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ABS Thursday Notes- April 11, 2024

Published for the Arts Based School Community

April 11, 2024


How We Do It and Why

By Mary Siebert


“I live my daydreams in music.” - Albert Einstein


Yesterday, 3rd through 8th graders had the opportunity to hear some glorious young pianists, in two back-to-back, half-hour concerts. The Piano Performance Team is a small group of highly accomplished young pianists from Durham, aged 9 - 17. They are selected by audition to play concerts in a five-state area at schools and retirement communities, as outreach. It provides the young musicians a chance to experience a problem unique to pianists (and organists): wherever you play, you have to adjust to an unknown instrument. You can't carry a piano on a plane or toss it into the trunk of the car. You never know when a key just won't play or a pedal will squeak.


Unlike the plays and dance performances our students experience, where visual elements grab attention, silent listening is required for an acoustic classical music performance. The experience travels only through the ears. To enjoy this together, mutual respect is required, so that we don’t interfere with each neighbor’s auditory journey, or distract the musicians.


Our teachers prepared our students beautifully, and there was silence from the audience. They watched and listened as young musicians their own age played one instrument, with no amplification, no visual stimulation, no electronic correction. 


As reported in Science Daily two months ago, researchers in Switzerland proved what we all instinctively know: listening to live music together stimulates the brain more than recorded music or videos. The science of psychoacoustics evaluates something any middle school teacher is very familiar with: “effects that personal expectations, prejudices, and predispositions may have on listeners' relative evaluations.” In other words, “The music I like best is cool, and all of that other stuff is not.”


It is very important not to limit our student listening to “their” music. We want our students to have access to all music, and to feel that all of it is meant for them, because it is. When the Raleigh Rockers visited with their hip hop celebration in the fall, students were free to shout their encouragement and delight all through the performance. When a highly amplified, live performance of your favorite rock band performs at the coliseum, you party and shout over the music. When a bluegrass band plays your favorite song, you can sing along. When the Burke Singers blend their unaccompanied voices in six-part harmony, you hold your breath and listen. When a concert pianist plays the elegant 2nd movement of Beethoven’s “Pathetique” sonata, (and one of these young musicians did play it,) each listener goes to a different world inside their head, sharing the moment but feeling it individually. We want our students to be open to all of these experiences.


The elegance and delicacy of a 10-year-old’s performance of Scarlatti yesterday reminded me of a moment I’ve written about before: when WFU piano Professor Peter Kairoff visited my 3rd grade classroom twenty-two years ago. His little girl was a student in my class, and he dropped in unexpectedly, to bring something she had forgotten…a lunch? A hat? A paper? He stayed a little while.


There was a battered old upright piano in my classroom. Some of the keys did not work at all, some stuck down when pressed, and some were missing their surface. There was sunlight streaming through the windows, and the students lay on their tummies on the carpeted floor, drawing, reading. He sat at the old piano, and bird-like Scarlatti began to rise from it. The students seemed to enter into a suspended trance. There was a shower of enchantment, and we let it pour down upon us, receiving it together.



End of the Year MAP Testing Begins Next Week

ABS uses Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) to assess each student’s academic growth. We will give students in grades 3-8 MAP tests to determine each child’s instructional level and to measure academic growth throughout the school year, and from year to year in the areas of math and reading. Your child will take the tests on a computer. MAP tests are unique in that they adapt to be appropriate for your child’s level of learning. As a result, each student has the same opportunity to succeed and maintain a positive attitude toward testing. And with MAP tests, we can administer shorter tests and use less class time while still receiving detailed, accurate information about your child’s growth.



Staffing/Hiring  2024-25 School Year

  We have a lot of exciting moves and changes for the upcoming school year.  Here's the latest news on hiring and staffing for next year…

   

Both Mrs. Hugus (6th grade) and Ms. Mayers (3rd grade) will be leaving ABS at the end of the school year to start new adventures.  We will miss them both and wish them all the best!


Mr. Adam Tate, Mrs. Meeks, and Mrs. Brady will all be moving up a grade.  Mr. Tate will be joining the 6th grade team.  Mrs. Meeks will rejoin the fifth-grade team.  Mrs. Brady will be teaching fourth grade.


The third-grade team at the North campus will have two new teachers.  Ms. Jenn Fletcher has been teaching first grade for the past two years and will be moving into 3rd grade at the North campus.  Ms. Rains Paden is joining ABS to teach 3rd grade as well.   Ms. Paden has been teaching for eight years and has a Master’s in education.  She is also an ABS parent.


The South campus will be adding third grade next year.  Mr. Isaiah Chaney and Lauren Munoz will be the third grade team at the South campus.  Mr. Isaiah is a WFU graduate and already a familiar face at ABS.  He has spent this last semester working for the afterschool program and subbing almost every day.  Mrs.  Munoz comes to us from Forsyth Country Day.  She is a veteran teacher with sixteen years of experience in both public and private schools.


Rachael Clarke and Alex Toledo will be partnering in first grade at the South campus.  Ms. Clarke has served ABS as a teaching assistant and will be moving into the lead teacher position.  Ms. Toledo will support the class as a teaching assistant.


As we look toward the 2024-25 school year, we have some staff positions to hire.  We have posted these positions on our website.  If you are interested or know someone who would be a great match for ABS, please send them to our website for an application.


ABS Skate Night 

The ABS Builders Club is sponsoring a Skate Night on Thursday, April 25, from 6:30 - 8:00 at Skate Haven, 120 Hood Drive in Winston-Salem. The charge is $6.00, which covers the rental of skates. This event funds many charities the ABS Builders Club supports during the year. All are welcome but must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.


Parent Council News

Join us for the next meeting scheduled for April 12 at 12:30.  It will be a virtual meeting.

 

Assistant Principal Raffle

We hold drawings every month at Friday Sing! You can purchase raffle tickets online to give your child a chance to be Assistant Principal of the Day. Assistant Principals have their own desk, name tag, and list of very important duties for the day. All proceeds from the raffle support our teacher appreciation fund and allow us to do special things for our staff throughout the year. Thank you, and good luck!


2024 ABS Summer Camps

Did you know there are only 22 days left to register for 2024 Summer Camps? There are new updates for certain camps as well as two Rising Kindergarten Camps! Remember to have everything done by May 3rd!  *NEW*: Camps are now open to friends and family in the ABS Community! Share the camps with those who are looking for something awesome to do this summer!

Look for camp updates such as World Drumming extending to 2nd & 3rd grade and other camps opening up to a wider range of grade levels! 

 

Register for 2023-2024 ABS Summer Camps (Click on the title of the camp to register.) 

Contact Ashley Tate at [email protected] with any questions. 

 

Around Town…

 

6th, 7th, and 8th graders can sign up for the Standing Ovation Enrichment Program on either Mondays or Thursdays located right next door to ABS at Ovation Sound Recording Studio  - owned by ABS parents, Bill & Laura Stevens. Students will learn about sound engineering and production, create music/video portfolios, content creation, and get to hear from special guest speakers. This session 7-week session runs from 2:40-5:00pm and will begin when students return from Spring Break! Please see the flier attached and visit  www.ovationsound.com/SOEP for more information! You can email Bill and Laura directly at [email protected]

Winston-Salem Choral Academy Accepting New Singers

The WSCA is a high-level choral singing opportunity for children. There are choirs for boys and girls from Kindergarten - 12 grades. K-1 girls and 1st-2nd boys do not require an audition (they fill up fast!) but all others do, beginning the 2nd week of April. Learn more about auditions and the Academy HERE.


Dan Brown’s Wild Symphony at High Point University

Dan Brown’s Wild Symphony will be performed at HPU on April 13. Learn more HERE.



Ways to get involved and learn more about ABS:

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