👀 What’s Inside This Newsletter:
- 🕵️♂️ The Stand Shortage: Where did all my orchestra stands go?
- 🌍 Holiday Remix: Swapping "Christmas" for "Any Holiday" (ChatGPT’s help)
- 👼 Theology 101: Why my students think all angels are named Harold.
- 🧙♂️ Wizardry: A teaser for my 92% retention secret.
Greetings!
As we head into a well deserved break -
🎼 The Stand Scramble
First—music stands! We officially need to order more.
When the band rehearses on the stage, they borrow all but 10 of my orchestra stands… which, sadly, does not meet the needs of my classes!
So, time to hit those non-performance standards!
And request more stands from my principal!
🌍 The Great Holiday Poster Shift
Second—an update on the holiday poster project I mentioned in the last newsletter.
The last time I did this assignment, I was teaching in a district without a lot of diversity and the students were very Christmas-focused.
Now that I’m in an urban setting, it didn’t feel right to assign a specific holiday.
So I switched it up to “any holiday music,” and the results were fascinating!
They chose: Halloween, Eid, Hanukkah…
One student even chose St. Patrick’s Day with “15 Men on a Dead Man’s Chest” before deciding it might be a bit too dark.
Ummm, ya think? ☘️☠️
I also realized (thanks to the high school posters!) that students took me very literally and just used one word answers for their Canva 8.5 x 11 paper.
Lesson learned—I needed to clarify expectations.
So naturally, I asked ChatGPT for help… and it absolutely delivered.
You can copy, edit & download this resource to use it in your class.👇
This is a project that could be adaptable to other genres too!
👼 The "Harold" Theology
Every year, we analyze the title of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. It usually goes like this:
Me: “What does hark mean?”
Student: [Blank stare]
Me: “Okay... what about herald?”
Student: “Oh! That’s a boy’s name.”
Me: “So... you think a swarm of angels named Harold are just out there singing?”
Student: “...Yes?”
Ummm, no. 😄 Herald (with an E!) means messenger.
So the title really means: Pay attention! The messenger angels sing!
🧙♂️ Coming in January: The 92% Secret
In January, I’d love to share how I’ve managed a 92% retention rate in my orchestra classroom for over 10 years.
It’s not sorcery… but it is some pretty accessible wizardry. ✨
☕️ Final Note
I hope you all have a truly restful break filled with great music.
To kick off the holidays:
What’s your favorite holiday album?
Mine might be The Young Messiah—do you know it?
I get such a kick out of the saxophone solo and the drums in the overture!
Enjoy the break!
To great teaching and great tunes!
- Lyda Osinga, MusicBox Education
