For the Annual Winter Program this past December the eighth grade worked with Billy Goodrum, acclaimed composer and musician, to create a totally unique originally composed song. In songwriting workshops students composed the melody and rhythm as well as wrote their very own lyrics, like the beautiful chorus: “Let the love shine through, it’s a chain reaction; spread the love and take some action.” The grounded rhythm combined with the wise lyrics make for a heart opening and catchy song. Thank you, Billy, for your help in guiding our students’ natural creativity into musical form.
What type of parent are you? Read this checklist to see if you help your child build resilience. My favorite is “Make the adage that there are at least two sides to every story a mantra in your home.”
Billy Goodrum, acclaimed composer and musician, as well as long-time Rainbow parent, worked with the seventh grade to create an originally written and composed song for last year’s Winter Program. In intensive song writing workshops, Billy first worked with the seventh graders to write a collaborative chorus that could serve as the songs steady heartbeat. Students thrived in their creative process as they gained the skills to express their truth through song ultimately agreeing on the title, “Love is Action”.
Teachers and staff gathered together to sing the final song of our Winter Program. After a night of love made visible by the the children’s heart-centered creativity and authentic expression, this cumulating song genuinely expressed our response to what we had seen that night. Musical Director, Sue Ford, in collaboration with the classroom teachers and parents had helped our students to create an entire show of originally written songs on the theme of love. As teachers and staff we were blown away by what our students had accomplished and were truly “full of love” that night.
Rainbow Community School has been doing student-led conferences since the early 80’s. When students lead their own conference, they truly have to reflect on what they have learned, how they learned it, and what their future goals are. Plus, it gives parents the opportunity to gain greater insight into how their child thinks, what is meaningful to their child, and what their school experience is like through their child’s eyes. Our student-led conferences will be the last one of the year, and a great way to wrap up the year. Other progressive schools have followed our lead and started doing student-led conferences, in particular International Baccalaureate (IB) schools. Check out this great video from The Wildwood School: http://www.edutopia.org/practice/student-led-conferences-empowerment-and-ownership
