Zumba

Have you heard about the dance fitness craze called "Zumba?" My sister teaches Zumba at a local gym.  Toby Mac raps about Zumba in Mandisa's "Good Morning Song." Every gym worth its weight offers several Zumba classes during the week.  Zumba is hot!

Since we had a lean Christmas this year, I decided to use what I already had and expand my horizons at my local gym.  A lot of the fitness classes that are offered on a daily basis are offered while I am at work so I printed a schedule and considered which classes I would try over break.  I chose three very different fitness classes - Spinning, Boot Camp fitness and Zumba.  I thought Zumba would be fun because I have an aptitude for music, I love to dance and I enjoy Latin dance music.  Let's begin with the Spinning class....

If you're not familiar with Spinning, you are in a darkened room with music blaring on a specially-designed bike for uphill and downhill riding.  The class I took was at 5:45 a.m. and lasted 45 minutes.  I wasn't sure I would enjoy this experience, but I thought it would be a great opportunity to do some interval training and get ready for my day.  I rode 16 miles in 45 minutes and am not sure I will ever attempt this fitness activity again.  I guess I'm actually a beach-cruiser kind of gal.  I live in Florida and it is flatter than flat in my part of the state.

Next, I decided to try Boot Camp fitness.  This class is designed to help strengthen your frame and build flexibility with a little cardio thrown in for good measure.  The instructor of this class was a track star who is trying to turn pro.  She did 45-minutes with us, trained local firefighters for an hour thereafter and then did her track workout.  Need I say more? I opted for 5-pound weights and a step at medium height.  The abdominal work we did on the mat which was placed on top of the step was killer, but she complimented me on the strength of my abs at the end of the class.  I told her it was probably years of singing and deep breathing...

And then there was Zumba.  The first class I attended was taught by a substitute.  This girl didn't have one ounce of fat on her body but she did have a very thick foreign accent and more energy than I have ever had on any day in my entire life.  If you weren't sure what to do, she would stand in front of you as if she were a mirror and model what you should be doing.  If you weren't kickin' it, she'd let you know that too.  She had a great sense of rhythm, which I appreciated, and got my heart-rate up where it needed to be for a great cardio workout.  I liked her.  I would go back and take her class again.

Today, I decided to try another Zumba instructor just for fun.  This one reminded me of a Puerto Rican hoochee-momma.  She knew every lyric of every song in Spanish.  She clicked and crowed every ten seconds and rolled her tongue like only a Spanish-speaking individual can.  I salsa'd, samba'd and cha-cha'd my way through an hour-long class.  I moved portions of my body I never knew could move in that way.  (There's a reason why three out of the four girls in my family were given dance lessons as young children.  I was not one of them.)  I had the most fun watching one lady in the back who was fully clothed in workout gear and did nothing but stand spread-eagle in the back with her hands waving in the air the entire time.  I'm not sure if she was praising God or worshiping Mother Earth, but she wished us all well at the end of the class and I assume she will return to repeat the experience next week.  It's probably best that this class is offered while I am at work.

I learned a lot about myself over the course of this experience.  First of all, a 52-year old can't move like a twenty-something, slippery shoes with orthotics in them work best for Zumba fitness and I can pump iron with the best of them, when called upon to do so.  I hope you've enjoyed your time off.  I certainly have.

Until next time...

Landfill Harmonic

In His Word to us, God promises to make "beauty out of ashes," both in us and through us.

The students of Favio Chavez are accomplishing this and more...



I am humbled and have come to realize just how blessed I am at my school.

Until next time...

Sad Day at Sandy Hook

How does one respond to what transpired a week ago in Newtown, Connecticut?

While we were enjoying our annual visit with Auntie Claus, terror was visiting a small elementary school up north and we felt it thousands of miles away.  How do you bury your child after such a senseless act of violence and move on? How do you show up for work in an elementary school after the horror you have witnessed? I do not know.

What I do know is that even though we are currently on holiday break, my principal has put out a "call to arms" for all faculty and staff before our return in January.  Emergency plans have been re-tooled and I have a new security assignment as of January 2nd.  I have always felt that our school was a safe place to learn (and work), but who is really to know?

My heart goes out to everyone touched by this tragedy.  I have prayed for the families of those who lost loved ones.  I have prayed for our own safety at work.  I have read information provided to me by my superiors so that I can adequately address this subject with my students, should the need arise.  Although I do not feel equipped to try to make sense of a tragedy of this magnitude, I will do my best to provide comfort and emotional support wherever needed.  My heart aches for students, teachers and administrators who must report for duty knowing that it could happen again at any time and in any place. But for the grace of God, there go I...

Until next time...

Winter Concerts 2012

This week was a banner week for me.  Having conducted SIX programs myself last week, I decided to enjoy several of my colleagues' music-making this week in the spirit of the season.  

On Monday evening, I attended the Fletcher Middle Band Concert.  I was invited by a former student. This kid took his recorder study very seriously.  He stopped by my classroom almost daily to share his progress with me throughout his entire 5th grade year.  The most interesting thing about this is that I don't teach recorder in fifth grade; only in fourth.  As if on cue, he dropped by Chets Creek two weeks ago and informed me that he was currently playing the trombone in the middle school band and wanted me to come to his concert.  I e-mailed his band director to get the particulars regarding his performance and wrote it down on my calendar. I was determined to be there.  Most of my students feed to Kernan Middle School, and I was so proud to see that I had a tuba player, several flute players, numerous saxophone and clarinet players and a percussionist  - TWELVE in all in the Fletcher Middle band!  Approximately 30 students headed to Fletcher last year from Chets Creek; almost half of them are in the band.  I was blown away.

On Tuesday evening, I attended the Kernan Middle School Winter Concert.  I was blown away again!  THIRTY-FIVE of my former students were scattered among the numerous performance groups that played and sang that night.  There was a beginning band, a concert band, a jazz band, a chorus and a recorder ensemble.  Some of them were pulling double-duty playing instruments from completely unrelated instrument families in more than one ensemble. The energy in the room prior to the performance was so strong you could feel it.  Administrators, teachers, parents, grandparents, siblings - you name it - filled the room to capacity. The best part is that this program has only been in existence for a little over a year.  The musicians on the stage were so professional in the way they presented themselves and in the way they performed.  I was deeply honored to be sitting in the audience.

On Thursday evening, I attended my third "Winter Concert" of the week at LaVilla School of the Arts.  My niece and two former students sang in the 6th grade treble chorus and it was fabulous.  I could hardly believe that a sound so pure and so clear was being produced by a group of 11-year olds who just began their journey at LaVilla four months ago. I was also surprised by the sheer number of performance groups housed in the vocal department.  There are so many, they have to divide the concert in half.  Last night, we saw Act One. Tonight, Act Two will take the stage and all vocal students must return to support their peers and write a critique of the performance.  It was such an amazing experience, I can't wait to return for their spring concert!

Amber and Katie

Vocalists Extraordinaire!!

Until next time... 

Pow Wow 2012

POW WOW....the annual event that draws hundreds of people to our campus, a cold snap (this year it was rainy AND cold) and takes us back to our early days in North America by celebrating those who came before us.

The day begins outside with an authentic gathering of tribal people (kindergartners) dressed in full regalia representing eight different tribes.  They perform tribal dances, sing "Dancing Song of the Skunk" and "Sunset" and listen to a story about the Timucuan Indians who roamed North Florida several hundred years ago.  We do our best to make the day as authentic as possible and it is one of those Chets Creek traditions that is not to be missed.

Chief Chets Creek, Chief Jumping Frog, Chief Sing-Um-Song

Once the outdoor ceremony has finished, each kindergarten class rotates through various centers experiencing Native American culture.  They practice symbol writing, play clay bingo, listen to the story of the "Three Sisters" in an authentic tee-pee, play tribal games, paint with natural dyes, learn the "Canoe Song,"  enjoy a Native American Artifacts experience and taste food that would have been eaten by the locals at that time.

Chief Sing-Um-Song teaching "Canoe Song"

The kindergartners that participated this year will return as first graders to watch next year and return again as fifth graders to assist our newest crop of kindergartners with their Pow Wow.  And so the tradition continues....

Until next time...

LaVilla Side-by-Side 2012

My Saturday mornings are usually spent at the grocery store, doing laundry or cooking up food for the impending work week.  However, today I spent the morning with four of my students in a music-making opportunity especially designed for them.  My fourth-graders were exposed to some wonderful music, an extremely talented clinician and an opportunity to learn from more advanced students who currently attend two of our Arts magnets in Duval County, Florida.  The purpose of this workshop was to build musicianship skills in the elementary students.  Sight-reading several pieces of music was a critical component in the exchange between the students and the clinician.

There were approximately 120 students from 15 elementary schools around the district in attendance at the "LaVilla Side-by-Side" workshop today.  Each 4th/5th grader was paired with a music mentor from LaVilla School of the Arts or Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.  They worked together in rehearsals this morning and performed together for their parents and teachers at the conclusion of the workshop.  The sound that Mr. Pendry was able to evoke from this young group of singers in just a few hours of rehearsal was simply amazing.

As I reflected on the accomplishments of the morning, I was taken back to my days in elementary school.  I'm talking forty years ago, folks, and there were no arts magnets in Duval County at that time.  Had there been, I would certainly have pleaded with my parents to take me there.  What an incredible opportunity for these young musicians to work side-by-side with more advanced singers.  I love the concept and hope it will continue for many years to come.

Mr. Shawn Pendry and Mrs. Theresa King did an excellent job of organizing this event and I was so glad my students could take part in it.  It was definitely a morning well-spent!

La Villa Side-by-Side 2012 on PhotoPeach



Until next time...

Music Teachers and Boy Scout Badges

Sometimes as a music teacher, I am called upon to do the most interesting things.  I was recently approached by one of my students who is working on a Boy Scout Badge.  He asked if I would be able to help him choose five tasks from a list of options so he could complete the requirements for a music badge.  After looking over the list, he decided to handle three of the five on his own but he needed my assistance with two of them.

Our first project was to build a home-made musical instrument.  He decided on a rainstick.  I provided all of the materials and he did the work.  He said it was "really cool" and that it came out "really good."  The second project was a bit more difficult and required some instructional time in the music room.  Flashback to "Conducting 101."

This young man is highly motivated and has an eagerness to learn, so I asked him if he wanted to conduct in 2/4, 3/4 or 4/4.  His response was 3/4 time.  We tried a Strauss waltz, but it was too lengthy and the conductor had invoked so much "rubato" in the recording that the beat was somewhat obscured.  This was not a good choice for my budding maestro.  In a flash of brilliance, I thought about "America" or "My Country 'tis of  Thee," as it is sometimes called.  I had recently completed a patriotic unit in first grade and the materials were easily accessible.

I explained what a 3-pattern should look like, I modeled a 3-pattern for him and then I placed a baton in his hand and he mirrored my conducting pattern for the duration of the song.  We worked on our entrances and exits, holding the final note and cutting off at the appropriate time.  (It's much harder than you think!!)

Mini lesson - Conducting a 3-pattern

Cue Words - "down, out, up"

The Cut-Off

I sent Maestro Chase home with a rehearsal packet and cannot wait for him to return with his music badge.

Until next time...

**Epilogue - Very Cool!!**

Success!! (December, 2012)