The students of Ponoka Elementary School had the chance to show off their skills on stage during their school talent show, which took place on Friday, February 1st. 

Singing, dancing, live music, and performances were all on the docket for the school. 

Two performers, Shayelle Mertin, and Reid Pinkson were a little nervous to get on stage. 

“I’ve actually been practicing for two weeks. I have a really bad throat right now, so I was just drinking a bunch of water and then trying to calm myself down,” said Mertin who sang and played guitar. 

Shayelle Mertin performing for the talent show.

10-year-old Mertin has been playing guitar for the last five years and said her guitar teacher gave her a valuable tip before her performance. 

“I saw everybody and I was kind of nervous. My guitar teacher said to pick a spot on the wall and stare and when I’m comfortable I can look at the audience,” she explained.

 Pinkson performed scooter tricks and didn’t want his nerves to get in the way of his performance.

“I was nervous but I didn’t want that to ruin my chance at doing this,” explained Pinkson. 

Reid Pinkson performing scooter tricks for the talent show.

The athlete has been scooting for most of his life. He started when he was 3-years-old and now at 10-years-old, he hasn’t given up on the sport. For his performance, he tried to focus on the fun. 

“I just tried to have fun and that so I just tried to not look at anybody so I just focused on me,” said Pinkson. 

Originally the Talent Show was scheduled for January 24th but was postponed following the extreme cold that closed many different school districts including Wolf Creek. Despite the setback, the performers weren’t at all phased.  

“Yeah, it was kind of stressful but then I just did the waiting and I actually kind of liked it because then I got more time prep myself up,” said Pinkson. 

Ponoka Elementary School was very supportive of all performers and clapped and sang along as the students did their best to entertain their audience.