Family Notes: November 15, 2013

Often visitors to our school will comment on the positive and harmonious "vibe" that that they sense in our school. Clearly if they come during the time of our music classes, one can easily understand that comment. But it is also the case when there is no musical sound or vibration heard in the school. It is a feeling of unity, integrity, community and trust. As visitors travel from classroom to classroom, they see the same expectations of the students in action - all are cooperating with each other, taking responsibility for their actions, persevering at their tasks until they achieve the high quality that is expected of all. And beyond that, there is a trust that each person and what they are doing will be respected.

That trust is something that we have built over time. It is something very precious, that can be lost if someone that is part of the community does not tell the truth. We are aware of that. Truth and trust go together. Truth is the basis of trust since it creates an inner order; an internal structure of integrity. Integrity is built from the honesty or truthfulness of one's actions.

Adherence to those values of honesty and truth that build integrity in the individual, the grade, the classroom and ultimately the school is what each of us strive to maintain on a daily basis. This consistency of actions, values, methods, principles, expectations and outcomes are what create that positive "vibe" that visitors feel. I thrive on it.

Have a wonderful week-end.

Warmly,

Ms. Lam

Diana Lam

An Appeal From the 5th Grade

Fifth graders are in the middle of their Heating Up, Chilling Out Expedition all about weather and climate change so, of course, they wanted to learn all they could about the typhoon that struck in the Philippines a week ago and help the people who were devastated by it. The following is the script of the appeal they made in all classrooms today.

"You may have already heard about this in the news, but last Friday there was a Super Typhoon in the Philippines, which are a group of islands in Asia. A typhoon is just another word for what we call in America, a hurricane. This was a category 5 hurricane, which means it was catastrophic and the winds were up to 195 miles per hour. To make it clearer, if you remember the destruction Hurricane Sandy caused about a year ago, well that was a category 3 storm."

"Super Typhoon Haiyan is one of the most powerful hurricanes that has ever struck in the world. More than 2,000 people have died, more than 40,000 homes have been destroyed, and nearly 9 million people are affected in one way or another. Many Filipinos now have nowhere to go to get water, food, and medical care. Some people have been moved to other countries, but most are still there searching for food and safety.

We are here to tell you how you can help. Please bring in any change that you may have in your pockets, in your piggybank at home, or in your wallet and place them in a jar we will leave at the front desk. You can also ask your families to donate! We will come back every few days to empty the jar and eventually donate the money to the SOS Children's Villages organization."

"A penny can go a long way, so please think about helping out and bring donations in next week. It will make you feel good inside.

Thank you for your time. Any questions?"

Percussion Demo

Our 5th graders have been leaders in music expertise as well as in the classroom. Last Friday, two percussionists, Libbah Israel and Nahjae Davis brought snare drums and sticks over to the Lower School and showed the Abreu Orchestra what they could do. Early childhood music educator and percussion Resident Artist Tess Plotkin proudly put these two students through their paces, showing the younger students what "real" musicians look like in rest position and playing position. They then played their warm-ups, Cadence and some other pieces to demonstrate the different kinds of music they could make. The class ended with a full audience participation rendition of the Drumline Cadence, a piece the 1st graders had learned the year before.

This is just the first of several projected "student expert" visits by 5th grade musicians to the Lower School. The Abreu Orchestra is beginning to get a picture of what their future in orchestra may look like.

Freedom Trail Tour

On the gray and windy morning of Tuesday, November 12th, the 4th grade class set off to explore Boston's legendary freedom trail. The guide, whose ancestor was a Son of Liberty and is buried at Copp's Hill Burying Ground, met the class at Government Center station. The class began the journey around the spaces that witnessed our nation's birth after a short introduction by the guide. As part of their Expedition Stand Up! Speak Out!: The Founding of a Nation, 4th graders must investigate the pivotal events that led up to the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, key battles of the War, and the process of writing the Constitution.

They launched the tour at the Old State House where they heard the story of the Boston Massacre and the Declaration of Independence. They visited several other sites including the Union Oyster House, the Old North Church, and Paul Revere's house, where they were treated to a tour and detailed insight into the daily lives of Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and many other Founding Fathers. The tour concluded at the dining area of Quincy Market where they gobbled up some sandwiches and prepared for the return trip.

A Message From the PAC - Book Fair

Dear Conservatory Lab families,

Thank you for making this fall's Scholastic Book Fair the best fair ever! We had children from every grade and classroom come to the fair, whether they walked down the hall from their classroom or made a field trip from 320 Washington Street. Everyone made an effort to find a just-right book. Even a rainy day couldn't stop our K1 students from choosing and reading new books.

We'd like to extend a huge thank you to all the parent volunteers who helped with setting up the fair, who worked one or more shifts at the fair, who chaperoned a classroom field trip to the fair, and who stayed last Friday to pack it all up!

Our goal for each fair is always to beat last year's fair. The good news is...we did it again! At our Fall 2012 Fair we sold $5040.71 which meant a profit to the PAC account of $1260.00. At this Fall 2013 Fair we sold $6641.07 worth of books which brought a profit of $1588.42 to PAC account. Total sales were up about $1,600 from last year, and the cash profit to the PAC account was up about $325 from last year. In addition, the school will receive $550.00 in Scholastic books and products.

We could not have done this without everyone's help! Many thanks, as always for your support of our school.

See you at the spring book fair!

The Book Fair Lady

(aka Felice Rutstein-Lee, mom of Ben, 6th grade, and Oliver, 3rd grade)

We at the school would like to extend a special thank you to Felice. She has captained the Bookfair ship for most of her seven years as a Conservatory Lab parent. We encourage parent involvement in the school at all levels and in any way that makes sense for you and your family. Felice has found her true volunteer calling as she combines her love of books and her organizational skills in a way that provides a service to students and staff alike. THANK YOU Felice!

We Are K1!

This is the mantra for the 52 members of the newly combined K-1 classes under the tutelage of Ms. Becca Mason as lead teacher and Ms Herisse, Ms. Hunsucker and Ms Wallack as her assistant teachers.

This mantra is the beginning of a series of unifying elements for what was once a group of two classes and is now one. Amongst these are:

creating a book called "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?"
recognizing their own names, learning how to write them left to right and
making connections between one child and another
using words to express their ideas and dig deep into their feelings.

There are many opportunities for whole group activities, for ½ class activities and for other smaller groupings all allowing for greater success for each student. In addition, the children are grouped into 12 "crews" of 4 or 5. Often these smaller groups allow children to be more reflective. As they move together to do different activities, they are looking out and caring for each other.

The learning targets for the entire group are that by December all children will know each other, will feel bonded as one whole class with the same set of norms, will have become masters at having smooth and effective transitions, will participate harmoniously at their centers of play, will have the same high expectations for themselves to self-regulate, have emotional stability, be patient and work on task.

Makes one think of a well-known book by Robert Fulghum "All I really need to know, I learned in Kindergarten."!

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Parent Advisory Council Upcoming:

The next monthly meeting of the Parent Advisory Council will be Wednesday, November 20th from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at the Upper School, 25 Arlington St.

Agenda:

▪PAC Board reports (including information from the head of school regarding facilities updates)

▪Lower School Principal Annie Sevelius and Upper School Principal Andres Cruz Torres will be available for questions.

▪Carl Allen, director of transportation at the bus company Veolia Transportation, will discuss issues related to bus transportation of students and will respond to families' questions and concerns.

▪Ongoing clothing swap for concert clothes and school uniforms. If you have any, please bring to the meeting any outgrown but still good-condition concert attire and uniform items that you wish to swap.

All families are invited and encouraged to attend. Pizza and childcare will be provided. Please email michellegurel@comcast.net to let us know if you need childcare so we can staff and order pizza appropriately. [If your child(ren) will be staying at school during the meeting you must let the school know beforehand so your student is not put on the bus.]

Potluck and Math Night!

Please join us at an all-school potluck dinner with math games as the entertainment. Get to know other families and meet your child's classmates!

Please bring a dish of your choice (we'd appreciate it if you could label your dish with a list of ingredients as a courtesy to those with food allergies).

Date: Friday, November 22, 2013

Time: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Location: The Boston Nature Center

500 Walk Hill Street

Mattapan, MA

Another Invitation From the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra

Boston Philharmonic Orchestra has expanded its children's education initiative with our new Kids Notes Upbeat series and we would love to share this with your students and families! Kids Notes Up Beat is a pre-concert talk geared toward kids ages 6-13, featuring fun musical activities, a guest Boston Philharmonic Orchestra musician, and an interactive discussion on the music at that night's concert program. Additionally, our brilliant conductor, Benjamin Zander, will offer his pre-concert lecture for adults and teenagers at 6:45pm.

For our concerts next week, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra is happy to offer Conservatory Lab families up to 15 complimentary tickets. Please email DWilliams@bostonphil.org to request these.

Our next concerts featuring Kids Notes Upbeat will be:

Saturday, Nov. 23 - Jordan Hall, Boston

7:30pm Kids Notes Upbeat

8:00pm Concert

Friday, Nov. 22 - Mechanics Hall, Worcester

7:30pm Kids Notes Upbeat

8:00pm Concert

This concert will feature Weber's Overture to Der Freischutz, Brahms' Symphony no. 2, and an incredible performance of Bartok's Violin Concerto no. 2 with internationally acclaimed violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja.

As always, we have our $10 student tickets for sale. To learn more, visit http://bostonphil.org/crescendo/concerts or call our office at 617-236-0999.

ProArte Concert Ticket Offer

Saturday, November 23rd at 1 PM Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston will perform their second full ensemble concert of this season, Musical Monuments, at First Church in Cambridge, 11 Garden Street, Cambridge.

Discounted tickets for $10 are available for students and families by going to this link: (http://www.proarte.org/rhodes-conducts-beethoven-symphony-no-2/) and typing the code: CONSERV10 or by calling 617-779-0900 and mentioning the code. The discount code only works for Level C and Level D tickets. Tickets can be purchased through the website until November 22nd, noon. After that, they can be purchased at the venue 1 hour prior to the concert.