Koo Koo Kanga Roo makes special stop for Rancho Santa Fe students

Koo Koo Kanga Roo, a popular interactive dance party duo from Minneapolis consisting of vocalists Bryan Atchison and Neil Olstad, played a special performance Oct. 23 just for R. Roger Rowe School students at the Rancho Santa Fe Community Center.

In addition to producing music and touring nation-wide, the band also partners with GoNoodle, a “brain break” website for teachers, to produce short and fun videos that encourage kids to get up and dance in the classroom. Many R. Roger Rowe School teachers use the GoNoodle site for their students.

Last June, K-4 teachers got together to organize a student assembly, featuring teachers and staff dressed up like Koo Koo Kanga Roo and other GoNoodle characters. The assembly and resulting blog by fourth grade teacher Jen Burdis on the GoNoodle site, opened up communication with Koo Koo Kanga Roo. Under the coordination of fourth-grade teacher Mandy Valentine and second-grade teachers Grace Kim and Jessica Henke, Koo Koo Kanga Roo made a special stop on their West Coast tour to entertain R. Roger Rowe School students.