And it's JUNE!

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Love these ladies!
Congratulations to Audrey and Mallory Figueiredo and Samantha McCauley who were awarded the 2018 Durfee Junior Book Awards for Art and Music
Kuss Orchestra at the Lake Compounce Adjudication Festival!
I absolutely CANNOT believe it is June.  Where did this year go?  

 As the last month of our school year begins, I want to share a little poem written by a 5th Grader at Spencer Borden as she reflected on our BIG 5th Grade Trip to the Rhode Island Philharmonic last week..  Valerie Martin shared it:

As a follow up to our visit to the Providence Philharmonic I asked fifth grade to write acrostic poems to reflect upon their their experience.  Although there were many lovely and funny results, I especially wanted to share this one by Sonija Wang...

Music we can not see
Unique sound fills the hall
Songs we play with our souls 
I see and I feel along 
Conductor giving instructions 

How cool is that?  It's this type of learning experience that I feel builds culture and aesthetic appreciation in Our Kids.  Let's keep planning great experiences like these so our students build a love for the arts, and can express that love and appreciation with words like Sonija's.

In the News This Week:

  • K-8 Monthly Department Meeting was Thursday.  Here are some outcomes of the meetings:
    • K-5 Art- Reflecting on tasks in K-5 Curriculum Map, teachers listed the new art tools they would like to use next year across the district to ensure they are all differentiating for learners with similar art tools..  Here are the items I will be looking to purchase for next school year:
    • (They came up with a list of materials that if the department would add to our supply list for next year. Many are great for adaptations for children’s with disabilities and to differentiate lessons) We also talked about using these things at station rotations!  Thank you to all who attended!

      Bingo Daubers
      Finger sponge daubers
      Mask modes (to make masks) 
      Plaster wrap
      Papier-mâché mix
      Texture plates
      Foam rollers
      Paint scrapers
      Chalk pastels 
    • K-5 Music: Teachers reflected on the RI Phil Event, discussed need to add Blendspace Links to K-5 Music Map, and listed some feedback to work on for next year:
    • We cherish the workbooks.  We hope they don’t go away!
    • Students overall enjoyed it and wished the trip was longer.
    • We would have liked another listening piece.
    • The Friday before Memorial Day is tough.  A different day would be better.
  • In addition, teachers discussed the option to attend the Zeiterion's 2019 Concert:
    • 3rd Grade: Learning in Concert- All schools present at the meeting would love to be involved.  Letourneau, Fonseca, Henry Lord, Doran, Greene, & Viveiros
  • 6-8 Music and Art Team:
    • We discussed the professional practice team goal for the 2018/19 School Year, and how that can support us in building a simple, user friendly 6-8 Map (similar to the K-5 Art Map) with links to Blendspaces and Power Points on the Drive.  Part of our PD time each month will be allotted to this goal, and we will be implementing a monthly department "virtual meeting" time where teachers will log into the drive on the last Thursday of the month for an hour to add curriculum to the map.  I will monitor input using the revision history.  Moving into the tech world!
    • Here is a link to the curriculum map for Art K-5: LINK
    • The professional practice team goal will be shared with the team in September, but will sound something like: The Middle School Art and Music teams will collaborate (via the drive during professional development time) to build a Curriculum Map that includes Objectives, Lesson Plans, Links to Blendspaces/Presentations and other resources.  All teachers will contribute components of the map to ensure collaboration and consistency across the district's middle schools.  
Calendar Items:
  • Durfee Sculpture Exhibit at the Narrows!  See LINK
  • Durfee Graduation- Friday June 8th- 7PM
  • Band Parent Night- Monday June 4
  • String Parent Night- Tuesday June 5
  • Durfee Faculty Meeting- Tuesday June 12
  • Durfee Alumni Concert- Wednesday June 13
Have a wonderful weekend!
Jackie

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