Salsa, anyone? Ask the Fifth Graders!

From the Music Room a wonderful range of sounds filters into my office, from the voices of children singing to the sound of musical instruments such as recorders or ukuleles.  Lately, the rhythmic beat of conga and bongo drums, claves (rhythm sticks), shakers, and timbales has been reverberating down the hallway.  Rolando Sanchez, well known for his contributions to the development of salsa music in Hawaii, has been guest artist on campus, working with the fifth graders.  He is a percussionist, singer, songwriter, and producer of Latin salsa music.  In collaboration with music teacher Diane Koshi, Mr. Sanchez is teaching students to play syncopated rhythms, all of which require a number of skills -- listening, concentration, and cooperation.  This unit of study follows percussionist Michael Wall's visit with fifth graders when the ability to concentrate, listen attentively, and follow directions was put to the test as students played a variety of percussion instruments.  Needless to say, music class lately has been THE favorite time of the day!   I have never witnessed such intent and focus among the students as when they are each playing a percussion instrument, heads nodding and feet tapping the offbeats.  I've spied a faculty member or parent now and then dancing down the hallway.


Several grade levels have embarked on the first inquiry journey of the year. The Kindergartners are asking questions about the human body and offering their own theories and hypotheses about how the heart functions or about the systematic design of their internal organs.  In the multiage first and second grade classes, several parents have been helping students read the research from various websites on the origin of the earth and the earliest forms of life so that students can take their own notes. The fifth graders have completed some research on planets, and the multiage third and fourth graders are looking into the creation of the Hawaiian Islands. I strongly encourage you to visit individual teacher's weblogs on a weekly basis. You will be amazed by the depth and breadth of our children's learning experiences and the ways in which we set up many experiences for students to practice critical thinking, from preschool through fifth grade!

Thank you, parents and community, for supporting our recycling efforts.  There were so many bags of recyclables that just one, but two monster-sized bins were necessary to haul away the volume of materials.  We will be bringing back the bins in the near future, so keep saving your recyclable materials.

Next week Friday, October 10, is a professional in-service day for the entire school faculty, thus there will be no school.  Faculty from preschool through twelfth grade will be working on professional development projects.  The elementary faculty will continue a second session with Ermile Hargrove, a consultant for Schools Attuned, to learn strategies for working with all kinds of learners.  The preschool faculty will be meeting via webcam with Reggio Emilia expert and consultant Dr. George Forman (no, not the boxer!) on exploring children's intent when they engage in an activity.  After lunch together, the entire MPI faculty will participate in an afternoon session on how to implement MPI's school vision:  Mid-Pacific Institute will prepare students to make a difference in the world by embracing change with creativity, collaboration, critical thought and global awareness, guided by moral and ethical values.  Parents and alumni will be receiving in a few weeks a formal announcement from the Board of Trustees about the vision-planning process.  It will be a very intensive day for the faculty, actually the first time the faculty from all grade levels will be working together in mixed groups.  We are looking forward to this historic day of collaboration.

Final preparations are underway for Moon Over Manoa.  If you have an item to donate to your class' basket, you may drop off the item in the morning autoline this coming Wednesday and Thursday, October 8 and 9.

Enjoy the weekend ahead with your children.  Perhaps a quiet afternoon at a nearby park or picnic at the beach. Simple is best.

For our children,


Edna L. Hussey
Principal

 





 

Posted on October 3, 2008 6:12 PM | Permalink