Band is back at the Junior High! It is good to see the enthusiastic and energetic bandleader, Ryann Hernandez, at the helm again, leading the young musicians on. Last night (Tuesday, Nov 13th) a couple of the band members fit into the School Board Meeting Room to play a sample of what they have learned since school start. They sounded great, but I included a snippet (please excuse the shakiness of the footage) so you can judge for yourselves. Unfortunately, band in elementary school is still just a memory.
The school year of 2011-12 had no electives at Newark Junior High, a symptom of the dire straits schools exist under, but also a symptom of how visual arts, theatre, dance and music have been allowed to be neglected in schools for many years. It is heart breaking to think of kids stymied through this lack of a well rounded education, but heartening to hear this band strike up again.
At the meeting, some Leadership students also presented the other electives: Art, Choir, Multi-media Sports Journalism, Computer/Video Journalism, and Yearbook; as well as presented the results and ambitions of the Junior High. They did a great job of oral presentation for the benefit of the School Board.
