Press Release for
May 2008
 

Kershaw School Musicians Ready Spring Activities -
The Kershaw School Spring Concert will be held on May 14th at 7:30pm.  Two Choruses, the 7th Grade World Drumming Ensembles, The Concert Band, The Jazz Band and the Garage Band will all be performing. The Concert Band is a combined group of fifty 5-8th graders with a wide spread of ages and abilities.  Under the direction of Mary Manion, the students work on music designed to encourage the young musicians at their own level.  A student favorite this spring is “When You Believe” from The Prince of Egypt.

The Kershaw Jazz Ensemble is excited to present three songs from the jazz/rock genre. Many students are learning how to play solos and begin to improvise. “Ja-Da” and “Mr. Cool” are both in the big band swing style. The Jazz Band rocks out on the edgy funk tune “On Broadway.”

The Garage Band Club meets after school and is an incubator for rock and roll musicians. This year the students have formed a group they named “As Seen On TV.” The band has learned to cover “Slow Ride” by Foghat. 6th Grade teacher, John Kidd, volunteers his help on guitar. They have also been hard at work perfecting several original pieces.  Garage Band also looks forward to performing at the May 16th PTO Movie Night.

The 5/6 and 7/8 Choruses, under the direction of Beth Egan,  will be presenting old favorites, “Michael Row the Boat Ashore” and “Down by the Riverside”.  5/6 Chorus will sing, “I am a Child of this World”, a song about the importance of listening to the voices of children.  “Still in my Heart” is a poignant dedication to those people in our lives who love and care for us.

The Bands and Choirs are combining forces for a special finale featuring patriotic music as a salute to the US armed forces. Members of the Mt. Ephraim American Legion Post 150 and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6262 Color/Honor Guard will be present to post the colors as students perform an inspiring tribute to veterans of all ages.

The members of band and chorus are busily composing letters of thanks that will be distributed to veterans in the area.  The Mount Ephraim Education Association has provided a PRIDE grant to purchase the patriotic stationary and stamps needed for this worthy project.    

There will be a 50/50 raffle, bake sale and silent auction to benefit the Music Activity Fund. The May 14th concert is free of charge and open to the public. The Kershaw School Music Department will cap off its successful year with their Spring Trip to Hershey Park on May 30th.  Mrs. Manion and Mrs. Egan wish to thank the entire community for their support of the music program this year.

Best Buy Teach Award -
Recently, the Raymond W. Kershaw School applied for a Best Buy Teach Award.  These awards recognize and reward schools that have found creative ways to engage students in the curriculum by using technology hands-on.  We are proud to announce that our application was selected and has received one of only fifty $10,000 Best Buy Teach awards! 

The program that won the award was our annual Parent Technology Night.  This year we will have a Forensic Parent Technology Night on May 28th.  Students in grades 5-8 will be participating in this exciting program.