Picture books are often part of a K1 or K2 student's day but on Thursday, those classes had a special, musical read-aloud experience. As part of Conservatory Lab's ongoing partnership with New England Conservatory, NEC graduate students Sarah Atwood (violin) and Marza Wilks (cello) used their instruments to "musically" tell the story of Ferdinand the Bull. These students are part of NEC's Community Performances and Partnerships Program which links NEC students with young musicians and audiences throughout the Boston community.

Sarah and Marza introduced their instruments and showed the students how they play together, like siblings, in a duet. They then played little snippets of the piece they had composed for Ferdinand the Bull so the students would recognize the theme, or melody of each character. Ferdinand is a very gentle bull who likes to sit and smell the flowers so his theme is gentle and melodic. There is also a bee in the story who is very angry so, as you can imagine, his theme is buzzing and sharp. The students were engrossed as the two musicians took turns reading the story and playing the themes. This was the second visit this year by storytellers from NEC and we look forward to many more to come.

On Thursday morning 32 6th graders, Ms. Kate Fischer and a number of volunteer parents headed for the Tsai Theatre at Boston University to experience a musically and culturally relevant experience.  The Nile Project is a collaborative group of musicians, educators, and activists who work together to build awareness about and generate new ideas to address environmental challenges in the Nile River basin. It brings together musicians from the Nile countries to make new songs and tour around the region and beyond. The group composes and arranges new songs that weave together elements from each culture.  Though some songs relate to nature or geography, the songs are from the river rather than about the river.  Lyrics in more than ten different languages explore themes of identity, regional solidarity and intercultural relationships.


 

All the students were impressed by the different instruments and the vibrant music that comes from the regions that form the Nile River Basin. In particular, Jean Kasongo, 6th grader, who was born in the Congo area, was impressed on multiple levels.  He was happy that these musicians from the area of the world where he was born were here in Boston, that he met other musicians in the troupe that play bass and also electric bass like he plays and like his father plays and that he heard the language that his parents speak, Swahili, spoken by several musicians onstage.  Overall a revelatory experience for Jean and for other members of the audience as well

Congratulations to Ms. Corning's 5th grade, for earning 450 crew points for outstanding behavior! They earned an out-of-uniform day and, after intense negotiations, decided to dress with the theme of "Dress to Impress to Look Fresh." 

Don't wait until the day of the event to buy your tickets because they cost $5 more at the door!  Go to bit.ly/springfling_2015, or buy them at school from Ms. Martin in Dorchester or Mr. Rodriguez in Brighton. Get them before they're gone!

Bravo Lines 

If you'd like a Bravo line for your child to be included in the Spring Fling program, please email it no later than April 1 to Catherine Martin at cmartin@conservatorylab.org. Bravo lines are a great way to individually celebrate your children at Spring Fling! It means a lot to our students to see their families' acknowledgements in the program. Bravo lines cost $10 for one line, and $20 for two lines. Spring Fling is a fundraiser, so all proceeds contribute to our bottom line! Please pay for Bravo lines with checks made payable to Conservatory Lab Charter School, sent to our Dorchester location.