Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Jonas Brothers surprises elementary school


Reading. Writing. Arithmetic. And then a little Jonas Brothers.

At least that was the routine for one Los Angeles area elementary school on Tuesday.

The pop band strolled out on a stage without an introduction as 513 children ages 5-11 were experiencing their first assembly at their new school.

Some kids shrieked in disbelief. A few jaws dropped. Girls whispered to each other. And some kids just seemed confused at all the fuss -- which included several news cameras.

One little girl remarked: "I love the Jonas Brothers. They're my favorite team."

The Jonas Brothers were there on behalf of one of their concert sponsors, OfficeMax, and that company's "A Day Made Better" campaign, which will supply 1,000 teachers with $1,000 worth of free school supplies each.

The campaign kicked off Tuesday with the assembly at Los Feliz Arts Charter School, which opened its new campus in a 47,000 square-foot warehouse last week.

The Jonas Brothers made a few off-the-cuff remarks about the importance of education, then presented the school with 16 giant orange boxes containing $25,000 worth of school supplies.

OfficeMax got the idea for the promotion when it learned that teachers are spending about $1,000 of their own money each year on school supplies. On Tuesday, about a dozen OfficeMax employees were on hand to help out, each sporting a T-shirt reading: "Working to erase teacher funded classrooms."

The Jonas Brothers didn't perform, but the school's dance teacher and a colleague did, and they nearly stole the show, with the children chanting the instructor's name. Not an easy task, given his moniker: Mr. Poznanter. He wowed the kids with an acrobatic dance that involved a giant metal hoop.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter after their appearance, the Jonas Brothers suggested another installment of the "Camp Rock" franchise could be in store for them, despite the title of the recent one, "Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam."

"That referred to the climactic moment," said Kevin Jonas, and does not indicate that Disney or the Jonas Brothers are calling it quits for "Camp Rock."

"We'll see," said Joe Jonas.

Asked about their interest in education, the brothers said it is one of their may charitable interests:

Nick Jonas works extensively to raise awareness for diabetes, for example, and he's co-chairing along with singer Jordin Sparks the National Youth Leadership Committee of the Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration. Joe Jonas is a celebrity spokesman for the Special Olympics, and a few months back Kevin Jonas won a record $250,000 on NBC's "Minute to Win it" and gave it to the family's charitable organization, Change for the Children Foundation.

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