Ferndale Orchestra Mentorship Program
A new mentorship program was launched during this past month for Ferndale Schools orchestra students. With the cooperation of principals and classroom teachers at both JFK and Coolidge, every elementary orchestra student has been paired with a high school orchestra student.
The students are corresponding in “pen pal” fashion with letters being delivered to and from each elementary school and the high school twice a week.
The goal, says Orchestra Teacher Ben Moy, is to establish a connection between younger and older kids in the program, giving the younger students someone to look up to, and helping the older kids know what it means to be a positive role model. The goal, says Moy, is to translate these relationships into greater involvement and retention in the orchestra program. Both the elementary and high school students have been very excited to get their first letter from their orchestra buddy.
Some of the students got a chance to meet before the Hijinx and Hilarity Concert on October 28th. OrchSupport provided donuts and cider for a “meet and greet” during which time the students had a chance to get to know each other before the concert began. At the Meet and Greet, all the elementary students were in the middle of room and the high students were standing in an outside circle.
Members of the OrchSupport team called out the name of each younger student, and the high school students raised their hand and yelled out, “She’s (or He’s) Mine!” Emily Myers, OrchSupport member, said the smiles on the younger students’ faces were priceless.
Thank you to the Ferndale Schools for sharing this news with us. Please find out more School news at www.ferndaleschools.org.
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