With music blasting, the Riverside gymnasium was packed with parents, faculty, students and Jesse White Tumblers showing off their skills in an attempt to motivate students for the new school year.

Heather Centorcelli, a fifth-grader at Ames Elementary School in Riverside, said the performance fired her up for the new school year. The Jesse White Tumblers, in particular, inspired her to face her challenges and try new things, she said.

“It was just great,” Centorcelli said. “Just looking at them you know you can do that and you have to work harder; it was amazing.”

Principal Colleen Lieggi said the school has been beginning the year with similar assemblies for the past seven years in hopes to connect parents, faculty, students and the community right away.

“There is 30 years of research that proves that parent involvement is the most accurate predictor of success,” Lieggi said.

The Jesse White Tumblers were brought to the school to show students they have to work hard to achieve their goals, Lieggi said. Whether it is academics or extra-curricular activities, it takes dedication.

“We ease them in and motivate them to come to school,” Lieggi said. “It’s a fun place to learn.”
Students said they thought the performance was phenomenal and it got them pumped for school.

Fourth-grader Jonathan Gong said seeing the tumblers reminded him that practice makes perfect, and he plans on applying that to his school work this year.

Anthony Campbell, an aspiring tumbler in the fifth grade, said he was amazed at the flips the performers could do. Campbell now is considering applying to be a Jesse White Tumbler.