Students serenade seniors

By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

“Skidamarink a dink a dink, skidamarink a doo, I love you,” are familiar words of a song dear to the hearts of seniors who were serenaded Thursday at St. Luke Living Center and Marion Assisted Living.

Kindergarten and second grade students from Marion Elementary School visited the seniors to croon and give them Valentines.

Students also sang “Magic Penny,” which teaches a lesson the seniors already knew — when love is given out, it returns to the sender.

Little ones grouped together at the end of a hall at the Living Center and in the dining room at Assisted Living, putting on a lively performance for their smiling audiences.

Music teacher Anita Hancock led the students through the program songs, which also included songs about Presidents Washington and Lincoln. The finale was “Will you be my Valentine?”

At Assisted Living, a staffer asked if the students could sing it again, faster.

Hancock agreed to play it again to a faster tempo, but students ended up singing at individual speeds, producing an incomprehensible but still melodic chorus.

“The answer to the question is no,” Hancock told the seniors

Kindergarten teachers Debbie Allen, Jessica Ensley, and Katie Rahe have a combined 43 students.

Second grade teachers Susan Hall and Staci Hansen have a combined 44 students.