At the first concert of the year, every year, I am always surprised and delighted at the seemingly unbelievable skill, ability and confidence that these very youngest among us display. The hours upon hours of devoted time and attention given to these open and fertile young minds certainly has its reward. And also, I see this high level response to the goal, whether artistic, scholastic or collegial in every one of our grades.

There seems to be some implicit resolve amongst our students that they must try their best. I see it in their science projects, in their writing and math projects, I even see it in their motley football team. What they are learning from their teachers is so much more than only the content of the subject matter, they are taking away life lessons from these very dedicated and passionate adults with whom they spend so many hours. The quality of relationships which exist between our students, their teachers and with each other point to their growing development as compassionate, creative, courageous young people.

Is it the intensity of the music, the rigor of the academics, or the demand for responsible behavior that forms the bedrock of the remarkable culture that exists at our school? I believe that it is all the above and I am delighted with every one of the individuals, large and small, young and not so much, that make it all work as a whole.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Warmly,

Ms. Lam

Diana Lam

Winter Concert I - A Smashing Success

Last Tuesday the hall at the Ben Franklin Institute was bursting with music and pride as our K1/K2 Rockstars and Abreu and Bernstein Orchestras performed for over 400 friends and family. After introductory remarks from Head of School, Diana Lam and El Sistema Co-Director, Kat Jara, our youngest students sang three songs. Led by Early Childhood Music educators Tess Plotkin and David Cordes, this choir of 100 voices began with a children's song, I'm Growing Up, by M. A. Amadon. They then moved on to Charlie Parker Played Bebop, the words from a book by Chris Raschka about Charlie Parker and the tune from Parker's A NIght in Tunisia. It was a joyful and sophisticated performance enhanced by accompaniment by Resident Artists Brad Barrett on bass and Juan Ruiz on clarinet. They finished their set with a rousing rendition of Lovely Day by Bill Withers.

Next up, El Sistema Co-Director Josue Gonzalez led the Abreu Orchestra through their three songs. This group of 1st and 2nd grade beginning string players played Hot Cross Buns, Twinkle Twinkle and D Major Canon, all elements of the Suzuki repertoire. They delighted the audience with their form, their pizzicato (plucking) and their ability to look and sound like an orchestra after so little time together. We expect great things from this orchestra!

The final ensemble of the afternoon concert was the Bernstein String Orchestra led by Kat Jara. These 2nd graders wowed the audience with their lovely sound in the traditional song, Dona Nobis Pacem. The last song on the program, Colombian composer Juan Antonio Cuellar's Himno, may have sounded familiar to some as it was the song played by all the El Sistema inspired programs at last year's Showcase. Written for a young orchestra, this song has an important role in El Sistema.

Our younger student musicians performed beautifully and have rightfully set the bar very high for the Upper School concert next week. The songs highlighted in blue above link to videos we have posted on YouTube and photos of the concert can be found at Shutterfly. Remember, the password is music.

Please join us for the final concert of 2013 on December 19th, same time - 3:30 PM and same place.

Teacher Profile: Meet Katie Idlebrook

Katie Idlebrook is our Special Education teacher whose professional calling grew out of her own positive personal experiences. Born and brought up in Brookline, schooled at Brimmer & May, the Carroll School and Manhattanville College, she had educational advantages that she knew that she wanted to share with children who have the same kind of challenges that she had as a youngster and who might not the opportunities to overcome them the way that she did.

Her experiences as a student at the Carroll School were so amazing that she determined to be the same kind of focused, well-versed, problem-solving teacher that she had encountered there. She strives to be the kind of teacher that finds the right tools for each child to figure out exactly what they need to be successful learners. After working for five years in a charter school, she then decided to go to Lesley to get a Master's Degree in Creative Writing. She relishes learning all the ways to employ language. Now here at Conservatory Lab, Katie is delighted to see the way in which our students are learning the language of music and are employing that skill in so many different and creative ways.

She finds her work in her field very rewarding as she is in constant discovery of the unique ways in which every one of her students learns.

The Vermicomposting Challenge: Composting With Worms An article written by the 6th grade

Did you know we are composting with worms in 6th grade science? Settle into the world of red wiggler worms- bins filled with compost and dead organisms covered in fungi and bacteria. Did you know that, in this world, worms need bedding, just like we do? You will learn about the bedding and what worms do. Pay close attention.

The Need

We needed to compost, not just to feed worms, but for ourselves. We decided to compost when we learned how much food we waste in a year. Without composting, we will soon be covered with trash. So, after a video and reading articles, we knew we had to stop wasting food that could easily be composted by our friends the red wiggler worms. They use their super eating powers to turn fruits and veggies into moist soil that can help our classroom and the world!

Engineering the Bin

The factors that worms need to survive are darkness, dampness, food, and air, specifically oxygen. These turned into criteria that we had to meet in our engineering design. We turned two plastic bins into a compost bin and worked as engineers by following the engineering design process. We made a diagram and interacted with each other to make one whole class worm bin.

We made a model, fixed the problems in the model, and used different materials and strategies to construct our bin. We drilled holes in the sides and top of our bin so oxygen could enter and the worms could breathe. To achieve this task we used a drill. We put a lid on the bin to give them the dark and make sure they would not dry out from the sun.

Bedding

We filled the bin with bedding- crushed up leaves, ripped strips of newspaper, cardboard and a little bit of soil. Cardboard is excellent material because it retains moisture. The cardboard and newspaper will be food for the worms once it has softened. They are good for worms to eat because worms need carbon in their diet. The soil is grit that helps the worms chew. We wet the bedding until it felt like a pile of damp leaves. We used teamwork. For example, when three people were shredding newspaper, other people were crushing leaves and putting dirt into the bin. We got the bin done faster when we were all cooperating and contributing.

Diet

Worms need a lot of carbon in their diet, but they also need the element nitrogen. For every 30 atoms of carbon a worm eats, it needs to eat 1 atom of nitrogen. So worms need a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 30:1. We figured out how much food to give the worms by using base ten blocks to get the volume of the amount of food. The volume in the box that the bedding takes up has a 30 cm width, 20 cm height, and 50 cm length. This is the carbon. We made a small version of the amount of bedding that was 1,000 times smaller. Our scale model had a 3 cm width, 2 cm height, and 5 cm length. We realized that for this amount of bedding, we would feed the worms just one cm cube of food scraps with nitrogen. Then we multiplied by 1000 to see the actual amount. Every week we will feed our worms about 1000 cubic centimeters of food scraps.

To prepare food for the worms we use fruit and veggie scraps (for example, apples, pears, lettuce, and banana), not meat or dairy. We have to make small portions so we don't overfeed them and cut the food into very small pieces so it is easier for them to digest and decompose.

Conclusion

Learning about compost helped us learn more about life. We learned how the F.B.I (fungi, bacteria, and invertebrates, including worms) eat and excrete to live and make rich dirt. We are hoping that, as a result of our study, you have learned more about how worms behave, take care of themselves, and help our environment.

Welcome New Staff: Ashley Jaundoo and Amelia Hollander Ames

Ashley Jaundoo is a 4th Grade Teacher, who arrived to Conservatory Lab after operating as the Program Coordinator for The Efficacy Institute, Inc. In 2010, she became the Lower School Special Projects Coordinator, and 5th and 6th grade teacher at Boston Collegiate Charter School in Dorchester, MA. She received her M.Ed. in Elementary Education from Boston College Lynch School of Education, as a Donovan Urban Teaching Scholar in 2013. While pursuing her master's degree, she simultaneously co-taught a 1st grade class at the Dennis C. Haley Pilot School in Roslindale, MA. Mrs. Jaundoo was able to apply her beliefs around curriculum construction and student growth during this time.

Mrs. Jaundoo and her husband recently welcomed a new baby girl to their family, and she is excited to balance life as teacher and now a mother. She is Trinidadian-American and enjoys warm climate, but has an appreciation for all our seasons. She enjoys listening to music, reading cookbooks, and watching any genre of movies. Mrs. Jaundoo has worked for many years with the Efficacy Institute Inc, and infuses her teaching with core concepts around effort based learning regardless of where she is teaching. Through all of her experiences she has been able to maximize her skills around curriculum planning and program execution, and continues to deliver time and time again.

Violist Amelia Hollander Ames is the founder of Con Vivo, an organization that produces free chamber music concerts in her hometown of Jersey City, NJ. She recently moved to Arlington, MA. Before her move, Amelia was on faculty at the Third Street Music School Settlement in NYC and New Jersey City University. She also was conductor of the Youth Orchestra at Trinity Church Wall St., part of the Inter-School Orchestras of NY.

Amelia has performed solo recitals in New York, Rochester, Tel Aviv and Oaxaca, Mexico. Festivals include Ecstatic (NYC), the Israel Festival, Prussia Cove, the Singapore Arts Festival, Kneisel Hall, Schleswig-Holstein, Verbier Festival Orchestra, and Cultures in Harmony (Mexico). From 2004-2007, Amelia was a member of the award-winning Israel Contemporary String Quartet (ICSQ), with whom she performed throughout internationally. The ICSQ collaborated with composers such as Josef Bardanashvili and Steve Reich, and with luminaries of the Israeli music, dance and theater worlds. While living in Tel Aviv, Amelia also performed with the Tel Aviv Soloists Ensemble and Carmel Quartet, and was on faculty at Jerusalem's Hasadna Conservatory.

Amelia has recorded for the Na�ve, New Amsterdam, Nonesuch and Tzadik labels. She is an alumna of the Eastman School of Music and New England Conservatory. Teachers include Martha Katz, Karen Ritscher and George Taylor.

Winter Concert Logistics

We have now sent home the information about Winter Concert II at 3:30 PM on Thursday, Dec. 19th. This concert will be held at the Ben Franklin Institute located at 41 Berkeley St, Boston 02116.

Please note this change :

No Lower School students will be brought for Concert II. Students will have class as usual but if you would like you can pick up your student to bring him or her to the concert.

Parking is available near the Ben Franklin Institute but can be expensive. There are some, but not many, metered spaces nearby. The venue is not a far walk from the Back Bay Station on the Orange Line and is in between Arlington and Copley Stations on the Green Line. Please allow time for parking and travel. The concerts will start promptly.

This is a new venue for us, and although many of the logistics of concert day will be pretty similar to how they have been in the past, please plan your travel and parking etc. to arrive right at 3:15. There is very little space to wait and we cannot admit families to the hall before 3:15. The concert must start precisely on time in order to finish early enough for students to return to school by bus if they need to.

There will be one dress rehearsal day. The performing children will all be brought back and forth to the Ben Franklin Institute by school bus for the rehearsal. On Concert Day, they will all take the school bus to the venue but we expect that many of you will want to take your child home with you after the concert. If you cannot attend the concert or, if for some other reason you would like your child to return to school and take the school bus home, we will put your child (with a chaperone) on a bus returning to the Upper School immediately after the concert. From there, he or she will then board the correct bus to go home.

You must return the Concert slips to let us know your plans. We will make up lists of students and their dismissal plan for every teacher so we know where every child is going. The time is short - the concert ends at 4:20 and the students need to be at 25 Arlington Street on time to board buses - so we must confirm with all parents. Please write your child's name in addition to your name at the bottom of the slip and return it as soon as possible.

We are looking forward to a great concert and know you are all going to be wowed by the music!

Thank You Boston University Women's Lacrosse Team

On Thursday, members of the Boston University Lacrosse Team made a visit to the Lower Campus and they brought books for all the students. The college athletes spent time reading with small groups and then left stacks of books for the students to take home. This visit is part of an annual outreach program which brings college students into our classrooms every year.

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.

Special Offer From the Blue Heron Renaissance Choir

Scott Metcalfe directs the renowned Boston-based ensemble Blue Heron in three concerts near the Solstice next weekend. "Christmas in Medieval England", a program of carols, motets & plainchant for Advent & Christmas from 15th-century England, begins dramatically, in candlelit darkness under the golden glow of First Church's domed chancel.

Location: First Church in Cambridge, 11 Garden St.

Harvard (Red Line) / FREE parking (with validation) is also available.

The church is fully handicap accessible

For more information, visit Blue Heron.

Free tickets are available to Conservatory Lab families for the matinee performance on December 21st at 2:30 PM. Simply mention "Conservatory Lab" and tickets will be held under your name at the door.

To reserve your FREE tickets (limit of 4), call 617-960-7956,

or email office@blueheronchoir.org