Family Notes: November 8, 2013

It is exciting for me to see our students energized and involved in their own discovery of knowledge and ideas as they progress through their expeditions and rehearse with their orchestras. In the process, they are becoming skilled researchers, writers, mathematicians, speakers, musicians and scientists. As young as they are, they seem to have a growing awareness that the education they are part of here is something very important for them in order to help them build a good society and lead a good life.

During the recent Boston mayoralty race, one could not help but be deluged by a steady stream of campaign promotional material on each candidate. And it was reassuring to note how the topic of education and its importance was a centerpiece in each candidate's platform. They each stated their belief that the future success and economic viability of the City of Boston is inextricably tied to the success of each of our public schools. These politicians understand that education is critical to job creation, and know that our public schools must develop a well-rounded workforce prepared to compete in the global market place. To quote Karl Fisch, educator and originator of The Fischbowl, an educational blog, at Conservatory Lab "We are preparing children for careers that do not even exist yet."

In order for our children to have a competitive advantage in this world of the future, we must teach them how to learn strategically: to organize themselves, process new information efficiently, make critical decisions about that information, access it at a later time and apply it accurately. These types of learning skills are called "soft skills." They include learning, organization, and communication strategies. Here at Conservatory Lab these soft skills accompany our students as they also acquire facts and concepts. The process seems to engage and motivate them. I am excited to watch them as they become experts at this.

Have a good week-end.

Warmly,

Ms. Lam

Diana Lam

A Bus Trip Back In Time

On Wednesday it was the 3rd grade's chance to turn the clocks way, 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.

"How do you start a fire?"

"What do you eat in the winter?"

"How many people would live in one house structure called a wetu?"

They took notes, made observations and drew pictures to help them remember details.

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.

Rehearsals at the Upper School

In order to maintain and improve our strong wind ensemble culture and standard of music excellence, our team of four Resident Wind Artists have been leading instrument technique classes for their respective instruments, bringing together all 14 trombonists, 17 clarinetists, 19 flautists and 21 trumpet players from the Dudamel, Abbado and Ives Wind Ensembles. These side-by-side rehearsals have allowed each Resident Artist to work on specific techniques idiomatic to their instrument and provided an opportunity for all musicians to produce quality sounds, develop proper posture and learn how to work together, reinforcing and modeling a collaborative culture amongst students.

For the last two Fridays, our efforts resounded through the halls as a number of Dudamel musicians were asked to peer mentor first year players from Abbado and Ives. Both weeks culminated with a joint Abbado and Ives Ensemble rehearsal, playing scales in two and three-part harmony and performing, with great success, "When the Saints Go Marching In," a piece which all four sections had rehearsed in their technique classes.

Collaborative rehearsals and peer mentoring are, without a doubt, attributing to our students' growing success in music and strengthening our school culture. Working with a common goal, our Resident Artists, winds and strings alike, are developing more concise ways of presenting music and are utilizing peer mentoring as a tool to not only support instruction, but also to create a stronger school culture.

Welcome to the Neighborhood

First graders launched their Neighbor to Neighbor Expedition on Monday with a community walk. The class was divided into three groups to explore the neighborhood around 320 Washington Street with a mystery map. Each group had different locations marked with a question mark and a list of destinations. As they walked around with teachers and parent chaperones, students checked off the locations and filled out their group map.

After the students created their small group map, they worked together to identify all the important buildings, services and community helpers that distinguish the Brighton neighborhood. Who spotted the police station? Which group noted the local library? Where can we find ice cream? Students will go to the Brighton-Allston Heritage Museum to learn how the neighborhood has changed over time and will interview community helpers. Together they will create a Welcome to Our Neighborhood

class book.

Professional Development

On the afternoon of Halloween, teachers began their professional development learning with an activity called The Marshmallow Challenge. Teachers in the school gathered in mixed groups- classroom teacher, middle school, early childhood, music, etc. to solve the problem together- build the highest free-standing structure from string, tape, and spaghetti. The topper- the structure must support a whole marshmallow!

This was only the launch into a day of learning together, looking at shared assessment practices, el Sistema and its impact on our shared work, and preserving time to review educational plans for students with special needs in our school.

Big Thank You for Lower School Clean Up

Thank you to Doug and Emmett Bellow for the work you did cleaning the play space at the Lower School. They weed-whacked, moved piles of rubble, cleaned out trash, and made it safer and more lovely for all.

Thank you also to Ms. Mason, Ms. Hunsucker, Ms. Wallach, Ms. Herisse, and Ms. Landay who spent all weekend preparing the K1 classroom for the shift in programming. The spaces look beautiful and the children were amazed when they walked in Monday morning.

First Spring Fling Organizational Meeting Coming Up

Plans are about to get underway for Conservatory Lab Charter School's most successful annual event.

What: The school's biggest concert and showcase of the year

Where: Likely The Strand Theater in Dorchester but perhaps another??

When: April or May date TBD

Why: To showcase our students and their music and raise money and awareness for the school.

Please join us in launching new committees. We need your help!

· Steering Committee

· Silent Auction Committee

· Solicitations Committee

· Event Production Committee

· Day-of-Event Volunteers Committee

The first planning meeting will take place at the KROC Center, 650 Dudley St. Boston, MA 02125 on Saturday, November 9th at 2 PM.

Please let us know if you can attend.

Enthusiastically yours,

Beth Greene beth.greene@comcast.net and Casimir Deronette cderonette@gmail.com

An Invitation From the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra

Dear Conservatory Lab Charter School community,

We warmly invite all of your students, faculty, parents, board and supporters to the highly acclaimed Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra's first exciting concert of the season!

On Friday, November 15th at 8:00pm at Symphony Hall, Boston, 120 passionate young musicians, ages 12 to 21, will thrill you with their performance of Verdi's La Forza del Destino Overture, Gandolfi's Garden of Cosmic Speculation, Shostakovich's Symphony no. 5, and Ravel's Piano Concerto in G, featuring From the Top's Christopher O'Riley as the soloist! Click here for further information on the concert and program.

We're happy to offer all your students, parents, and faculty complimentary tickets for this concert! Please email Danielle Williams at dwilliams@bostonphil.org to notify us of how many tickets you would like for your staff,students, and their families for the concert. We would appreciate it if all requested tickets were used!

We hope to see you there as the talented and enthusiastic BPYO players and Maestro Benjamin Zander provide a wonderful evening of music!

Sincerely,

The Boston Philharmonic Orchestra

Welcoming New Students - Spread the Word

"Music is practically the only way to a dignified social destiny. Poverty means loneliness, sadness, anonymity. An orchestra means joy, motivation, teamwork, the aspiration to success." - Jose Abreu, Founder of El Sistema

Since our admissions cycle launched on October 1, we have received a healthy number of applications, particularly in the early grades. To continue expanding our middle school, we would like to ask for your help in spreading the word about Conservatory Lab to your family, friends, and local communities.

Our goal is to enrich the lives of all children from all backgrounds by empowering them as scholars, artists, and leaders through a unique and rigorous academic and music education: project-based Expeditionary Learning and the El Sistema orchestral program with roots in Venezuelan barrios. We believe that music is the language of learning and the key to breaking through barriers in the pursuit of excellence.

Applications can be downloaded here and submitted with two proofs of address and a copy of the student's birth certificate by March 1, 2014. A lottery will occur in early March. Feel free to request a copy in Portuguese, Vietnamese, Chinese, Haitian Creole, and/or Spanish.

Thank you for your continued investment in the lives and dreams of children. With your help, we look forward to welcoming a cohort of students, whose diversity strengthens our unity.