Conservatory Lab
Charter School
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| Family Notes
January 9, 2015
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Dear Families,
In this New Year with recent headlines full of incidents of violence, religious and racial conflict in the world, I am compelled to ponder the importance of tolerance and how strongly that is tied to true freedom for all.
We are in an era of globalization where economic trade and electronic media, among other imperatives, are bringing people of different backgrounds, cultures and religions into living together and it is essential that mutual respect and understanding prevail. Establishing tolerance and understanding is crucial to developing a global society that is multicultural, full of diversity and also in accord.
As our students study other time periods in our American history where this type of violence and lack of understanding was also rampant, it gives them a framework with which to assess what is happening the world around them today. Our goal is to develop young people who are open-minded, tolerant and understanding.
Have a harmonious week-end.
Warmly,
Diana Lam
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To Kill a Mockingbird Focus of 8th
Grade Study
This semester begins with some serious reflection for Ms. Patilla's 8th grade class. To prepare for reading the Pulitzer Prize-winning book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which deals with racial inequality, Ms. Patilla's students have made identity charts to explore their relationship to society based on their race, gender, and community. They are also analyzing and discussing speeches by writers and activists such as Sojourner Truth, Robert Hayden, Lyndon Johnson, and Ella Wheeler Wilcox. In their discussions, the students must identify the controlling idea and key details of the speeches in order to fully analyze them.
As they read and question the different speeches, the students become prepared for the challenging task of analyzing and sifting through the content in To Kill A Mockingbird. This modern American classic contains many lessons that emphasize tolerance and decry prejudice.The narrator's father, Atticus Finch, has served as a moral hero for many readers and as a model of integrity for lawyers.
The students' discussions will prepare them to understand the world in which they live, and to compare and contrast their world to the 1936 Southern town of Maycomb County.
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Bernstein Welcomes New Members
This semester, conductor Kat Jara and the Bernstein Orchestra welcome nine new members to the orchestra's ranks. These 2nd and 3rd grade students have come to Bernstein from the Gillespie Orchestra, and have spent their first week back learning the Bernstein norms. In particular, they focused on learning the 5-step sight-reading method: the process of playing new pieces by reading from the sheet music. This is an important and commonly-used system within the Bernstein Orchestra that entails reciting a passage's rhythm, note names, and finger numbers, followed by plucking and bowing the passage.
To aid their transition from Gillespie to Bernstein, the nine students were paired with veteran Bernstein musicians who served as models and peer mentors to help coach the new members. At Conservatory Lab, we believe it is important to teach music in a consistent and systematic way, so that we are instilling in our students not only the ability to read music and play their instruments, but also the skill set needed to communicate and teach the same concepts to others in order to become mentors themselves.
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Tumultuous Events in American History
Ms. Wagner's and Mr. Lassiter's 4th grade classes are seriously engaged in a multidisciplinary unit focusing on the history of the American Revolution. They are reading Emma's Journal by Melissa Moss, a respected work of historical fiction set in Boston. It is written in the 1st person by Emma, a 10 year old girl, who expresses the fear, excitement and conflicting emotions that she experienced as her life changed due to the tumult of the Tea Party in Boston Harbor and the violence and conflict that ensued.
The 4th grade classes are learning about character analysis, how to create a setting and mood, and how to identify the problem at the heart of the story. These students will soon be writing and editing their own stories!
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 The Head of School Cordially Invites You...
Diana Lam cordially invites the parents of 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders to come to tea with her and meet with the new faculty for those grades.
On Tuesday, January 13 at 4 p.m., parents of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are invited to meet Davin Lyons who will teach Science, and Kate Fisher who will teach Social Studies. Mr. Lyons, a graduate of Skidmore College, has been a science curriculum developer at Galileo Learning in Oakland, CA for the last 5 years. Ms. Fisher, a graduate of Lesley College, comes to us from Education, INC in Cambridge.
On Wednesday, January 14 at 4 p.m., parents of 5th graders are invited to meet Erin Schlossberg. Ms. Schlossberg has an Masters in Education from Brooklyn College and has taught social studies at charter schools in New York City and in the Acton Public School district.
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Take Note:
- Our first girls' basketball game was held this past Tuesday, and by all accounts it was a success! ThaLiana in Christina Tyndall's class made a basket, and everyone played amazingly. Join us for the next game on Tuesday, January 13 at 6:15 at the Edison K-8 School in Brighton!
- Please tell any friends and acquaintances interested in having their child attend Conservatory Lab about the 15th Annual Boston Charter Public School Showcase! It will be on Saturday, January 24 from 9 AM to 12 PM, at the Watson Auditorium at the Wentworth Institute of Technology, 550 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.
- Applications are due Friday, February 27 and the lottery will be held in early March. Reminder, if you have a child who is a sibling of a current student, you get preference in the lottery but you must apply on time!
- Please tell any friends and acquaintances interested in having their child attend Conservatory Lab about the website to see a list of upcoming Prospective Family Tours and to find applications in several languages.
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PAC Notes
- The next PAC meeting will be Saturday, January 24th at 10 AM at the Codman Library, located at 690 Washington Street, Dorchester, MA 02124.
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