There is a continual high level of focused activity that takes place in and around our school that is impressive. This is especially so at this time of the year when there are culminating events marking the completion of units just before our Spring Break.

Not only is there a steady hum and sometimes even a minor roar of activity as I approach each classroom, it is a joyous sound, a sound of well-being that I can also see, which attests to every student's personal growth, positive relations with their fellow students, understanding of their purpose in each of the classes and a striving to have mastery of the content in each subject area and with their music endeavors.

Our teachers seek to develop this sense of purpose and meaning in every task that is assigned which will contribute to the continued growth and development of each student. To plant the belief that one's life as a student is purposeful and meaningful and to give evidence of that regularly can often determine the trajectory of a student's future learning. To give them the tools to have quality relations with others, and to build the capacity to effectively manage their life and surroundings is key to each student's progress and well-being.

I thrive on this steady hum of focused activity and so do we all.

Have a good weekend.

Warmly,

Ms. Lam

Diana Lam

Spring Fling! Delights!

Over 1000 people filled the historic Strand Theater in Dorchester to bursting on Sunday afternoon to hear our students sing and play and delight friends and family with a joyful noise.

The goals of the Spring Fling! are to raise awareness about the work we are doing at the school, to build community within the school and to raise funds to support the programs of the school. We succeeded in every dimension! By filling the Strand with so many people who may not have had a chance to hear our students perform, we showed them what can be accomplished with practice and high expectations. By constructively engaging 90 volunteers, we had almost half our families directly involved in making the event happen and they made friends as they did so. By raising almost $14K ($5K more than last year!), we help to provide all the extras required to make this amazing education possible.

Scroll down for visual highlights and click the links at the bottom for more photos and videos of Sunday's extravaganza!

The K1 and K2 Rockstars led by Resident Artists Dave Cordes and Tess Plotkin, sang their hearts out and impressed everyone with their musicality and poise as they sang our traditional Nigerian song of welcome, Funga Alaffia and then got everyone in the mood to celebrate on this first warm day of spring with Winter's Come and Gone.

Next came the Abreu String Orchestra, led by Co-Director Josue Gonzalez, who showcased all they have learned with their performance of the Theme from Movement 2 by Mahler.

The third group on the program, the Bernstein String Orchestra, led by Co-Director Kat Jara, delighted the audience with their performance of the Prelude and the Scherzo of the Apollo Suite by M. J. Isaac.

The performances of our Upper School students began with two pieces by the Abbado Orchestra led by Resident Artist Josh Garver. First, strings alone played Double Trouble and then were joined by the winds for school favorite, Dragon Hunter.

A new configuration made possible this year by the addition of the French Horn, the Dudamel Winds Quintet, played Wild Irish Rose by Olcott and arranged for the group by their leader, Resident Artist Chris Schroeder.

Another new ensemble, our 6th and 7th grade Ives Ensemble, led by Resident Artist Clayton DeWalt played the traditional Second Line to great applause. This group of new musicians showed they have learned the Conservatory Lab way.

Dudamel Percussion, led by Resident Artist Tess Plotkin, then joined the Dudamel Winds for two pieces: Rhosymedre and the Overworld Theme from the popular video game "Mario", always a crowd favorite.

Beethoven's Symphony No. 7: Movement 2 was the final classical piece on the program and was beautifully played by the Dudamel Orchestra led by Co-Director Adrian Anantawan.

All the Wind, Brass and Percussion musicians combined for a surprise performance of Salsa in Fa and rallied the crowd to a huge ovation.

Event organizers Casimir Deronette, Jenny Rosario and Beth Greene along with Master of Ceremonies radio host Christopher Lydon then presented founding Board Chairman Kitty Pell with the Distinguished Citizen Artist Award and she gave her heartfelt thanks to the school that has given so much meaning to her efforts on our behalf.

The afternoon ended with an amazing rendition of Bill Withers' Lean On Me, sung and played by all 300 students! If you want to revisit the day's events or share them with friends and family who couldn't be there, more photos can be found at our school's Shutterfly site (the password is music) and videos are available on our Youtube channel.

Experts Work With 6th Grade to Prepare for Monkey King

This past week, 6th graders worked with artist Li Min Mo on creating Peking opera masks depicting characters from

Journey to the West, the Chinese classic that has been adapted for their upcoming performance of the Wild and Wonderful Monkey King.

Li Min introduced the students to the history of Peking opera masks, the significance of colors used in the masks, as well as the style used. Students perfected their masks over multiple class periods, carefully considering the use of color, such as purple for wisdom, or red for loyalty. Some students even chose to create their own original designs using the color code and Chinese characters they learned from a previous workshop with Li Min.

In a separate workshop, 6th graders are working with guest artist Gaetano di Gaetano on gestures and kung fu choreography from Peking opera to add to their play performance. They also worked with Expeditionary Learning School Designer Jill Mirman on how to design a playbill for their performance.

Venezuelan 7/4 Ensemble - Free Concerts

Next week, seven young musicians from El Sistema in Venezuela will arrive in Boston to teach and play. They will spend time at our school and are performing two concerts which are free and open to the public. Several of our Dudamel Brass students will perform with them at the Friday, April 18th concert at the Strand. Read on for details about both concerts and the group.

SUNDAY APRIL 13

DAVID FRIEND RECITAL HALL, BERKLEE COLLEGE OF MUSIC // 7:30PM

with support from Berklee College of Music

FRIDAY APRIL 18

STRAND THEATER, DORCHESTER // 7:30PM

with support from the office of Mayor Martin J. Walsh, City of Boston

"ENSEMBLE 7/4 has definitely become an innovative musical and artistic voice, which starts with the use of the trumpet in genres that usual don't feature it, like the Venezuelan joropo or the Argentinian tango. Other innovations include the creation of arrangements influenced by a deep investigation of the musical styles of countries such as Cuba, Mexico and the USA. These arrangements respect the original sonorities of the native music and feature a broad range of colors and timbres within the same instrument. In particular the group's TOUR PABELLON CRIOLLO, a consolidation of its artistic and musical vision, is like a journey in which rhythms, melodies, colors and tastes intrinsic to our American countries join happily together."

K1 Goes to the Museum of Fine Arts

The K1 Class joyfully completed field work at the MFA on Wednesday morning supporting our Portrait of an Artist Expedition. 49 children, 15 family members, 5 teachers and 4 docents toured the modern, African, and American galleries and viewed works by Winslow Homer, Chuck Close, and ancient Colombian artisans who portrayed human faces in wood, oils, and gold. The children made observations about color, facial expressions, and style, and the experience laid a strong foundation for the creation of our own portraits, which will be the culminating project of our color and artists study.

The Book Fair is Coming Next Week

The whole school is excited about our upcoming Book Fair. An amazing selection of books is headed our way! At the Book Fair you will find the latest and finest titles for kids, as well as books of interest to parents. Mark your calendar for our Family Event where the whole family can join in the fun. And, you can contribute books to your child's classroom library. The Book Fair is a great way to get everyone excited about reading.

If you are out of town or can't make it to our Book Fair, you can also help support our school by shopping online.

*Send wish lists to family and friends

*All orders ship free to the school

*Here's the link.

See you at the Book Fair!

The Book Fair Lady (Felice Rutstein-Lee)

Playworks 5 K

On Saturday, May 3rd Playworks will be hosting a 5K & 1 Mile Fun Run fundraiser event for the school. All money raised from paper registration goes right to Conservatory Lab, to cover the cost for Playworks to return next year!! Online registration is also available and goes to support the general Playworks Massachusetts fund. Even if you are not interested in running yourself, feel free to sponsor a runner! There will be tables and activities at the event as well, so feel free to bring your kids and come on down to support Playworks and support Conservatory Lab Charter School.

Paper registrations will be sent home with all children next week.