Freeport's select chorale chosen for national festival
Freeport High School's select chorale was the only music ensemble from New York invited to perform in Music for All's 2020 National Festival in Indianapolis. Credit: Monique Campbell Retzlaff
Freeport High School's select chorale has hit a high note.
The 24-member chorale is one of 81 music ensembles nationwide — and the only one statewide — selected to perform at the nonprofit Music for All's 2020 National Festival in Indianapolis March 12-14.
Freeport will be among a dozen vocal ensembles to perform in the festival's National Choir Festival. To get selected, schools submitted audio recordings that displayed their technical proficiency, musical expression and artistry.
"I cannot say enough about the talents and dedication of my chorale members," Freeport select chorale director Monique Campbell Retzlaff said. "It is their commitment to success that has earned them the opportunity to perform at such distinguished venues, and it is my privilege to lead such a humble and hardworking group of fine musicians."
During the festival, Freeport will perform five songs — including Marek Raczyński's "Sicut Lilium Inter Spinas" and Eric William Barnum's "Lady in the Water" — and engage in a joint performance with the other 11 ensembles in the National Choir Festival.
Freeport's other noteworthy appearances include performing last year at the National Association for Music Education's All-Eastern Conference in Pittsburgh and at a 100th anniversary celebration for the New York State School Board Association.
The ensemble also has performed at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Students at Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School recently built their own guitars as part of an elective class and performed with the instruments at a Board of Education meeting. They are pictured here sanding and staining the wood on their guitars. Credit: Plainview-Old Bethpage School District
HERRICKS
Mindfulness logo
The Herricks School District has unveiled a mindfulness-themed logo for use in its five buildings to highlight the importance of mindfulness practices. The logo, which was designed by senior Andrew Brala, features a silhouette making a yoga pose and a lotus flower with the phrases "Herricks Mindfulness" and "Just Breathe."
The effort stemmed from a request by the district's Social Emotional Learning Committee for the high school's advertising design class to create logos for consideration. The committee selected four finalist entries, which were voted on by students in grades 3-12.
In Wantagh, members of the Lee Road Elementary School's Community Service Committee recently collected items, including baby wipes, garbage bags and granola bars, for individuals affected by the recent earthquakes in Puerto Rico. Lee Road Elementary is in the Levittown School District. Credit: Levittown School District
"I wanted this logo to be calm and simple, just like how one's mind should be," Brala said.
COUNTYWIDE
Chinese New Year
Many local schools hosted educational events last month in celebration of Lunar New Year.
In Manhasset, the school district hosted a Lunar New Year Arts Festival in conjunction with the Chinese American Association of North Hempstead. The featured guest was artist Cao Jun, who painted a tiger mural for attendees that was donated to the secondary school's future Wellness Learning Center.
In Massapequa, Mandarin language classes at Alfred G. Berner Middle School visited second-graders at Birch Lane Elementary School to mark the Year of the Rat. Activities included drawing Mandarin characters and creating paper rats using origami techniques.
In Albertson, fourth-graders at Searingtown Elementary School learned about Chinese traditions and used chopsticks to enjoy foods such as lo mein and fried dumplings.
ISLANDWIDE
Poetry Out Loud
Five Long Island students have been named winners in regional contests of Poetry Out Loud, a national program that encourages high schoolers to learn about poetry. They have advanced to a statewide contest on March 7.
The winners were: Reza Aziz, Sanford H. Calhoun High School in Merrick; Shriya Desai, Jericho High School; Maejie-Grace Balansang, W. Tresper Clarke High School in Westbury; Mateja Markovic, Knox School in St. James; and Emily Monfort, Valley Stream Central High School. Yael Shavelson of Yeshiva University High School for Girls in Hollis also was a winner.
To participate, they recited works selected from an anthology of more than 1,100 poems and were evaluated on criteria including voice and articulation, evidence of understanding, and accuracy.
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
