Each autumn, I bring my seventh and eighth graders to Augusta to put on a special program at Riverview Psychiatric Hospital. We did this trip earlier this week, and what a day it was. The LOL juggling team was at the top of their game, and the patients, staff and visitors loved the show.

Chaplain James is our contact person there, and has been for the past eight years. He is perfect for his role as a chaplain in this facility. He has a big, amiable personality, but is also highly organized and can be no nonsense without being unkind. I have often consulted with him on student issues that fall into the mental health category. In return for our show at Riverview, he visits us at school to speak in chapel on the week of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Although he was young at the time, he remembers growing up as a black child in segregated Louisville so can bring a unique perspective to this topic.

After a quick set-up, we were ready to start our show on time. It's amazing how fast the kids can set up a show when the pressure's on. At school, I have to nag them to set up for rehearsals more quickly.

Abbee's dove production was a highlight of the show, as was the gymnastics of Jaclyn and Emily. Tumbling is new to LOL this year; I just happen to have a lot of students who are skilled in this area. We also have a quartet of girls who sing a beautiful a cappella rendition of "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord". While I come from a long line of horrible singers, my aide, Amanda, is in her church's choir and has worked with these girls on the song, which accompanies Rose, Grace and Emily as they dance.

I only have five boys in my class this year, and one was absent for the show. This meant Adam had to fill in as the bully in our mime skit done to Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is". He didn't even have a chance to rehearse it once, but he rose to the occasion well. He played the bully so well no one would have known what a gentle, polite kid he really is.

The students had time to visit with the patients after the show, and it is experiences like this that help break down the stigma of mental illness. After the patients left, the work teams packed up the props, James gave us some left over snacks for the road, and we headed to McDonald's for lunch. It was a day we'll refer back to often throughout the year as teachable moments arise.