome.”

Dailey and Miles have almost fulfilled the requirements of the CAS group project. Their next steps will be to compose and submit a reflection. They will likely carry on in their journey towards being IB Diploma holders and well-rounded women.

For the final number, Ana Dailey and Caitlin Murray were decked out in Irish solo dresses. Photo by Sadie Jones.