Hello Cornerstone Families,
Welcome to those of you that have joined our lists!
How the Lists Work
If you only subscribed to the list for your child’s grade/class, then you will not receive the general updates. We will send these initial notes out to each list, but it will primarily be to get you on the general update list. You can still subscribe to the general news by clicking here. You can also always visit the main page of the Cornerstone section of ABC’s website to scroll back through the general news.
Test Requirements are Posted, 3 Weeks of Planning – too!
As you will recall from our letter of last week, we will be adding an mid-term test to the cycle of exams to increase the number of songs played, to increase skills at a higher rate, and to maintain interest by keeping music fresh.
The spring test requirements are now posted and you can view them here. We have also listed 3 weeks of planning as a one-time sample to give you some idea of the specific day-to-day work that students will be doing. Your help in structuring practice time from Friday through Monday, every week, will be necessary if your child is in Grade 3 or younger.
Spring exam requirements will be announced sometime near the end of March, or early April.
What happened to the Grade 4-6s?
We received some feedback that the 4-6 class was not mentioned in the letter we sent home, and wanted to let you know that this was because this group had no stand-out issue that warranted mentioning. They are a good group (as are all the students), but had a dynamic that was most likely to benefit quickly from the changes that are being made in general.
Posture and Physical Space
One of the primary concerns expressed to us by parents has been that of posture. We have – as of February 4th – equipped the school with enough music stands to be used by every student during their class, which was a primary culprit of poor posture. Your assistance in assuring that the same conditions exist at home is vital. Posture is a habit that requires ongoing support. We hope to have a music stand available for purchase from a third party via our Equipment page in the next few weeks, for those of you that are looking for one for your home.
Classes will also be arranged physically to be more conducive to musical development.
Survey Update
At this time we have no news to offer you, as we are at roughly 10% parent response for the survey. This is not enough to give you a good statistical overview of the general state of each area that the questions addressed. We hope to have more for you in a week or so. There has already been some interesting information from it, and I have spoken to 1 parent about their experience (including that of their children). Two things we will be doing as a result of this conversation are a regular set of reminders on instrument maintenance (roughly every 8 weeks) for younger children, and an instrument care video which students and their parents can be directed to watch on an as-needed basis.
Out-of-office
I will be out of the office from February 5th-15th, inclusive. I look forward to returning your calls or inquiries after this time.
B.Kerekes
Director