ShowcaseSEPTEMBER 2015

Table of Contents

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STUDENTS BRING THE FUN AT HONK!

A BUS TRIP BACK IN TIMERECIPROCAL TEACHING, 5TH GRADE STYLE

THE DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION REVIEWS CONSERVATORY LAB

GIVING TUESDAY APPROACHES ONCE AGAIN!

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CHRIS SCHROEDER REPRESENTS CONSERVATORY LAB AT NATIONAL FESTIVAL

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One of the elements of the extraordinary education

which we strive to provide to our students is a

wide scope of experiences that provide variety and

depth. Expeditions looking into our history, new

interdisciplinary approaches to reading, annual

concerts that bring community together are a

sampling of the types of experiences that lay

the groundwork for more expansive thought and

promote growth of skills and capacity. Positive

experience-based learning also serves as motivation

not only for more learning, but also for the student

taking responsibility for his or her own learning.

A key element of experience-based learning is that

learners analyse their experiences by reflecting,

evaluating and reconstructing them, sometimes

individually, sometimes collectively, sometimes

both, in order to draw meaning from them in the

light of prior experience.

This review of their experience often leads to

further action. As the students are exposed to more

things and given an amplitude of perspectives

on what they experience, they are more engaged

and their learning becomes more personalized. It

becomes their own.

DEAR FRIENDS OF CONSERVATORY LAB,

For all the opportunities that are able we provide

our students, we are grateful to all our friends and

supporters. It is with your understanding of the

work that we do and the faith that you have in us

that we carry on joyfully.

Kind regards,

JOHN CHISTOLINI

Interim Head of School

A LETTER FROM JOHN

THE SUN WAS OUT, THE LEAVES WERE TURNING, AND EVERYONE WAS IN HIGH SPIRITS. On October 11, everything was in place for a fabulous HONK parade, and the citizens of Boston were not disappointed! Among the dozens of marching bands and political activist groups marching in the annual parade, Conservatory Lab joined forces with the Jamaica Plain-based band JP Honk for another year of marching and playing together. 

Molly Griffiths, Cashmir Deronette, Arianna Rodrigues, Anthony Vega, Elliot Ure, Calvin Vicente, Angelique Ruiz, Shana Pinnock, Zahndreya Griffin, Christopher Henriquez, and Samantha Marcelino-Heredia marched the entire hour-and-a-half route with JP Honk from Davis Square to Harvard Square, where they were welcomed by throngs of festival-goers. 

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STUDENTS BRING THE FUN AT HONK!

The students kept their spirits up and never flagged, despite being tired and playing for so long! Having mastered the songs on their docket, which included “Second Line” and “When the Saints Go Marching In,” the Conservatory Lab musicians found a way to put new life into each song as they performed them all many times.

There was so much joy as our students and JP Honk marched into Harvard Square. Our students’ perseverance to imbue every note they played with enthusiasm and musicality definitely paid off, and made them a hit at the parade. We are so glad to have this opportunity to play in HONK! each year with JP Honk, and are already looking forward to next year. 

MS. CORNING’S 5TH GRADERS ENGAGED IN AN INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITY in which students become the teacher in small group reading sessions. Students learned to guide group discussions using four strategies: summarizing, question generating, clarifying, and predicting. The students gathered in groups of four and took turns taking different roles:

• the person who identifies the key ideas and summarizes it

• the person who creates questions that help identify important information

• the person who identifies words or concepts that are difficult to understand

• the person who makes a prediction about what might happen next.

This structure for reading in a group encourages students to think about their own thought process during reading. It helps them to be actively involved and monitor their comprehension as they read and it teaches them to ask questions that helps to make the text more comprehensible and enjoyable. In addition, they learned presentations skills before their group and leadership skills as they moved from role to role. This was a very fun way to approach reading with depth!

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RECIPROCAL TEACHING, 5TH GRADE STYLE

BRING MEANINGFUL MOMENTS TO OUR YOUNG PEOPLE.

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ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE YEAR for the school took place on October 19 and 20! It was the all-important DESE site visit. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education provides oversight for charter schools and ensures the school is fulfilling its mission.

During this two-day site visit, members of the inspection team from DESE reviewed instruction, mission, governance, financial viability and the school’s accountability plan. They visited every classroom and a number of music rooms /ensembles. They observed music integration in our academic classrooms and they even reviewed the lesson plans of each class.

Interviews were conducted with our entire Leadership Team as well as with members of our Board. They reviewed our data regarding student recruitment, retention and equal access.

THE DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION REVIEWS CONSERVATORY LAB

It is a most intense review of everything that the school does and during the debrief DESE stated they observed our efforts in meeting the needs of our diverse learners. We will be receiving a written report in about three weeks and it will become part of Conservatory Lab’s permanent record.

We are most appreciative of all the planning and hard work that went into the preparations for having this most critical visit go smoothly.  We were happy with the student’s concentration and performance and the way in which the entire school was working together in harmony.All the effort and care did not go unnoticed by the DESE team.

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OUR VERY OWN DIRECTOR OF BRASS AND WINDS, and Dudamel Orchestra conductor, Chris Schroeder was selected by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Longy School of Bard College to join a team of 12 International Teaching Faculty for the first ever National “Take A Stand” Youth Orchestra Festival. The team, made up of top Resident Artists from nucleos from around the nation and Venezuela, gathering throughout last weekend to begin the planning for the two regional festivals at Aspen and Bard College during next summer and the national youth orchestra festival in the spring of 2017.

These conversations spilled over into a national conversation at the “Take A Stand” symposium. which took place in the first half of this week. Over 200 teachers, program directors and sistema leaders gathered in LA to engage in focused discussions on “raising the bar,” aligning our efforts in raising the level of our collective teaching, program design and shared goals around social change through high-quality music instructions.

As part of the International Teaching Faculty, Chris Schroeder, had an opportunity to represent Conservatory Lab as a conference speaker and thought leader at the symposium. He also had the privilege of working directly in the YOLA nucleos and concluded his trip with a side by side performance with the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra at the Walt Disney Hall for a packed house!

CHRIS SCHROEDER REPRESENTS CONSERVATORY LAB AT

NATIONAL FESTIVAL

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ON OCTOBER 27, THE 3RD GRADE CLASSES GOT TURN THEIR CLOCKS BACK A FEW DAYS EARLY – way back. They traveled by school bus to Plimoth Plantation to immerse themselves in Wampanoag and colonial history and culture.  This Expedition, Whose Story Is It?, asks students to understand the past through multiple perspectives.  Students become historians as they ask questions, first of the native people working at the Wampanoag Homesite and then of the colonial re-enactors at the 17th Century English Village.

The students spent a great deal of time preparing for their visit.  They entered the Wampanoag Homesite with their field journals ready to meet and ask questions of the people they met.  “Why do you use fire to build a canoe?”  “What do you eat in the winter?” “How do you build a house structure called a wetu?”  They took notes, made observations and drew pictures to help them remember details.

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A BUS TRIP BACK IN TIME

YOUR SUPPORT BRINGS ENRICHING OPPORTUNITIES TO OUR STUDENTS.

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Next, the students moved on to the English Village where the workers are actors, pretending to be different people who arrived in the village on the Mayflower.  Each character has his or her own backstory and can describe for the visitors their motivation in coming to America and give details about their struggle for survival in the New World.  The sights, sounds and smells of both sites add to the students’ understanding of the period in history when we were coming together face-to-face with people very different from ourselves for the first time.

It was a beautiful fall day in New England; perfect for our annual visit to Plimoth! We are glad so many parent chaperones were able to come with us (8!) and had the opportunity to witness all the students’ learning in action.

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GIVING TUESDAY APPROACHES ONCE AGAIN!

If you visit our Facebook and Twitter pages during the month of November, you’ll find videos, graphics, and special messages all relating to Giving Tuesday, which is on December 1 this year. That’s right: our Giving Tuesday social media campaign has begun once again, and this year promises to be even better than last year! Giving Tuesday, which always falls on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is an international day of giving to charities and non-profits.

This month, we’re celebrating a few of the many students and stories that make our school special. We’re starting with a video introducing Ailani Flores, a 3rd grader with a lot of determination and talent. You can watch it by clicking here!

Last year, we raised $23,000 on Giving Tuesday. We couldn’t have done it without the families and staff who spread the word about our school and encouraged others to donate to us. This year, we aim to raise even more, but we can’t do it without you! If you haven’t already, like our facebook page to see all the videos we’ll be posting, and don’t forget to tell your friends and family about what a worthy cause our school is.

Meet Ailani Flores by clicking here and watching her video!

BE A PART OF THE MUSIC.

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