Cultural Arts Week

Cultural Arts Week showcases THE ARTS using a variety of media including visual arts, dance, performing arts, drama, story-telling, and music. All 1300+ students have a piece of artwork they created on display somewhere in the building.


There are assemblies each day for our students to experience "live" performance on our stage and the week culminates on Friday evening at "Arts Extravaganza" - a two-hour family fun event where you can come and create artwork to take home with you. Visual artists will be on-hand displaying and selling their work and musicians will be on-hand performing throughout the building.

On Monday and Tuesday evening, parents are invited back to school to view the student gallery in the lobby and purchase a framed piece of their child's artwork (Kids Art Fairs, Inc.)


On our stage, "Sugar and Spice" kicked off the week using puppets, pop music and magic tricks to engage the students.


On Tuesday, a percussion duo from the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra performed.


On Wednesday, Glenis Redmond from North Carolina shared the power of poetry with us.


On Thursday, Orisirisi African Folklore shared African drumming and song with our students. This duo performed at EPCOT for many years before taking their program into schools all over the Southeast.






On Friday, Project Listen (the educational outreach program of Riverside Fine Arts) brought Alan Dalton to us to play banjo and share his love of Bluegrass music with us. An impromptu clogging demonstration was also presented by me!!





The week closed out with Arts Extravaganza on Friday evening with Matthew Olsavsky entertaining us on the steel pan drum and a recorder quartet playing old standards and jazz favorites. It was an absolutely incredible week!!


Until next time...

Faculty Fun!!

Today, the Chets Creek Crab Shack opened for business! It is only open one day a year and it is by far, my favorite "faculty fun" thing to do! My youngest son asked me if we really ate crab and I had to tell him, "No - it's fried grouper, but it's just as good!"

The Crab Shack is southern redneck at it's core. We dine on fried fish, cheese grits, cole slaw and rolls. We drink gallons of iced tea and slop up home-made banana puddin' for dessert. We get to go fishin' for a prize. (One of our community business partners provides the gift cards). We listen to country music and cheer every time the next group walks through the door. It is hilarious!

Me and Mrs. Phillips. I gave her that crab hat years ago!

My principal hollers atcha when you walk in..."WELCOME TO THE CHETS CREEK CRAB SHACK, MRS. TAMBURRINO...COME ON IN!!" She's from South Carolina and sounds like it. She slaps that bait bucket in yer face and says, "time to go fishin'!" Today, I won a gift card from Starbucks, but could have won a gift card from WalMart, Target, Office Max, Subway, Ritas, Chick-Fil-A, an iTunes gift card, gummie worms, goldfish crackers or a real-live fish in a fish bowl. The "whale of a prize" was an iPod Nano or an iPod Shuffle!

I think a new tradition was begun today when Mrs. Phillips asked one of our born-and-bred Yankees if she had tried the cheese grits. She said, "No, no way!!" Mrs. Phillips told her that if she would eat a bowl of cheese grits, she would give her a special prize. We all watched and cheered as this poor soul gagged down a bowl of cheese grits, washing every bite down with a gulp of iced tea. (She was told she had to keep them down or she would lose her prize.)


Talk about blind faith...she endured this heckling not knowing what the special prize was going to be! Turns out, Mrs. Phillips offered to trade jobs with her for a day. She gets to be principal while Mrs. Phillips teaches her second grade class. My only regret is that her husband was not there to witness the ordeal.

Until next time...

Spring Spectacular

As I write to you from the mountains of western North Carolina, I am currently experiencing a grown-up version of the "3 R's." No...I am not practicing my reading, writing or my arithmetic. I am resting, relaxing and re-grouping. Spring Break comes at just the right time for a music teacher; right between the "Christmas Crazies" and the "Spring Spectacular!"

Upon my return from Winter Break in January, I began rehearsing the Third Grade Musical (aka Spring Spectacular) at Chets Creek. Several third grade teachers came to me in the fall and felt very strongly that their spring musical should enhance what was being taught in Character Education both in the classroom and by Mrs. Hall, our Character Ed Resource Specialist. I told them I had just the thing...

Several years ago, Roger Emerson and John Jacobson collaborated on a musical for children entitled, "A Better You, A Better Me." In this musical, the song titles reflect one of the Six Pillars of Good Character. Titles such as "Expect Respect," "Trust is a Must Blues," "I Will Care for You," and "The CitizenSHIP" are reflective of the musical as a whole. I began working on the musical while their classroom teachers were preparing the students for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT).

This particular musical not only reinforces what it means to be a "good citizen," it also teaches young people how to be men and women of good character - to be honest, to be fair, to show respect to others, to care for one another. Additionally, I am able to provide them with unique performance experiences through various genres of music including rock, country/swing, the blues and the ballad. It is a "win-win" for all parties involved!

Because this is a grade-level production and there are 14 classroom teachers, 1 music teacher, 2-4 art teachers and a sound tech involved in the planning, preparation, and execution over many months, I work with a "play liason" from the team who helps me disseminate information to the group during their team meetings. This has helped streamline our productions over the years and keeps the stress levels to a minimum while we're "in production." It is truly a labor of love for the kids and I greatly appreciate the effort on the part of the classroom teachers, many of whom are not musically trained.

Costumes must be created, choreography must be written, staging and blocking must be thought through, a stage rehearsal schedule must be prepared so that everyone has equal access to the stage and technical rehearsals are a must. It all comes together during the final dress rehearsals and performances on Tuesday, June 1st and Thursday, June 3rd in our school cafeteria.

The "resting, relaxing, and re-grouping" scene could not have come at a more opportune time.

Until next time...

Tools of the Trade

Have you ever wondered what "tools of the trade" a percussionist might carry around with him?
Check this out!


The carrying case is called a "stick bag" and in it, one can find mallets of various shapes, sizes, colors and degrees of hardness; one can also find several varieties of drum sticks (thick, thin, wooden tipped, plastic tipped); and one can find a metal striker, just in case said percussionist is called upon to play the bells. So began Mr. Winslow's final lesson for his Field 1 class with my first-graders last week.

For his third and final lesson, Mr. Winslow was required to teach what is commonly known as a "critical task" - a lesson that the music teacher must teach to cover a particular music standard. We decided that he would plan a lesson covering the Instruments of the Orchestra and focus his attention on the percussion section, since this was his specialty area.


He presented an overview using a PowerPoint presentation which covered the Strings, Woodwinds, Brass and Percussion families of instruments. Then he taught the sub-categories which relate only to the percussion family (wood, metal, shaker, membrane).

He brought an interesting wooden drum with him called a "cajon" and allowed each student to play it. He also brought a ship's bell as an example of a metal and a roto-tom (tunable drum) to demonstrate what happens to the pitch when the membrane is tightened by the turn of a crank. These instruments were very unusual and my students were fascinated by them.

Nolan with the ship's bell


Teaching the lesson

His assessment included a segment devoted to comparing and contrasting the different percussion instruments and placing them in their respective categories. The lesson concluded with a "matching" game to see whether or not the students could correctly label a wood, a metal, a shaker and a membrane and could properly place it in the correct sub-category. My students were thrilled with this hands-on experience and I was very appreciative of Mr. Winslow's willingness to share his expertise with them.

As Spring semester comes to a close at the University of North Florida, we must bid farewell to Mr. Winslow and his highly-specialized content knowledge. Because he is only here six hours a week and is limited in the number of classes he can teach, I have engaged a percussion ensemble from the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra to come to Chets Creek during Cultural Arts Week and bring the larger instruments like the timpani, the concert xylophone, marimba and vibraphone along with them. They will be performing two 30-minute concerts for our entire student body next month. I can't wait!!

Until next time...

Welcome Back, Miss Lambros!!

As many of you know, I had the privilege of mentoring Samantha Lambros through her music internship last fall. I served as her Directing Teacher and she spent approximately four months with me in my classroom. She was a joy and a delight to work with and it broke my heart to see her go. She is smart, musically gifted and brings an instrumentalist's perspective to my classroom. (Her instrument is the French Horn.)


Miss Lambros and Mrs. Tamburrino at her Senior Recital

Miss Lambros graduated from UNF in December and began teaching elementary music in Duval County Public Schools in January. Although not required, she has agreed to return to Chets Creek and assist me with our spring session of Recorder Club. Miss Lambros and I donate our time on a weekly basis after school to provide these students with an opportunity to work in an ensemble setting and further develop their note-reading and performance skills. Working with a smaller ensemble allows us to work at a deeper level with our students.

Last fall, the Chets Creek Recorder Club performed at the Midtown Arts Fest, the Beaches Senior Center, Jacksonville International Airport and the TownCenter Mall during the holdiay season. In years past, the Recorder Club disbanded after our final performance in December. However, In January, I received a request from the Community Relations Administrator at the airport asking if we would return in May for a command performance during TPC Week. I contacted the parents and asked them to let me know if their child would be interested in returning for eight weeks of rehearsal and another performance at the airport. I said that if I had at least ten students that were willing to make the commitment, I would do it. Fifteen students agreed to return and with my principal's blessing, we began rehearsing on March 9th.

We are currently working on several pieces which have been arranged in a jazz format for soprano recorder. The music incorporates a performance genre that is new to my students and requires the students to improvise on the instrument. I promise to keep you posted on their progress.

Until next time...

The Model Classroom

Model classrooms are used in learning communities to provide opportunities for pre-interns, interns and inexperienced teachers to observe "best practices" in action. Over the years, our school has built a relationship with the University of North Florida's College of Education and Human Services. Students needing placement for Field 1, Field 2 or an Internship can come to Chets Creek and experience firsthand what it's like to teach at a high-performing elementary school.

We are an America's Choice National Model School and have more National Board Certified teachers on our faculty than any other school in the district. We take pride in sharing our expertise with others. Faculty members who open their doors to student-teachers have taken a course in Clinical Educator Training and are well-equipped to assist the student-teacher. As the Directing Teacher, my job is to help acclimate the student-teacher to the classroom; assist with lesson planning; observe their teaching and to complete several formal, written observations throughout the semester.

This Spring, I was assigned a pre-intern from the Department of Music at UNF. Nick is a percussionist and is in his junior year at the university. He was sent to me for his Field 1 experience. A pre-intern has usually done some peer-teaching with his classmates, but has not had much real-life teaching experience outside the classroom. Because Nick is a percussionist, he has brought a wealth of information to my students that they would not necessarily have gleaned from my instruction. I was trained as a vocalist; Nick, as an instrumentalist. I have learned a great deal from Nick in the last few weeks and would like to share one of his lessons with you.

This lesson on Civil War Drumming (a/k/a rudimental drumming) was taught to kindergarteners. Specific drum cadences and rhythmic patterns were used during the Civil War to muster the troops and get them moving in the right direction. Nick wanted to integrate the music standards with social studies and physical education standards. He planned and implemented a lesson that included a brief history of the Civil War, noticeable differences between a field drum and a snare drum, sticks and sticking techniques, forward/backward movement and aural discrimination between a roll and a flam on both drums. I hope you will gain new insights from a percussionist's point of view by watching his instructional video. Nick - I'm proud of you!



Until next time...

Save Duval Schools

The Florida Constitution states, "The education of children is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida. It is, therefore, a paramount duty of the state to make adequate provision for...a uniform, efficient, safe, secure and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education...."

As an elementary music educator, springtime is a bitter-sweet time for me. I love it when the sunshine returns, I enjoy getting outdoors and spending time in the garden, I blow the dust off of my rod and reel and head for the surf and all is well in my world - well, almost.

Springtime is also the time of year when the Florida Legislature re-convenes to balance the state budget. Because I do not teach what is considered to be a "core academic subject," my job is invariably on the chopping block every year. It matters not that I am a National Board Certified Teacher in Early and Middle Childhood Music. It matters not that I open my classroom doors to mentor college students from the University of North Florida, Florida State College at Jacksonville and Jacksonville University. Both my husband and I are elementary arts educators in Duval County. This horrible black cloud hangs over our household until the budget has been passed and we know whether or not we have a job to which we can return in the Fall. It is a very stressful time of year for us and for our children.

Duval County Public Schools is facing a $125,000,000 budget deficit next year. There is a disconnect between our parents and what is going on in Tallahassee right now. It has become necessary for all of our stakeholders - administrators, teachers, community leaders, parents and students - to make their voices heard in Tallahassee. If you value art, music and PE at Chets Creek Elementary, please contact your legislators. If you value a guidance counselor at Chets Creek Elementary, please contact your legislators. If you value a media specialist at Chets Creek Elementary, please conatact your legislators. It is imperative that you do so and do so quickly.

Ask your legislator to "provide flexibility" with how the money is spent so districts can use monies where they are needed most. Ask your legislator to "hold in abeyance the Class Size Amendment" or "limit the penalty for non-compliance." This is an unfunded mandate that we cannot afford. Ask your legislator to "hold in abeyance" all state-recognition funding including "School Recognition, MAP, AP, IB, and AICE teacher bonuses. If your child is taught by a Board-Certified teacher, John Thrasher is trying to repeal the "Dale Hickam Act" which provides teacher bonuses for Board-Certified personnel. Additionally, the State Lottery System was sold to the public as a system that would provide funding for K-12 education. Much of that funding has been shifted to Bright Futures Scholarships for post-secondary students and has left K-12 education with a huge hole in its pockets. The public has been duped and there is much to be lost if we do not speak out.

Florida is 50th out of 50 States in "per capita" spending on public education. Is 50th good enough for your child? Please go to "myflorida.gov" to determine who your state representatives are and to gather e-mail addresses for your legislators. For every e-mail, telephone call or fax they receive, it counts as 25 contacts from constituents. Your help is greatly needed and greatly appreciated.

I have a dream that the teaching profession will one day be held in the highest esteem alongside the medical and legal professions. Without the professional educator, there will be no other professions of which to speak.

Until next time...