Ferndale Middle School News
We have a very full eblast this week to lead into a long weekend honoring our veterans. Read about Galileo Leaders, environmental clean-up, student poets & thespians, Middle School adventures far & near, and so much more. Enjoy!
We have great stories from around the district, as usual. College-bound athletes, an amazing board member, one of the Brightest and Best students in the state, a new book club, and so much more. Read the eblast to get all the news.
The orchestra is practicing their commisioned composition. Read a sneak peek, and stories about 4th grade camp, book club, teachers of the year, high school & college dual enrollment grads, and more!
It is with great excitement that I share an update on the Ferndale Orchestra's commissioned piece. Commissioning an original composition is a unique opportunity for a performance group. Thanks entirely to private donations and the help of OrchSupport and Ferndale Schools Fine Arts Boosters, the Ferndale Orchestra program was able to commission composer Costas Dafnis to compose an original composition for the orchestra to be performed at the Ferndale High School Spring Orchestra Concert.
I received delivery of the piece on Monday and today was the first ever play through of the piece. I tried to impress upon the symphony orchestra students what a unique experience this was. The very first time that this piece of music had ever been played into existence by actual instruments was what they played in class today. Before then it had existed only as a collection of dots and lines on a page, as an idea in the composers head, or as an electronically generated sound file from a computer. I wonder if they truly grasp how cool that is. Or maybe I'm just geeking out as a music teacher. :)
The piece is entitled "Like Planted Hearts" and composer Costas Dafnis drew inspiration from the wedding poem that J.R.R. Tolkien (author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy among other things) wrote for his wife Edith on their wedding day.
Lo! Young we are and yet have stood
like planted hearts in the great Sun
of Love so long (as two fair trees
in woodland or in open dale
stand utterly entwined and breathe
the airs and suck the very light
together) that we have become
as one, deep rooted in the soil
of Life and tangled in the sweet growth.
The students will continue to rehearse the piece in preparation for it's public performance debut at our spring orchestra concert on May 21st at 7 pm in the FHS Auditorium. We invite everyone to come be a part of this special once in a lifetime opportunity.
If you would like to be a part of this project in a more tangible way, we are still accepting donations to go towards the cost of the commission. Donations of $15 and above will be thanked personally in the program. For more details on how to donate please contact me.
April showers bring may flowers, but what do may flowers bring? May flowers bring learning gardens, not to mention home-grown leaders at the state, national and international level in music, marketing, robotics, diversity, and more. Read about all of them in the e-blast!
We have an extra fun e-blast to lead into the long weekend. This issue includes Middle School honors, robotics leaders, poets on the street (literally), and a live sheep!
The City of Ferndale declared April 16th, 2019 as “Education and Sharing” day! Education and Sharing Day will honor the legacy of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Rabbi Schneerson believed in the potential of all persons and sought to empower young people through education, character development, and civic pride.
Rabbi Herschel Finman stopped by to visit Ferndale Schools Superintendent Dania Bazzi and share the good news about the proclamation.
Continue Reading for the full proclamation.
The Ferndale High School Winter Guard are state champs for the second consecutive year. A huge thank you goes out to Coach Batsios and Coach McKenzie for leading our students to another victory. The Winter Guard also finished with a perfect season, finishing first in all 3 regular season competitions. Congratulations!
Winterguard heads to SVSU for competition, Eagles of the Year are honored, a student athlete signs to Albion, and guest readers wrap-up reading month. Plus news on robotics, bel canto choir, high school engineers, and SECOND GRADE DOCTORS?
Robotics rolls forward, winterguard wins again, a musician plays masterfully, a Ferndale fireman reads to friends, and more. Happy Friday!
Outstanding students made the news this week in orchestra, marketing, and robotics. A principal was taped to the wall...for a good cause. And so much more.
The Ferndale Middle 7th and 8th Grade Band had an outstanding performance at the MSBOA District 4 Band and Orchestra Festival. Not only did they receive First Division ratings from all four judges, but they also received straight A's from all of the judges in all five of the categories they were evaluated on!
Eleven Ferndale Middle School students also represented the music department at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Middle School Honor Days Concerts at Orchestra Hall. The students spent the day rehearsing with DSO musicians and coaches and then put on a fabulous evening concert on stage at historic Orchestra Hall. Representing the orchestras were:
- Ryan Chapman (violin)
- Peter Deegan-Krause (bass)
- Lena Hooper (cello)
- Sophia Rewald (cello)
- Lucy Reinke (viola)
- Kieran Venugopal
Representing the bands were:
- Wonare Burde (oboe)
- Arden Jungmann (flute)
- Isadora Purrier (bassoon)
- Abby Schuster (clarinet)
- Najah Williams (alto sax)
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