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Music fills the air at Worthington Elementary

Special to

The Greenup Beacon

This school year, the music department at Worthington Elementary School has expanded its course offerings of performing ensembles, and the number of students participating in the performing arts has grown dramatically.

At WES, students in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades experience a “specials” schedule where they rotate between different content teachers in the areas of music, physical education, library science and keyboarding, and guidance. Through this rotation, students receive these subjects every week with highly qualified teachers in each content area.

Over the last few years, the music department at WES, under the direction of Allyson Martin, has expanded performance opportunities for its students. Every student has access to a music education where they learn about the musical instruments and elements, history of music, vocal music techniques and instrumental music ensembles (for sixth grade students).  With the addition the fifth and sixth grade choirs to the course offerings, students now have the option to study vocal music as well as instrumental.

“In the past, the special performing ensemble was the sixth grade band, but I felt that it was important for students to have specialized vocal instruction as well. After last year’s Christmas music program, which was a huge success, I knew I needed to provide a class with a focus on vocal music for those students who had the desire and talent to expand their ability,” Martin said.

When students enter WES in the fourth grade, they receive a music education teaching the basic musical elements they need to know to begin learning about music performance. Students discover what types of music they like and begin exploring the various options of music performance. All fourth grade music students participate in the Christmas music program where they sing pieces they rehearsed in class using the new vocal techniques introduced in the fall semester. This gives them an insight into one of the performing arts.

At the beginning of the school year, fifth grade students decide if they would like to continue their vocal education, and have the option to enroll in a choir class. WES now offers a fifth grade choir (new this year) where students can learn more advanced vocal techniques and incorporate the musical elements they know, as well as those they learn, to perform as a choir.

Sixth grade students also have the option to participate in choir (also new this year) or in band. Band is a class only offered to sixth grade students to prepare them to perform with the Raceland-Worthington High School Band in the seventh grade.

With the creation of the fifth and sixth grade choirs and the continued offering of sixth grade band, the WES students have more opportunities than ever before to perform and share their creative talents.

This year, there are 29 students in fifth grade choir, 28 students in sixth grade choir, and about 36 students in sixth grade band. That means there are at least 90 students enrolled in a performing ensemble at WES, and more are transferring into these classes every day.

“As well as teaching at WES, I am also the band director at RWHS. It is my job to create a feeder program for the high school band, and the high enrollment in the sixth grade band is very exciting. I can’t wait to have the 30+ band students at the high school in hopes of building our numbers. We have seven flutes, four clarinets, four alto saxophones, 10 trumpets, two French horns, four trombones, one tuba, and four percussionists enrolled in band class. While vocal music was not my primary focus when studying to become a music educator, I know how important it is to offer vocal music to students. By having elementary school choirs, we will be able to continue to enhance the already outstanding choral music program at RWHS,” Martin said.

Martin hopes that by offering these programs, students will want to embrace the musical arts and gain a new appreciation for music performance.

“Seeing growth district wide in our music program is wonderful. It is proof that we have talented, dedicated teachers who are inspiring and encouraging our students. Identifying talented children and seeing them excited about participating in arts education is a desired outcome by our teachers, administrators and community,” Raceland-Worthington Cultural Arts Center Director Anne Stephens said.

“When Miss Martin came to me this summer to ask if it was possible to add a choir program to our school, I thought it was a great idea. I have been involved in choirs my whole life and my wife is a local choir director, so I have seen the benefit of being a part of one. We have added fifth and sixth grade choir this year, so along with our sixth-grade band, we are giving our students a better variety and allowing them more avenues to use their talents to express their artistic side. The sixth-grade band has grown every year and is hovering around 35 students right now. The choirs are both packed and our students are enjoying the experience,” Worthington Elementary School principal Kyle Russell said.

 “We are thrilled about the growing success of our Worthington Elementary music program. Our school district places an enormous value on the Arts in education, and music is a giant component to that. I don’t think you’ll find another school district with the arts resources we have at our disposal, from the beautiful Cultural Arts Center to the staff we have in place educating our young people at each building in our district. It’s a pleasure to see it growing at the younger levels,” Raceland-Worthington Independent Schools Superintendent Larry Coldiron said.

 The first performance by the WES fifth and sixth grade choirs will be Thursday, November 9, at 9:30AM in the WES gymnasium in honor of Veteran’s Day. The full WES Christmas music program (featuring the talents of all students, grades four through six) will take place on Thursday, December 14, at 9:30AM at the RWHS Cultural Arts Center. All performances are free and open to the public. Please come and enjoy the talents of all of our students in the Worthington Elementary music programs.