Sometimes the simplest events point to the deepest truths. The provision of food, the flowing of water, the ripening of a harvest, are all causes for gratitude. They certainly were for the Pilgrims as they celebrated their first harvest back in 1621 after having arrived on these shores from England.

Now, many of us take these things for granted. Not so, for the people in the typhoon-ravaged Phillippines, or the people in war-torn Syria or Afghanistan. Photos of our fellow humans in such dire distress brings home the reality that our gratitude list can't be only for once a year, it needs to be a daily, growing one. In fact, gratitude isn't static-it's active, expressed in everyday action. I am moved by the compassion and initiative shown by our 5th graders as they began a coin campaign drive from within the school to send to the people in the Phillippines. Implicit in this action is the recognition that they have much for which to be grateful and they want to extend a helping hand to those that need it.

Gratitude is a prized human inclination. Generally, gratitude is thought be a positive emotion that can foster mutually beneficial relationships. It helps us in forming networks of caring, trust and respect. As we join hands together with our loved ones this coming holiday, let us think of giving thanks throughout the year.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Warmly,

Ms. Lam

Diana Lam

Longy and NEC Bring the Music to Lower School

Four graduate students from Longy's Master of Arts in Teaching program brought their talents to our K1 classroom last Friday. The mission of their Teaching Artist Program is to give "students both the understandings and skills necessary to create engaging musical experiences for a wide variety of audiences and participants."

The grad students planned their performance of selections from Mozart's Magic Flute with an audience of 4 year olds in mind. They started with a quick snippet of music sung with the lyrics replaced with nonsense words and asked the students to guess what was going on in the scene. After the students shared their ideas, the Longy students asked them to then say how they knew what was going on. The students then practiced using movement, facial expression and voice dynamics to convey meaning by having a partner guess what sport they were demonstrating.

The music experience ended with the Longy students performing an excerpt from the Magic Flute and helping the students analyze the scene. The students loved the performance and were singing "Triomphe!" for the rest of the afternoon.

There were musical visitors in K2 as well. Tanya Maggi, the director of New England Conservatory's Community Performances and Partnerships Program brought trombonist Will Connell for an interactive performance. First Will showed the students what kinds of sounds he could make on the trombone and asked them what they thought of those sounds. Then Tanya read The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein while Will played a composition he wrote to go along with the book. There was even a sing-a-long part for the students to join!

What did we say to our musical guests? "Thank you! And come again soon!" They all have pledged to do so.

A Sticky Project

The 4th graders have begun their expedition entitled Whose Story Is it! The focus of which is the study of the Wampanoag Native American Tribe and the Pilgrims from England. The region most intensely studied is the New England of the early 17th century, which encompassed mostly this land we call home - Massachusetts, but also Rhode Island and a small part of Maine.

As the students began their research they found that they did not know where these places were. They began on a flat map and then needed to understand hemispheres so came to the conclusion that building a three-dimensional globe was the way to go!

Each students began to build their papier m�ch� globes and to paint them including the seven continents, made of modge podge for added dimension. As they worked on the Northern Hemisphere they put in important bodies of water and could then pinpoint exactly where the events that they were studying took place.

This proved to be an engaging project not only for the students but for a number of parents that came in to assist as well. The process of building these globes which each student later took home, was definitely sticky for all involved but also because such hands-on learning will stick to their brains too!

Let's Play!

The players are in position. Strong bodies, ninja focus, all thoughts on the task at hand. The makings of great start to a Conservatory Lab performance. However, while these players share a similar passion, their task at hand is not "Ode to Joy." It's the end zone of the football field.

Between soccer, four-square and the ever-popular kickball, recess has always been centered around team sports. With the start of the NFL season, a number of our students (and staff), inspired by their favorite professional athletes, took to the football field at recess. They started on their own, with a few passionate students making touchdowns with a single player running around all the other students, pretending as if they had escaped every tackler from the New England Patriots. While fun was being had by all, from a teacher's perspective, it seemed a bit disorganized and the potential for great teaching moments was ever present.

"Football and Orchestra go hand and hand," says Resident Artist, Chris Schroeder. "Playing the role of quarterback provides an opportunity to incorporate the same crew qualities that we work on in music rehearsal, on the football field. We talk about teamwork, collaboration and perseverance. At the end of the day, our role as educators is to discover ways to connect with our students, create opportunities for learning and empower them to take pride and be passionate about all they do."

Having the experience, acting as both quarterback and music director, Mr. Schroeder has been able to connect with students through a sport they enjoy and draw connections to the experience of playing on a sports team and playing music in an orchestra. "These analogies support a larger goal of having the our lessons transcend the rehearsals spaces and football fields to help guide our students to be passionate, team players in life."

Just as the music guides the ensemble to connect individuals and bring an orchestral masterpiece to life, students have now been approaching Mr. Schroeder with plays and pass routes that reinforce the concepts of teamwork and passion that they talk about on (and off) the field.

A Plea From the Lower School - Recess Supplies

The Lower Campus is always accepting donations of jump ropes, balls, hula hoops, and chalk for recess play space!

School Calendars For Sale

Every year the school creates a calendar which serves as a reminder of the achievements and performances of the past year and as our Annual Report full of information about the school. This year's calendar is a beautiful testament to the power of education and music and is filled with the faces of our children.

The calendars will be for sale at $10 each at every school event: PAC meetings and concerts but you can also send your student in with money and a note any time (the orders can be brought to the front desk at each building) and we will send them home the next day with the number of calendars you would like.

Survey Says - Thank you

Over 80 families have responded to our Family Communication Survey so far. If you would like to complete the survey, please do so by Nov. 26th. Please click this link for the survey.

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.

Discovery Ensemble Ticket Offer

Our own El Sistema Co-Director Josue Gonzalez will be performing with the Discovery Ensemble this Sunday, November 24th at 3 PM at Jordan Hall. The mission of this ensemble, led by conductor Courtney Lewis, is to "be the leading chamber orchestra in New England and one of the pre-eminent music ensembles in the United States."

Free tickets are available for students and families by printing and filling out this voucher.

The Sunday's concert will include:

Ad�s's Chamber Symphony
Rameau's Suite from Les Bor�ades
Beethoven's Symphony No. 5

ProArte 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.