Blog – Page 129

May 30, 2016 Beverly Papove Making a Difference Through Education, Social Justice, Truth and Reconciliation

“Watch, Listen, and Show Respect”

Last week on a warm Wednesday evening, I had the very good fortune of attending an event where the Honourable Senator Murray Sinclair spoke to an auditorium full of educators and students. Although he has become a senator, he may be better known for the work he did as Chief Justice Sinclair, head of the recently concluded Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) which investigated and made recommendations for the government of Canada, following the documents and testimonies of hundreds of survivors of the sad legacy of the Indian Residential School system.

To start the evening, we were all welcomed by a drum group, followed by greetings and prayers from First Nation, Metis, and Inuit elders. As soon as Senator Sinclair took the podium, there was a standing ovation. Even before he spoke to the audience, there was deep respect shown for him and for all he stands for. The immense and comprehensive task he and fellow members of the TRC were responsible for unveils an unbelievably long and dark chapter in Canadian history – a chapter that has only recently begun to be learned about in Canadian schools. This was at the heart of what Senator Sinclair was to speak about and what we had all come to hear. As he began to speak, however, he completely caught us off-guard with the way he introduced himself. For almost twenty minutes, his speech was hilarious, but never irreverent, as he made fun of himself, revealing a side of his persona which one might not otherwise infer, given the critically important role he played as Chief Justice presiding over the traumatizing and cruel personal histories of Indian Residential School Survivors. Instead, here was a man who, along with the humourous asides and wit, shared a warmth and respect for the world. Even if he had not gone on to speak about the role of education in reconciliation, Senator Sinclair would have, none the less, taught us by example how to lead a good life.

His message was clear – education caused the problems affecting Aboriginal families and communities, and education can now be part of the solution. All Canadian citizens need to learn about the history of Indian Residential School schools in Canada. Senator Sinclair suggests our role as educators is to begin by helping our students to do three things; to watch, to listen, and to show respect. We, too, must do the same. It is a simple recommendation to help bring reconciliation to our classrooms and it will mean so much for all our futures if we are able to model and teach our students how to be good listeners and observers, who show respect for all.

May 27, 2016May 27, 2016 Will Gourley Challenging Topics, Classroom Layouts, General, Mental Health, Resilience, Standardized testing

The test

I am sitting in a room that silently waits for its students.

Merely by the way the desks are arranged, the world knows that it’s not going to be another normal day. Today is test day. Yup, that TEST.

With some trepidation, students will enter the classroom which has now been transformed overnight from a collaborative learning space into a scene from the ’50s. Today, the desks are in columns and rows that border on military precision with a healthy dose of compliance.

It’s go time, show what you know time because it’s standardized test time. So what’s all of the fuss about this time?

For months now something or someone somewhere has been planting seeds of anxiety in the hearts and minds of our learners. It has not come from inside of my classroom, but students are certainly arriving with it to school. As a result, it has led to some powerful conversations around mental health in education, problem solving strategies, and a debate over the logic(if any) of standardized testing. Nothing to fuss about here right?

The test has occupied the minds of some of our students it should be paying rent. Tim Urban might describe this state as a visit from the Panic Monster as he shared in his TED Talk from 2016. If we as educators didn’t put this monster into the minds of our students, then who did? Are there trolls handing out fliers off of school property? Is there a shadowy cadre of edu-data collectors directly marketing test score panic to families?

For the record, of course not. Yet, at the umpteenth time in a day I hear; “I’m nervous about EQAO”, “What if I do bad?” or ” AAAH! Evil questions attacking Ontario”, I know “the test” is having its affect on students and teachers too.

So how do we deal with the reality that this anxiety they’re feeling is real and students need our help/support to overcome it?

To combat these fears in our classroom, we have taken to increasing the physical activity level while differentiating tasks to maintain and broaden engagement. We move more. We laugh more. We work together more. Food helps too. I wrote a post about Test Crackers if you want to know more. For “the test” Samosas are on the menu in my class-veggie of course.

Instead of worrying, we have been developing our collaboration and critical thinking skills to work through challenges. We’ve intentionally disrupted routines, not only to distract, but to shake things up. My grade 6s have been working hard for nearly 9 months. There is a lot going on at this age socially, emotionally, and physically. They do not need to be burdened by external pressures or worry.

Since September, assurances and reassurances have been given to students so they know the marks from tests like these will not be seen by admissions committees at Harvard* or even good universities like Waterloo, MIT, and Stanford (lol). Students know that they have all of the tools necessary to succeed without obsessing over practice work booklets or past tests. I can only hope that our safe, and encouraging environment will help them if doubts start to creep in.

And so it begins, students file in, find their places, and standardized testing gets its butt kicked by samosa fueled class of critical thinking grade 6s.

* I’m sure Harvard is good too. I used it here purely for the absurd comedic value. Go Harvard!

May 26, 2016 Beverly Papove General

How to get at the truth – maybe

Almost everyday in kindergarten someone tells a fib. Sometimes it is me – “I will come over to see you swing on the monkey bars in just a minute.” More frequently, however, the most talented fibbers are from amongst my class of 26 five year olds. Occasionally, the fibs are small, like, “No, I didn’t bring my library book,” or “Yes, I washed my hands,” – either of these are easy enough to verify by checking in a backpack or looking at the hands in question. A more substantial variety of the fib comes in the form of a tall tale, which I guess is a subcategory of the fib, but far more interesting and creative. Examples include; “I found a wasp as big as a bird in my backyard,” or, “One day, I lost my tooth, broke my arm, got stung by a bee, AND fell off my bicycle!” Which was curious, because the exact same thing – minus the broken arm – happened to another student one day, too.

These kinds of untruths can be left as is because no one is harmed by such exaggerations. A student who lets loose with one of these may be heralded amongst his or her peers as cool, lucky or a great story-teller, and may even garner a “Student X has an excellent imagination” comment on a report card from his or her teacher. However, the fibs that are problematic are ones which can cause some sort of injury. This is often the time when the truth is harder to get at and when we, as teachers, need to figure out what has happened so that we can report to parents or to the administration. Nothing is more frustrating than having both parties involved in a conflict deny involvement. How can they be so convincing? Looking you straight in the eye, and giving their side of the story, you think you may know who is telling the truth, until the second student denies everything. OK, someone here is not telling the truth, but who is it? I don’t have training in the forensics of lie detection, I don’t have the time to slowly draw it out of a student when my classroom is in full swing with 24 kinders, and I need to get to the bottom of this. What to do?

Quite by accident, the other day I stumbled upon a strategy that seemed to work really well and quickly. I am not sure if it was a one-off or if it would work with other students, but it is definitely worth trying again. The situation was a relatively common one in the school yard; one boy had shoved another boy during outdoor play. When I went over to put a stop to the scramble, I was ready to give a serious reminder about schoolyard behaviour to the boy whom I had seen doing the shoving, when he very quietly told me that the other boy had tried to pull his pants down. What?! This was a very uncharacteristic statement from a boy who enjoys running and wrestling and has received the old ‘proper playground behaviour ‘ talk a few times already. But the other boy said that he hadn’t done anything! He told me several times, in fact. Here’s the problem; when we are dealing with our students in delicate situations like these, we always want to be fair, but it can be really hard when 2 five year olds look at you and blind you with their cuteness and excellent fibbing skills. So, instead of being hasty and jumping to conclusions, I decided I would try again to ask my question, “Did you do that?” but this time, I told the student he could answer me with a thumbs up if he had done it, or a thumbs down if he hadn’t. When I repeated my question, he squirmed a few seconds, looked everywhere but at me, folded his arms, then, there it was, the thumb popped up. Now we could get somewhere!

I can only assume that it is more difficult to tell something that is not true when you cannot use your words, and I can only assume that it may even be a small kind of relief when your body just goes ahead and tells the truth. There is no more conflict or hole-digging once the gesture gets everything out in the open. I am not really sure why it worked, but it was a gentle way for a problem to be resolved and for me to help two little boys who had both gone too far in their actions, and, as a happy ending to this post, I am happy to report are still good friends.

May 25, 2016 Kelly.McLaughlin Inspiring Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Making a Difference Through Education, Occasional Teaching, Social Justice, Student Ownership

Students making a difference

Throughout this school year, it was one of my goals to not only start a fundraiser that would benefit a charity somehow but to have students orchestrate most if not all of the procedure. At my school Ancaster Meadow, I asked a group of 30 grade eights to plan with me a day entitled “All Star Day”. Together with myself the grade eights:

chose two charities for all monies collected to go towards
selected how the day would work picking the events at All Star Day
- 3 point competition $10 to play
- All star skills competition $10 to play
- All Star game where kids from grade five to seven would play and would be coached by grade eights $20 to play
- All star game where grade eights would play the teachers $20 to play
help run the day and organize the crowd to watch the event

There were many other tasks involved to help make the day a success. I went to 30 different companies to ask for donations as well as other companies to sponsor t-shirts, lunch the day of and volunteers were involved from Redeemer University.

The day went off without a hitch and we raised $2000 total, $1000 going to each charity. After this day, every grade eight came to me asking to lead more events, raise money for more charities, etc. They had all these ideas that are impossible to all say yes to because it is May at the end of a school year and the ideas they have would take many months to plan for. However, students do have the potential to make the greatest difference in their school. Whenever you have an idea, put it in the hands of your students and trust that they can take it anywhere. I have never seen kids more involved or more into what they were doing in a school building then I saw on that day. I cannot wait for next school year when I can do that same event again, keep building on it and inspiring children to know that they can make a difference and have an amazing time while doing so.

If you would like to see videos from our event, you can youtube: Ancaster Meadow All Star Day.

May 24, 2016 Will Gourley Modern Learning, Student Ownership, Use of Technology

Maybe it’s not as simple as 1, 2, 3, BYOD

It’s simple, or so many of us want to believe, but…

If you want to be guaranteed access to technology in your classroom bring it yourself…for now!

Much has been shared in the last 5 years in the edublogosphere and media about bringing your own device to school. This post will attempt to share my thoughts when witnessing, discussing and reflecting on BYOD.

History and Questions

The term BYOD origjnated in “Tech” sector companies permitting workers to use their personal/preferred technology (phone, tablet, laptop etc.) with the goal to allow staff to use a favourite more user friendly option. However, over the past 4 years, BYOD represents an increasingly acceptable approach to equipping 21st Century Classrooms. In a world of austerity and cost cutting, I call this the ultimate download because it allows schools, school boards and government to abdicate much of their responsibilities to provide funding towards the substantial costs of classroom technology (laptops, tablets) all of which now gets dumped onto students and their families.

Is BYOD fair? Not yet. It’s unfair to this point because not all students/families are able to afford technology. It’s not fair because infrastructure does not have the bandwidth, server capacity or security measures in place to support it. It’s not fair because teachers are still stuck in transmission models of education at the expense of inquiry. It’s not fair because classrooms become another snapshot of haves and have nots. Socio-economic realities are still dictating that some students will be given tools to succeed while others will be left stranded when it comes to BYOD.

Could this be an equity issue around access, availability and apathy? Will BYOD really allow students without their own devices more frequent access to technology provided at school? Yes, in some schools, but not in others. Unfortunately, unless it can benefit all learners, and not just the ones who can afford it, the disparity will be perpetuated repeatedly unless preventive policies in are put place. Who is going to pay for all of this because it’s always doom and gloom in the world of educational funding.

““If technology is seen as the vehicle for learning, it needs to be accessible to everybody,” said Jeff Kugler, of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. That means there has to be enough tablets or laptops to serve every child that needs one.” from the Toronto Star

In Ontario, Canada (a.k.a home) there is a concerted push towards using technology from K to 12. My board (York Region District School Board) has adopted a very proactive approach and continues to develop and refine its policies as well as upgrading the infrastructure to accommodate this growing trend. Another such commitment to BYOD comes from the Peel District School Board. Their progressive approach and promotion of BYOD is giving more students access to the resources of the internet and 21st Century learning and collaboration than ever. Although socio-economics dictate that this board will still need to provide tech to students, the opportunities for students are increasing.

“some students will have a great device, some an old device, and some no device at all. But savvy schools will leverage BYOD projects in ways that will increase access to technology for all students. If a classroom has 30 students and five computers, it has a 6:1 student to computer ratio. If half of the students have a personal device that they can use, the ratio in the classroom becomes considerably lower. Schools will need to provide access to online resources by lending out individual devices or opening labs for students who do not have their own equipment.” Doug Johnson, Power Up! On Board with BYOD

Resolving the financial constraints allowing access to all can move this favourably forward to more equitable eduction for all. So what happens then?

Favourably Fast forward

BYOD is here to stay. After millions of dollars in server upgrades, purchases and professional development students are connecting like never before to content, Web 2.0 tools are making learning come alive and on terms and platforms that modern learners are intuitively seeking to use (see graphic).

Proponents believe that BYOD allows for a more fluid access to information in the classroom. I agree and disagree.

At its finest, access to the resources and potential of the internet are everything good about this shift. In my classroom when a student has a question or inquiry I find it incredibly valuable to have them get on their device (if available) to scratch their immediate intellectual itches. With access to BYOD this becomes a seamless act allowing for neural myelination to happen. At this point, knowledge can be reinforced when the ideas and thoughts occur thus engaging us with our learning. Think of it as being able to protect your tech with a shield like an OtterBox. Myelination allows neurons to be reinforced while at the same time boosting the recall and connectivity of the neural architecture. This is where I see BYOD blowing the roof off a detractor’s arguments. Imagine the depths of engagement when students are given the latitude to control their learning the moment an idea occurs?

But wait! Students are playing Candy Crush not inquiring about Chemistry. They’re on Snapchat not researching their Social Studies. They’re taking pictures of each other in bathrooms and they’re bullying each other on social media. Aargh!!!

Of all the shadowy sides to BYOD the above seems to be the most reviled by teachers and board IT folks alike. That is the misuse of bandwidth and technology for surreptitious activities on social media, gaming and video streaming sites. Schools now have to institute and educate students and staff on acceptable use procedures and then enforce them. A great example of this working well is in New Jersey, USA via Eric Sheninger. His post BYOD begins with Trust and Respect is a good place to start. Seeing this as a teachable moment has lead to several digital citizenship lessons with students in my world.

Technology will continue being a part of learning whether we can afford it, or are prepared for it. Students must be given access to the tools, the time and the trust to use technology to advance their learning. Failing to do so is not an option. Turning the negatives into positives(teachable moments) will allow BYOD to move forward.

And going forward is good, but it comes with its share of work. No one said BYOD would be e-a-s-y as 1, 2, 3. But with patience, leadership, hard-work and responsible funding its benefits will be immeasurably beneficial to students and teachers alike. This in itself should be the impetus for a greater commitment by schools, school boards and governments to continue moving in this direction.

Further Resources (since you haven’t read enough)

http://chalkboardinquiries.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/reflections-on-digital-citizenship-and-the-byod-classroom/ (Paul Aniceto)

http://edtechreview.in/dictionary/278-what-is-byod-byot

http://esheninger.blogspot.ca/search?q=BYOD

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/tag/byod/

http://stager.tv/blog/?p=2397

May 19, 2016 Mike Beetham Challenging Topics, Communication with Parents and Guardians, General, Homework, Learning About Your Students

Homework or No Homework?

This is a question that I have asked myself over and over. At different phases of my career I have given myself different answers ranging from they must have homework because that is what good teachers do, to homework is a vehicle that creates problems and turmoil for the families of my students and thus should not be a part of my program.

There is no answer that fits all classrooms or that fits all students. Like every other aspect of my program I have to differentiate according to the needs and circumstances of my students and their families. The following site pinpoints the top 5 reasons for assigning homework and top 5 reasons for not assigning homework ( http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/teaching/proandconhomework.html

I am going to share with you an event in my career where assigning homework created a very negative scenario and conflict for a student. This student was a very intelligent, friendly, polite young man who was a pleasure to work with in class. Over the first two months of school he excelled in class but habitually did not complete any home tasks. It got to the point where his lack of responsibility toward homework was seen as a behaviour concern. A few weeks later I became aware that his Mom was in a coma and that his family spent each night by her side in the hospital. My lack of awareness of my student and his home situation created undue and unneeded pressure on him and the family. As a result, homework was not a part of that student’s program.

On the other side of the coin, a student that I am working with this year spends time every night with his Mom reviewing the day’s work along with increased home reading. That has resulted in an accelerated growth in his area of academic deficits. In both cases, my decision to not assign homework to student A, and to assign extra homework to student B was the right thing to do. Homework for the sake of homework is not a productive component to any student’s learning. It must have a specific purpose that is helping meet the targeted academic outcomes of the classroom.

May 11, 2016 Tisha Nelson Assessment, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Report Cards

Report Cards – Writing the Narrative of Student Achievement

Although it seems like the school year has just begun a few weeks ago, it’s actually coming to a close next month. Yes! You read that right. School’s almost out for the summer – despite the fact that summer seems to be taking its sweet time to arrive with the weather feeling more September-like rather than spring. With all this mix bag of weather and perhaps emotions concerning the close of one school year and the horizon of another, there is still one thing on every teacher’s mind: report cards! Gasps for fear; leaps for joy; however you reconcile this extremely important process of formally reporting student achievement, the narratives we write have the potential to impact our learners in very significant ways.

Though the Report Card tends to be written with parents/guardians in mind, it really has a wider readership that includes the students themselves as well as a host of future teachers who have access to it through the Ontario Student Records (OSR). Knowing this, how might we be more intentional when writing the report card since the contents have far reaching implications?

Firstly, the report card is meant to be meaningful. As teachers with teaching degrees and constantly immersed in “edubabble” (terms that are usually commonplace for educators), it is important that the things we say in the report card are communicated in the most effective way so that our message comes through with intention. Keeping the use of educational terminology to a minimum will ensure that the audience can arrive to its intended message with ease. This might mean rewording the curricula using reader-friendly terms. Remember this revised versions of K.I.S.S. – Keep It Simple […and Significant]. Report comments should serve as a window to student achievement in ways that demonstrates both the scope of learning that took place as well as the degree of success students experienced within it. Teacher jargon can inhibit this very clear message which can be then deemed irrelevant to parents/guardians and students.

Next, embrace a positive tone. The rhyme, “Sticks and stone may break my bones but words may never harm me,” proves false as words have the power to either build one up or tear them down. When writing the narrative of student achievement with a focus on both their strength and next steps, it is important to frame students’ areas of need from an asset-based approach rather than solely iterating deficits. “Karly constantly talks during independent work time” tells a very different story than “Karly is beginning to regulate his behaviour during independent work time.” Mere semantics? Maybe. But the impact of one semantic can birth a positive outlook or reinforce a negative one.

Finally include feedback that will matter. This is particularly true for the final report card of the year as that the content that will be learned in the new grade will differ from the grade-specific content that the student is graduating from. In this case, next steps should serve as feedforward as opposed to feedback. What might be the skills or habits of mind that will be salient in future learning opportunities? What concepts will form the foundation for future understanding? These are the next steps that will prove useful if articulated well. Including student voice in this aspect of report card writing is a great way to value the person who is set to internalize the feedback given. Imagine the partnership that can be developed when students remain accountable to themselves as well as previous teachers for their commitment to improving their outcomes.

So my few suggestions, though not revolutionary, can alter the ways in which the report card serves out its function. Families are notified of students progress and achievement, students are empowered with meaningful next steps and future teachers read the narrative of a student from an asset-based approach. Happy writing!

May 8, 2016 Mike Beetham Anti-bullying, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Classroom Management, Student Ownership

Get, Give or Pass

As part of our end of the week celebration my class convenes with our daily circle discussion. In addition to our debrief of the week’s events, we add our ‘Get, Give or Pass’ activity. Each person in the circle is asked whether they would like to give a compliment to another person, get a compliment from a fellow student or pass. This is truly a very powerful measure of the level of community that my class has evolved into.

In order for this level of comfort to be present in my group I have to spend time daily working on team building tasks that facilitate a comfort level between all members of the class. In addition, there is extensive time spent modelling and supporting effective communication skills. As with any other outcome, this has to be scaffolded over time in order for the activity to be successful. If this activity is done without the time spent in building to this level of trust it could and will most often produce negative results.

Two pieces of advice I would offer to teachers in implementing this strategy are first and foremost to spend daily time reinforcing the expectations you have around how people are expected to treat each other in your room. This is best done by finding and recognizing students who are exhibiting the target behaviours you seek to develop.These expectations must be clear and consistently followed through on. The second critical piece is the modelling by you of the way to speak, to listen and how to give and receive compliments from other people.

May 4, 2016 Tisha Nelson Inspiring Teachers, Occasional Teaching, Resume Writing, self reflection

Resumes – Writing the Narrative of Your Practice

Next to journaling and writing for the Heart and Art blog, resume writing is one of my favourite ways to reflect on my practice. The process of communicating my philosophy of education and demonstrating how this plays out in the day-to-day ignites my passion for teaching and learning and reminds me of why I do what I do as a teacher.

Shifting one’s role, whether it be changing schools or position or seeking new experiences, is one of many ways that educators can embrace new learning opportunities and refuel their energy for the journey ahead. Embracing the stance of reflection when composing one’s resume is essential in this regard as it distinguishes candidates amongst a large pool of applicants. The following suggestion are some of the tricks I’ve hid up my sleeves in order to present myself as a strong candidate for the mirage of opportunities within the education sector. Why am I telling you this? I don’t know. But perhaps after many years of my unofficial resumes consulting, these tricks will prove useful in your journey.

1. Use a relevant framework. The Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) governs the teaching profession in Ontario and as such, using the OCT Standard of Practice as a framework for designing your resume structures the narrative of your practice in ways that align with the directives and outcome of best practice. Using the standard heading, Education, Experiences, Interests, etc., may serve useful in less specialized sectors, but as a profession, teacher resumes should mimic the framework that serves to structure our professionalism.

2. Show, don’t tell. I have read countless teacher resumes that indicate that applicants planned and taught lesson. But starting this task that on a resume is not distinguishing at all. Every teacher seeking an opportunity in education must have planned and taught lessons. A more effective way of demonstrating the scope of your practice is to paint the picture of your practice in action. This is where reflection is essential. Rather than telling what you did, show it using an affect-oriented narrative. “Embraced proactive approaches to classroom management in order to nurture a positive learning environment and foster a sense of community” paints a more intentional picture of teacher practice than “Created a positive learning environment.” The latter tells what was done while the former shows how it was done and explains why. What sets the two statements apart? Reflection that articulates the desired outcome of the action being described.

3. Treat the page like limited re-estate. Though not every posting for teachers may stipulate a maximum page number for the resume, I tend to stick to the standard 2 pages rule when applying for teaching positions. With over 7 years of experiences that seems like an impossible endeavor but by being strategic in my articulation I can demonstrate the breadth and width of my practice while maximizing the limited space of 2 pages. Being intentional about what to say, how to say it and where to say it can be fruitful in staying within the page limit. The key is to avoid repetition. Though you may have many teaching experiences that you want to display, be sure to be succinct about only demonstrating a particular aspect of your practice no more than once, regardless if it was something that you employed in other experiences. There are better ways to demonstrate your strength as an educator other than repeating yourself multiple times. Likewise, many resumes are accompanied by a covering letter which structure is very different than that of a resume. It is in your covering letter that your prose can come out in ways that will allow you to delve deeper into your practice. But remember, if you said it in your resume, use the covering letter to say something else.

So there you have it. My 3 easy steps for educators to engage in reflective resume writing. However you decide to engage in it, your resume speaks first, often before you are invited to articulate your vision and passion in person. Write it well. Write it with intention. Write is as a way to stay reflective. In the process you may be reminded, again and again, of just why you truly are an educator.

May 2, 2016 Tammy Axt General

Music Monday

Today is Music Monday. It is a nation wide celebration of music and music education, always on the first Monday in May.

Schools celebrate Music Monday in a variety of ways. Some schools go outside and have a sing along in the great outdoors. Others have a sing along over the announcements. Some go to a special celebration in a city park designed to bring schools together.

Our Music Monday celebration today was a mini concert with a variety of students speaking, performing and singing. Below is what we did and hopefully it will give you some ideas for a Music Monday celebration at your school next year.

First up, we had our choir present two songs that they have learned in April. One was a Tamil Lullaby and the other was a great jazz piece from Doug Goodkin called “Step Back Baby”.

Next, I introduced my student who spoke about my teaching partner and the impact that her teaching has had on him.

Some grade four and five students then led the school in some actions to go along with the Music Monday song “We Are One”

Our school had raised some money in honour of my music teaching partner, Ms. Lynda Wulkan, and we had a presentation to Brampton Animal Services. (Some of our grade 2 teachers made the cheque. They used bristol board and markers and it looked fantastic.)

Next in our presentation we had groups of grade two students do movement pieces to go along with the Carnival of The Animals. There were…

Kangaroos

Lions

and the Aquarium

We finished up our presentation today with an excerpt from Peter and The Wolf. The students acted out a part of the story and showed the instruments that are used in the story.

I hope you had a great Music Monday! It is a great way to bring community and school together to focus on the importance of Music Education. Music programs are vital to creating vibrant, creative and successful communities.