Conservatory Lab
Charter School

In This Issue

Take Note

Concert Finale

Portrait of an Artist

Rally for Summer Reading!

Middle School Field Day

Three Little Pigs

A Summer Opportunity for Students

Upcoming Events

Early Dismissal
June 26
2:00 pm dismissal

Last Day of School

June 29
10:45 Dismissal

Conservatory Lab Performs at the Hatch Shell
Wednesday, July 22
7:00pm
Hatch Shell at the Esplanade

School Calendar

Conservatory Lab

Grades 2 - 8

2120 Dorchester Avenue

Dorchester, MA 02124

617.254.8904

Grades K1, K2 & 1

320 Washington Street

Brighton, MA 02135
617.208.6200

www.conservatorylab.org

Family Notes

June 19, 2015

Dear Families,

This was a truly memorable week replete with end-of-year celebrations such as that for the Portrait of An Artist Expedition in K-1, the two performances of the Three Little Pigs, one for each of the 1^st grades, Field Day for 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grades which was exemplary for the sportsmanship demonstrated and last but not least the "Moving Up" Ceremony for our very first 8th grade.

It also is my last week at the school before I undertake a huge learning expedition of my own. As you know, I was selected as a Barr Fellow and part of the program consists in traveling with the other fellows to another country. This venture is organized very similarly to our own learning expeditions. It will include field work, learning from community experts, and hands on and collaborative learning.

I am leaving on June 20^th and will return on July 13^th.

My best wishes for a happy, restful and exciting summer.

Warmly,
Diana Lam

8th Grade Moving On

As is often the case during rites of passage, our 8^th graders have been engaged in a round of significant activities which have brought a range of experiences to them. From being one of only five groups selected to perform at the House of Blues on Saturday the 13^that the Action for the Arts Recital, to presenting their blues poems and reflection in front of a panel of judges for their final project evaluation, which is a requirement for our accountability plan, to finally rehearsing and being in the 8^th grade "Moving Up" Ceremony, it has been a memorable and eventful week.

We send off this very first class of 8^th graders from Conservatory Lab with all our best wishes and heartfelt commendations to remember and practice all the high values that are espoused at this school - Cooperation, Responsibility, Perseverance, Empathy and Reflection.

We wish you all Good Luck! Buena Suerte! Bon Chance! Boa Sorti! and Zhu Hao Yun!

Take Note

A reminder to all who wish to participate in next year's Wednesday afternoon's enrichment program with the Y: please get those forms in before July 1. Many thanks to all who have already submitted their forms!
There will be an Early Dismissal for the last two days of school: Friday, June 26 students will be dismissed at 2:00 pm and Monday, June 29 students will be dismissed at 10:45 am
There will be a very important community meeting about our plans to build in Roxbury on Monday, July 6 at 6:00 pm at the Dudley Branch Library, 65 Warren Street. We need as many families, friends and supporters of our school as possible to attend. Childcare will be provided for all families able to attend. Look for more info next week!

June Concert II Joyful Finale

On Tuesday, students in grades 4-8 closed out the 2014-15 Conservatory Lab concert season with the second of two Spring Concerts. This was their opportunity to showcase the progress they have made as ensemble musicians since the beginning of the school year.

The Abbado Orchestra and conductor Joshua Garver led the charge with a fiery performance of Gauntlet, a fast-paced thrill ride of a piece with many complex rhythms for the strings. With the addition of the winds, they performed an arrangement of the famous final movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony. Also a quick-paced piece, this movement highlighted the strong blend and intonation of the winds and brass musicians in addition to the sprinting 8th note gestures of the strings.

The Heifetz and Casals musicians then took the stage to perform two works that have become Conservatory Lab staples: "Dance" from the Apollo Suite and Dragon Hunter. These pieces, with a range of emotional and musical variations, highlighted both the students phenomenal technical progress since they started on their instruments in September as well as their progress as orchestral musicians who can effectively listen to and cooperate with their peers.

Following Heifetz and Casals was the Ives Ensemble. The Ives musicians demonstrated strong ensemble technique and musicianship, playing entirely from memory and without a conductor. With a group of 19 musicians, this is no easy feat! grade

The graduating 8th grade students then took the stage to perform a piece of their own making. As part of their academic expedition on the Harlem Renaissance, students learned a piece of music inspired by the jazz and blues trends of the early 20th century and also composed their own songs and poems to go with it, channeling the public sentiment of the time.

Last but not least, it was the Dudamel musicians' turn. For this concert, the orchestra took a hiatus from the classical repertoire to explore some modern popular music. The winds players started off by bringing down the house with an arrangement of "Uptown Funk," a very well-known song by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars. The audience sang along and literally erupted with applause when the final chord came.

Portrait of An Artist Celebration

On Wednesday, our K1 students celebrated the conclusion of their Portrait of an Artist Expedition with an unveiling of their two new galleries of self -portraits. After a year-long study of art and portraiture, the students were asked to choose the style for their self-portrait: sculpture, collage or acrylic painting.

The students worked very hard to create likenesses of themselves, focusing on the shapes and colors of their own face and how to transfer what they saw to their art. All the friends and family in attendance were hugely impressed with the students' poise in their presentations and with the final products.

The artwork will be displayed at the Faneuil Branch of the Boston Public Library for the summer beginning with a public reception Tuesday, June 23rd at 6 PM. The art will then travel back to school and then again out to a different local library, the Academy Hill Road branch near the school. In the fall, there will be another public reception when a slideshow of the work goes on display in the Children's Room of the Main Branch of the Boston Public Library. We are very proud of our youngest artists!

Rally for Summer Reading!

At Conservatory Lab Charter School, three times a year we use the Fountas and Pinnell (F&P) assessment tests to identify the instructional and independent reading levels for our grade K-4 students. These tests require us to look at student's phonics, fluency, and comprehension skills. The reading assessments are administered one-on-one and help all teachers to plan instruction that facilitates maximum growth for our scholars. These tests also let us validate the growth we see in our classrooms as well as allow us to conduct discussions with the students celebrating their progress and identifying what they need to work on.

Our hope is that in the fall, we'll see growth, but often students slip back. So let's put forth a good effort for summer reading! Keep your eyes open for the summer reading brochure and log that will be sent home at the end of June.

Middle School Field Day

On Wednesday, the Conservatory Lab 6-8 graders participated in the school's 11th annual Field Day. It was an afternoon filled with a variety of fun activities, including a staff verses students basketball game and the traditional water balloon toss. The following six students were awarded Field Day MVP awards for above and beyond sportsmanship and participation in all field day activities: Grace Colon, Nia Skeete, Junior Fuentes, Jessica Charles, Kateri Gerald-Burns, and Rayne Lipscomb.

Three Little Pigs

"So go and build your house. Build it out of sticks and love! You've got to follow your dreams. And make your Mama proud!"

That tune will be stuck in the heads of all 1st graders and their families all summer. It was the finale of the blockbuster musical Building with the Three Little Pigs, book by American Repertory Theater Education Director, Brendan Shea and music and lyrics by former Resident Artist Levi Comstock. For the fourth year in a row, 1st graders have performed this show as part of their science expedition exploring the properties of building materials.

This year, all the students became scientists - forming hypotheses and testing them out. Every year the musical changes a bit to reflect the learning in the classroom. The students love performing and we love to watch them perform.

For the first time, there were two productions, one for each class. Ms. Buckmire and Ms. Dulberg showed both perseverance and cooperation in their efforts to get their students ready for these performances. And special thanks to Millie and Cynthia and all those at the Veronica B. Smith Senior Center who have hosted these performances every year!

A Summer Opportunity for Students

The Community Music Center of Boston invites students in the 2nd thru 8th grade at Conservatory Lab Charter to review their summer program offerings. It is a 4 week program from June 29th through July 24th.
Check out their website: http://cmcb.org/programs/summermusic/

Also further detais are as follows:

The daily schedule:

8:45 Drop-off at Josiah Quincy Upper School

9:00 Large Ensembles (String orchestra and Wind Ensemble) rehearse. Younger students who are not ready for the larger group will rehearse in a separate ensemble and then will be melded into the larger ensembles.

10:00 Chamber music/Classes - Students will either go to chamber music groups or will go to a group of three rotating classes (Traditional theory, Rhythm classes and a theory class incorporating eartraining and note-reading via a music software program.

11:00 Lunch and Recess

12:00 Chamber music/Classes - The students who had chamber music in the morning now have classes and vice versa.

1:00 - 1:15 Dismissal and pick-up

The cost is $400 for students through grade 6 and then $200 for students in grades 7-8. Financial Assistance is available. We can work things out with the families.

The older students can be CITs which means they have some responsibilities such as helping with set-up of chairs, et cetera. The Center has high school student musicians who are Junior and Senior Counselors as well.