By Mike Rego
EAST PROVIDENCE — What better way to show some of the city’s older folks a bit of holiday “cheer” and the “spirit” of the season than for the East Providence High School cheerleading squad to pay guests of the Robert Rock Senior Center a visit between Christmas and New Year’s.
The Townies gave a one-off special performance to the Senior Center patrons on Wednesday, Dec. 28, during the lunch hour, noontime. It was the first time the EPHS spirit squad has visited the center under second-year head coach Brandy Ethier.
Besides entertaining the seniors over lunch, the team members baked some sweet treats and presented the guests with hand-crafted ornaments. Ethier explained she touched base with Senior Center Director Laura Jones to gauge if there would be any interest in having the Townies stop on by, and the suggestion was readily accepted.
“It was a lovely visit,” said Ethier. “This is the first time we've done this. I have been looking for ways to get the team more active with the community so I reached out to Laura. She offered the idea of us performing at lunch. I told her we would bring dessert and some tokens for the seniors to take home. The cheerleaders loved it. The seniors did too. Overall it was a great time.”
The 2022-23 EPHS who took part in the event were: Paige Kennedy, Nicole LaChapelle, Jaelynn French, Kelci Cabral, Sherlyn Argueta, Jazlyn Rodrigues, Averielle Page, Aliyah Evora, Jordan Marlow, Artemis Pacheco, Armani Miller, Evalyn Pacheco, Madison Slavick, Kassidy Martins, Rozaria DosSantos, Janessa Steele and Jaleigha Cabral. Team members Haleigh Shirley and Thais Rodrigues were unable to attend.