Day 2: It was a long but exciting first day! Today I got started at Commack Middle School where Mrs. Foti got me started right away with leading warm-ups and playing along with the ensemble. As Mrs. Foti introduced me to the kids, I walked around and helped tune instruments. This got me introduced to some new faces and some kids even recognized me from my observations! Today was a lot of conversation about what repertoire they were working on as well as what our schedule is going to look like for this coming marking period. During our PREP periods, I took this time to ask clarifying questions as well as figure out important performance dates as well as lesson schedules. After school, Mrs. Foti had a professional development zoom lecture and the NJHS Induction Ceremony right after so she chose to stay at the school until everything was over and I stayed with her. I even ended up playing with the Select Orchestra for the ceremony!

Day 3: Today was an easier day and gave me a bit more time to get accustomed to things around the classroom and gave me opportunities to both practice my secondaries as well as help organize things around the classroom that tend to get forgotten with all the chaos. Today was a day that I got multiple opportunities to lead lessons and work with the kids one-on-one.

Day 4: 6th grade orchestra was acting a little crazy right when they walked into the room. Spilled water bottles, no pencils on stands, and overall very chatty. Throughout rehearsal, the kids talked over the teacher and played their instruments while she was working with another section. At the end of rehearsal there was a few minutes at the end where the kids had time to sit and wait for the bell. After Mrs. Foti tried to tell them more than 4 times, I raised my voice above the chatter and told them to find a seat and that she should not have to repeat herself. The room got very quiet and I felt that I made a mistake in that moment and disrupted my relationship with these kids. Mrs. Foti pulled me aside at the end of the period and explained that she barely raises her voice with the kids. The students are simply not used to someone raising their voice in the music room, and, while my response to their disrespect was warranted, that is why they reacted the way they did.

Day 5: A lighter day! We only had orchestra once that day and the rest of the day was full of lessons in which I got to meet more students and introduce myself/get them accustomed to my teaching style. I also took a lot of time to clean out our lesson space.

Day 1: Busy day! We started our day with Tri-M in the morning. It was just a meeting that introduced the officers and discussed the Induction Ceremony procedures. We will have two rehearsals for the ceremony in which we will rehearse the solo performances as well as the general performance! The rest of the day was non-stop work from fixing instruments to running rehearsals to leading lessons to lesson PLANNING. Even during our time in the Dean's Office, I got ahead on everything I could - including lesson plans/rehearsal plans for next week and refining my portfolio and TPA presentation. It was busy today and, even though I went home absolutely exhausted I was proud that I got so much done during the day

Day 2: "Odd" days are much lighter in terms of energy in comparison to Even days because there are more lessons. I taught all of the lessons today. 6th Grade reviewed the C Major scale, arpeggio, and hand frame before working through orchestra music while 8th Grade did the same thing but for A Major. 8th Grade needs more help in their orchestra music so I took more time to work with them on that today, especially "Storm the Gates" in which they learned about syncopation!

Day 3: Today was another busy but great day! I got good work done with the lesson groups today, especially in "Storm the Gates" where I worked with the 8th Grade Violins today. It was enlightening to see how different groups of 8th Graders respond to my teaching style and I've had to adjust for the second rehearsal. But we still addressed the biggest problem spots where they fall apart the quickest. The 8th Grade bassists that were supposed to come to their lesson today 7th period did not end up coming. This gave Mrs. Foti and I a great chance to make extra copies of music, make myself scores of the pieces we're doing, and finalize a lot of tedious things.

Day 4: Started the day teaching 3 lessons in a row right after extra help. It was 8th Grade violas, cellos, and violins and we focused on the biggest trouble spots in "Storm the Gates." Some things that worked today was encouraging the kids to try and tap the beat of a measure they were having problems counting. When they got the rhythm down, we would then play with our instruments and the majority of kids were able to get the rhythm down once they worked through it. During today's PREP period, I decided to observe the 7th Grade orchestra teacher while I got my own work done. I noticed many little nuances in her teaching that vary greatly from Mrs. Foti and, like anything, some strategies work and some don't. Overall, I'm very glad I'm taking advantage of all the opportunities that I am given to really soak in as much knowledge and experience as I can from this placement.

Day 5: HALLOWEEN!!! The kids were very excited about today and showed up all dressed and ready for halloween. During out 6th Grade orchestra period, we had the kids create a spooky story and create sound with their instruments to go along with the stories. This got them learning about unconventional techniques that we don't always use on these instruments and, although they were chatty and unfocused, they had a lot of time and participated to the best of their abilities. With the 8th Grade, we realized that we really need to utilize the rehearsal time for continuing to learn the music. I sensed some attitude in those who had leadership positions today and didn't feel it was worth discussing in rehearsal, but I kept their behavior in the back of my head that I will address it during their individual lessons.

Day 2: (Election Day) - No School!

SCMEA Symposium

Day 3: Rough start today. The majority of the 8th Grade Orchestra was disengaged and they let me know that they were tired and didn't get a lot of sleep. I was beginning to feel a little disappointed that they are in 8th Grade, running out of rehearsal time, and are still LEARNING their pieces while the 6th Grade is still learning music . I'm not enjoying that every time I step on the podium I feel like I am being mean or wasting time talking to them about how to behave but it feels necessary with the concert coming around the corner. 6th Grade was also a little crazy, but we definitely got more done and had more fun moments during rehearsal today. The second 8th Grade rehearsal was the same way as the first 8th Grade with regard to attention and engagement. Today I was very frustrated with the way classroom management was turning out for me during these rehearsals and I felt conflicted on what to address and what to let slide. Something I thought about was having a "Silent Orchestra" day in which I don't say a word the entire rehearsal and I have to use gestures to communicate. Or maybe choose a student leader from each section and give them a listening assignment to do at the start of class. They will write on a post-it a trouble spot they notice in their section once we run-through the piece. By the end, we should have 4 big trouble spots that we hit. With 6 rehearsals left before the 8th Grade concert, I explained to them that we're in a very tight spot. I feel like I left today a little discouraged, but I'm eager to find new classroom strategies for orchestra.

Day 4: Full lesson day and one very successful 6th Grade Orchestra period! I did a conducting exercise with the kids and it took them some time to realize that my position on the podium is actually really important for getting them playing together. We experimented with playing fast/slow as well as quiet/loud and we had a really good time with it. We then focused on a good amount of problem spots and had an overall very productive rehearsal. The two 8th Grade lessons I had after lunch today as well (the violas and violins) had excellent energy in their own ways during the lessons and I really appreciated their engagement.

Day 5:

Day 2: No School

Day 3: Tri-M Induction Day!! The day started off a little rough with the Period 1 8th Grade Rehearsal again with regard to engagement and productivity. We did a really fun exercise where we played the piece without our bows and it made the kids realize that they were not as confident on their entrances as they thought. This also made them realize that they could not rely on the people around them to keep time. Because the energy of the rehearsal turned a little sour (because of tiredness) I made sure to plan and accommodate for my later periods where I had rehearsals and to be very aware of how my rehearsals were going to go for the next 2 days when Mrs. Foti was scheduled to be out. The next two rehearsals ended up being so fun and productive! The end of the day I practiced for a while and helped set-up for the Induction Ceremony.

Day 4: First day of Mrs. Foti being out. To start the day, I was supposed to have a group of 6th Grade bassists show up for their lesson 1st Period but the never showed up and I ended up having an extra prep period in the morning! I also took the time to finalize my calendar for the rest of my Student Teaching placement. My 6th Grade viola lesson 3rd period went well and the kids got a chance to work on trouble spots in the orchestra music.

Day 5: I was very nervous getting to school today because I was so unsure of how rehearsals were going to end up today. I made sure to be patient and not show any aggravation at all to the kids as it was the end of the week. I took this mindset into my first rehearsal today and I've never seen the 8th graders more engaged and willing to work with me. Since Mrs. Foti was out today again and the other orchestra teacher had to teach her General Music classes, lessons for the 6th grade cellos and 6th grade violas had to be cancelled for today. I felt bad that I couldn't work much with them, but I told those kids that they should show up next week before or after school to work through their music and prepare for their performance assessment. The rest of the rehearsals went phenomenally today and I had time to practice my secondaries, practice my recital repertoire, and get a chance to review some concepts for my Music CST! The last period of the day I really wanted to get a chance to observe the 8th Grade Band rehearsal.

Day 2:

Day 3: Parent/Teacher Conference Day 1!

Day 4: Oakwood Thanksgiving Day show. Mrs. Foti recommended that, because I already sat in on a day of Parent/Teacher Conferences, I should go back to my first placement to see their Thanksgiving Day show. I helped set up the stage and caught up with Mrs. Morabito. It was so nice to see her again and she updated me with info about the musical theater program as well as how the kids have been. Right before the show, I got a chance to say "hello" to my kids and they were very happy to see me there :)) They did an amazing job.

Day 5:

Day 1: Mainly did runthroughs of the pieces with the 8th Grade ensembles today because their concert is in a week.

Day 2: