March 2, 2014
Greetings!
Let's get right to a snapshot of some recent activities at Swain, and exciting news to share from our instrumental music program!
Third time's the charm - Sweetheart Tea
Inspiration Speeches
February is also the time we kick off the first of the eighth graders' Inspiration Speeches. This is a fairly new Swain tradition, in which e
ach Swain eighth grader chooses 
someone (dead or alive, personal or famous) who has been an inspiration in some way.
Subjects of the inspiration speeches are often described as hard working, brave, strong, intelligent, courageous, talented, kind, generous, modest, etc. Sometimes the subjects of the speeches are top-secret surprises and they don't find out until they hear it live and in the moment - as Linda Cope (right) did, when her son Thomas surprised her. Click on the photo for more images.
Doing the detective work
Second grade students recently took a trip to the Weis Grocery Store to solve the mystery of why N.R. Getic George is losing his energy. Cookies for lunch and too much time playing video games have tapped his energy: can they find the answers in the store, of how he can regain his vim and vigor?
Traveling around the store, the students - along with second grade teachers Mrs. McClary and
Mrs. Scerbo, science teacher Miss Brown, and several parents - found all kinds of great clues! Click picture for more images.
And news from the music department
Band director Caitlin Worrich has announced that several Swain middle school students have been honored for their instrumental music abilities.
Elektra Benkrid and Thomas Cope have been selected as participants in the 2014 PMEA District 10 Intermediate Band and Orchestra Festival. This festival is a chance for advanced instru-mental music students from across the Lehigh Valley to spend a day rehearsing and performing high quality band and orchestra music, under the direction of music educators of the highest caliber. Next Saturday, March 7, Thomas and Elektra will travel with Miss Worrich to Southern Lehigh Middle School for a day of rehearsals, socializing, and a concert with over 150 middle school students from schools across the Lehigh Valley.
Enjoy their performance from the Winter Concert:
Will Bingham and Michael Long have been accepted into the PMEA District 10 Elementary Band Festival. This is a similar opportunity for 5th and 6th graders from across the Lehigh Valley to participate at Northampton Area High School on April 11.
This past weekend, Michael Long auditioned for the Community Music School's Budding Musician Scholarship. It is my pleasure to tell you that he was selected as a recipient of one of the 2014 scholarships! As a winner, Michael will receive 8 weeks of private flute lessons with a member of the Community Music School faculty.
