Positives Per Day

Teaching music is a rollercoaster.  Its days of ups and downs, twists and turns, dips and peaks.  One moment you're on this wild ride and bracing yourself for what is to come and the next, the excitement takes over and you just know it's going to be amazing.  Yet, it's somehow so easy to get caught up on negatives or rough spots, but this year I'm trying something new: Positives Per Day. 

   

The Guidelines:

• Everyday, before leaving work, reflect on the day and write down at least one positive thing that happened that day.  

• The positive doesn't have to be something profound or prolific, but at least one positive must be written down each day (even it it has nothing to do with music)! 

The Tools: 

• Blank calendar or journal.  (I opted to use a blank calendar much like this one that I made just because it was so light weight and portable.) 

• Your favorite pens.  (I have been color coding my months using pens like these just because they're just so fun.) 

• Your positivity and creativity. 

Reflections:

I started this project initially to keep myself positive and motivated throughout the year, however as time goes by, I'm finding that this project is affecting more than just me- it's affecting my students!  Being positive and reflective throughout my day allows (and encourages) me become a much more empathetic, caring, and enthusiastic teacher, thus creating a positive atmosphere and culture within my classroom.  Also, by recognizing positives about my students with my students, there has seemed to be a shift in ownership and excitement from the students. 

I am so genuinely glad that I've continued to jot down my Positives Per Day as it's really become a small, but really happy, part of my every day, despite the growing craziness of my schedule.  Not only do I leave work on a positive note (pun intended), but I'm finding that it's getting easier and easier to recognize (and share) the positives of my day with those around me as they happen!  

Here's to a positive year, Savvy String-ers!

Beginning of the Year Orchestra Parent Meetings

For the last few years, I've held an Orchestra Parent Meeting the first week of school to communicate with parents, both new and old, the expectations and ways the orchestra would work for the year.  I have found that it has been a fun and informative way for parents, guardians, and myself to kick of our school year!

Before summer vacation, the elective teachers, coaches, and principal at my school get together for a calendar meeting in which we decide when all of the events for the next year will be scheduled.  Amongst the many other events scheduled, I always to do my best to reserve an evening in the cafeteria within the first two weeks of school for our Orchestra Parent Meeting.  Though it can call for a hectic start to the year, I enjoy holding our parent meeting as early in the year as I can in order to to avoid as many scheduling conflicts as possible and to begin executing expectations and procedures as quickly as I can.

The date for the Orchestra Parent Meeting is sent out to all parents and students via their orchestra back-to-school letter, a newsletter available during our Open House, and at our Instrument Choice Events.  It is also quickly published on our orchestra website calendar, too.

To respect parent time, I hold two parents meetings back to back.  The meetings are organized as follows:

• 5:00 - 5:30 pm  -  Beginner, Intermediate, and Harp       (Non-Competitive Groups)
• 5:30 - 6:00 pm  -  Advanced & Varsity                            (Competitive Groups)  

By separating the parents into smaller groups based on their child's orchestra, I found that I was able to utilize the time with the parents more effectively and cover more specific information that would apply directly to their child that year.  I made sure that both slideshows created (one for each meeting) focused on both the general orchestra expectations and procedures and on the specifics of their child's group.

In addition, I invited parents to make any of the orchestra payments after their meetings (if they were able to do so at the time).  I discovered that many parents actually preferred that they could get it all taken care of all at once!    

Within 15 slides or less, the the topics covered included:

• Orchestra handbook overview
• Expectations
• Orchestra-Specific Needs (i.e. short fingernails) 
• Materials needed 
• Eligibility
• Concert Attendance & Expectations
• Uniforms
• Payments & Payment Due Dates
• Orchestra T-Shirts
• Instrument Rental Fees
• Homework (with QR Code)
• How that works in my class
• Grading policies
• Late work policies
• Tutoring/ Office Hours
• At-Home Practice
• Expectations
• Why practice is important
• How parents can be involved
• Private Lessons
• What they are
• Benefits of lessons
• Where to find private teachers
• Orchestra Class Website (with QR Code)
• How to sign up for Remind
• Important Calendar Dates
• Spring Trip Introduction
• How to Get Involved and Support the Orchestra
• My Contact Information

Since hosting Beginning of the Year Orchestra Parent Meetings, I have found that the line of communication between parents and myself have opened up significantly and I have been able to help parents understand how my orchestra classes work much more effectively and efficiently.  Also, in having a chance to talk in-person to parents, I not only have the chance to put a parent name to a face, but I have the priceless opportunity to learn more about each of my students!  Who wouldn't love that?!

How do you communicate procedures and expectations to parents at the start of the school year?

Update Your Podium!

Materials: 
     -Old wooden podium
     -Pliers
     -Sandpaper
     -Paint
     -Paintbrush
     -Indoor/Outdoor Rug
     -Staple gun
     -Scissors
     -Exacto Knife
     -Self-Stick Round Felt Furniture Pads (optional)

Step 1: Prep
Using pliers, I carefully removed all of the left over metal frame remnants and took time to sand the uneven and splintered surfaces down to a clean, smooth surface.

Step 2: Paint
After flipping the podium upside down (the underbelly of the podium was facing up), paint the bottom of the podium.  The paint I used was a Valspar color sample in March Breeze from Home Depot, left over from when we repainted our house.  The bare wood of the podium absorbed quite a bit of paint, but two coats of paint transformed the base to the opaque look I was aiming for.

Step 3: Cover It 
Using an indoor/outdoor rug I found at Home Depot (a lot like this rug here), I made measured out a section of the rug and cut it to a manageable size.  Then, I spread out the rug under the podium, using the weight of the furniture to hold the rug as I pulled it taught and aligned the rug's ribbed texture to be parallel to the edges of the podium;  I wanted to be sure there were no wrinkles and that everything looked symmetrical.  Once all was aligned to my liking, I used my staple gun to attach the carpet to the painted podium.  (While stapling, I aimed the staples as close to the top edge as I could, so it would look nice and neat when turned right-side-up.)  I worked with opposite sides of the podium and continued to pull the rug as tight as I could before stapling, again- to avoid any wrinkles.  For the corners, I followed this tutorial as closely as I could to keep things looking crisp and clean.  Last, but not least, I added a few Self-Stick Round Felt Furniture Pads (much like these) to keep the base from scratching my newly-waxed classroom floor!

Step 4: Trim It
Using an exacto knife, I trimmed the rug so it would wrap exactly around the lip of the podium.  Be sure to take your time and cut carefully so the edges are nice and clean.

Step 5: ENJOY IT!
Once you've painted, covered, and trimmed your project, flip it over and enjoy!

Organize Your Cello Cases

To me, back to school means a fresh start, a new outlook, and a clean start- literally!  

As I was reorganizing and cleaning up my classroom from the summer, I found that my room was overflowing with soft cello cases and I was out of surface space to store them!  In years past, I've tried everything from stacking to lining them up against a wall, but there was always an issue of clutter.  Plus, after a week around kids, they just kind of became a mess to look at.

So, this year, I tried something new: HANGING THEM UP!  

Now, I've heard of other teachers hanging up their cases using coat racks mounted on walls, but I simply didn't have any wall space in my classroom for that.  (It's a seriously clever idea, though!)  So, I had to get a little creative with a way to get the cases off the floor and to get them to where I could move them to the storage space kindly given to me in the girl's locker room. 

Challenge accepted.   

I ended up finding and using an old metal garment rack with wheels and I purchased a pack of adjustable pant/skirt hangers from Amazon.  (The kind I purchased can be found here.  They're not the most durable hangers I've ever used, but I was looking for a good deal on a pack of hangers.)      

I also found that the best way for the hangers to hold the weight of the cases (especially when I rolled the cases back to the storage area where they live during the year) was to attach the hangers to the bottom of the case, where the endpin is, and attach one clip to either side of the case.  This seemed to be the only way for the clips to be able to hold the weight of the case in transit from my room to the storage area.  

And, just like that, my cello cases were organized and could be rolled away to storage until I needed them again!  

Technology For The Secondary Music Classroom

Though there are so many incredible (and truly creative) uses for technology within classrooms, it can sometimes seem difficult to find truly applicable technology for the secondary music classroom that doesn't get in the way of our concert preparations, competitions, day-to-day teaching, etc.  However, I'm so excited to share with you a few apps and programs that I've discovered that have been real game changers for my classroom! 

Music First 

Music First has been one of the things that I've used the most the past two years in my classroom!  I've assigned "practice assignments" for every student twice per week, and have the students submit a recording of the assigned excerpt.  (This is great for tracking progress over time, giving documented feedback, and having a digital/ time stamped documentation of student practice all on one platform.)  I also have used Music First for tests, which saves a significant amount of already precious class rehearsal time!  Finally, I love using Music First in a way where students respond to a written prompt or embedded video!

-PRICE VARIES ON TEACHER NEEDS

-Classroom Application: Test & homework platform!

-Online classroom for K-12

-Platform for recording, writing, video integration, etc.

-Extension software (Practice First, Focus on Sound, Sight Reading Factory, Noteflight, Cut time, etc.)

-Internet based

-https://www.musicfirst.com/

EdPuzzle 

EdPuzzle has a lot of really interesting features to it, but the part that is most exciting to me is that you can edit YouTube videos to embed in platforms like Music First or Google Classroom with the feature that disables students from skipping through the video!  How many times have you had to scroll through a video to find the right place to start/stop it for you kids?   How many times have you seen your kids miss information because they skipped the video?  EdPuzzle... where problems are solved! 

-FREE (teacher account available)

-Classroom Application: Edit youtube videos to show, share, or assign in classes.  
(There’s a way for you to have students watch a video without students skipping through
it!)

-Connects to Google Classroom!

-Links for embedding videos

- https://edpuzzle.com/

Amazing Slow Downer

This little gem can slow down (or speed up) any sound file, allowing students to study the intricacies, textures, and style of the music without necessarily changing the pitch of the recording (unless you want it to).  Now, after doing some research, I found out that the full version of the software costs some money, however, there is an app version (The Amazing Slow Downer Lite) that would work just as wonderfully for basic classroom use! 

-Mac software, Windows software, APP: ASD Lite (FREE), ASD (Price Varies)

-Classroom Application: Choose any music file to slow down and study the intricacies,
textures, etc. of the music.

-Full version = $$, but there *is* a free app version that is just as effective!

-Speeds can speed up/ slow down, but pitch does not change if you don’t want it to.

-http://ronimusic.com/

Screencastify

Screencastify is such an interesting Chrome extension!  This allows you to record your screen, which could be really cool for a "flipped" classroom, professional development training (or any training, for that matter), and visual/digital lessons, lesson plans, or sub plans!  Plus... it's free!

-FREE
-Classroom Application: Record your screen to “flip your classroom”, professional
development training, & visual lessons/lesson plans/sub plans, etc.
-CHROME EXTENSION!
-Compatible with Mac, Windows, and Chromebooks!
-https://www.screencastify.com/

The Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

The Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is not only an incredible resource for authentic recordings of world music (perfect for studying style, performance practice, history, etc.), but it has several available lesson plans from teachers worldwide (in PDF format).  Also, the liner notes available also give great context to the interesting pieces!  Plus, I found that there are a few teacher courses available, too!

-FREE
-Classroom Application: Listen to authentic recordings of world music to study style,
performance practice, history, etc.
-Many recordings have great liner notes to apply to cultural context of piece.
-Several available lesson plans from teachers worldwide. (Downloadable in PDF format.)
Teacher courses available
-https://folkways.si.edu/

Noteflight

Another resource that I've used a ton the last few years has been Noteflight!  Though I love programs like Finale and Sibelius for advanced music notation, Noteflight is quite user-friendly and has basic music notation features available for writing quick single or multi-part pieces or songs.  But, my favorite thing about it is that because it's cloud-based, I can access and work on the same file at school AND at home without worrying about platform compatibility or availability between computers!

-FREE
-Classroom Application: Music notation (from both teacher and students)!
-Cloud Based
-Simple input, several basic options for notation
-https://www.noteflight.com/

What's your favorite technology to use in your classroom?