Past projects 8
Discipline Through Music - Kindergarten Handbell Choir!
Funded Jul 22, 2022My students were very excited to see so many colorful bells coming out of the DonorsChoose packages.
We were covering the RHYTHM and BEAT concept then, so my students couldn't wait to get their hands on the bells when our focus was MELODY.
Thanks to these bells, students were focused on their teamwork, learning to sing and play together, strictly following instructions on how to use these color coded bells for our musical alphabet.
We started with 8-note diatonic bells, the students were group in eight vertical lines, each group playing and matching the sounds coming out of the bells.
Their faces looked as colorful and happy as those bells.
Thank you for being there to support in your own special way.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sevdayan
This classroom project was brought to life by SONIC Drive-In and 11 other donors.Let Children Sing the Sounds They Play!
Funded Apr 7, 2022My students couldn't wait to hold the Xylophones in their hands. The day the package arrived (Friday May 6), I know my students would be anxious to have their hands on it. So, I the parents center helped me unpack and have the Xylophones ready for the students.
Our lesson was on "Melody", and as students learned the song "Do,Re,Me", an excerpt from the movie "She Sound of Music." So, we had the xylophones just in time to play and sing the song. The lesson was a little noisy at first out of excitement, but the students were able to control themselves and produce a beautiful ensemble of singing and bell resonance. Similar experience with all my three first graders group on that day. Students left the classroom with lots of hugs expressing their love for music.
Thousand thanks to you for bringing such joy to my students through the experience of hearing the sounds and matching them with their voices. For them, this is magic.
In three weeks, I will video their performance, and the whole school and staff, including the parents, will enjoy my first graders playing tunes and singing.
What more can we expect!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sevdayan
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose community & an Anonymous Partner and 12 other donors.Quality Rosins for the Violins of Beginning Elementary Musicians
Funded May 7, 2020My students were very happy to get these very practical quality rosins. I can tell they are enjoying this Super-Sensitive quality rosins, as none of them were returned broken to be replaced. It just puts more pressure on students to care for their instruments and value the mastery of learning how to play, as they are aware that many care for them.
So, students are valuing and appreciating the rosins that they got from DonorsChoose contributors.
This semester was not an easy one, as it took much longer to get the instruments into the students' hands. The violins were cleaned thoroughly, and fixed the broken ones (shoulder rests, some bows and some string changes).
This year I have 5 classes of violins, three 3rd graders and two 4th graders. The classes are done through Zoom, and since I am an itinerant music teacher, I had to get the agreement of each individual classroom teachers to be photographed.
Thank you for your patience in getting these pictures. The students and I appreciate the gift of enhancing the bow rosining which produces a better violin sound.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sevdayan
This classroom project was brought to life by FamilyAlbum and 7 other donors.Let Technology Help Students' Voices Perform in Balance on Stage
Funded Jan 1, 2019I cannot thank you enough for the MG16-Channel Mixer we received. As soon as I met Van Deene 4th grade Chorus, I opened and they were thrilled what it will do for our 2019 Spring Concert Performance at the end of May, titled "Patriotic Multicultural and Heritage." Students looked at the Mixer board, to them it looked like a Star Trek equipment. I explained to them how it will be used.
During our prior performances, we could use a maximum of two wireless microphones. Now, with this tool, we will be able to hook 8+ microphones and all the soloist will be able to shout their line with physical and hand gestures and be heard clearly by the audience, which consists of students, parents and teachers and administrative staff members. Soloists voices will be clear, without any mechanical sound frequency interference, also eliminating of passing microphones which interrupts the context of the performance.
Thanks to you, now that we have this Yamaha quality sound Mixer, the students are excited to prepare and memorize their skits, theatrical lines, and solo singing parts in an expedited manner, to bring in the technology and rehearse with them to sound just like the real professionals do.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sevdayan
Help Students' Flawless Musical Performances Through HEADSET WIRELESS MICROPHONES...
Funded Oct 9, 2017It was a blast! Your donation arrived right at the time so that we didn't have to change anything for our 2017 Winter Holiday Program. Our soloists practiced with the wireless headset microphones during the rehearsals and got used to using it freely with confidence. These mics enhanced the performance in that, the soloists were focused on their choreography (free of handheld microphones) and artistic expression. It brought professionalism to the performance, as the thread of meaningful phrases were not interrupted as it would have been if students were passing handheld microphones (prior experiences).
Now, all my students are excited. Almost all of them are trying to excel in their performances, sound production, memorization of their lyrics so that they will be the chosen soloists!
In our upcoming performances for Black History Month and Mexican Cultural Heritage and Spring Patriotic Concert, my students are competing by asking for special vocal solo parts and skid lines to use these "cool" (as they shouted as the first usage demo was done) wireless headset microphones!
Your donation of these wireless headset microphones has expedited teaching and learning and added fun and pleasure to it as well.
Thousand thanks to you all, and to Donors Choose staff who helped this happen!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sevdayan
Projectors NOT Chalkboards... Expedite Student Learning Through Visuals
Funded Nov 1, 2017Thank you for organizing and helping our wish become reality in such a short period amount of time. Epson - PowerLite 1781W WXGA Wireless 3LCD Projector. It is very easy to set up. I connect to my laptop or my iPad, where I have all the pictures of the lessons for the day. And it is wireless, safer for the students (not to worry about watching their steps to stay away from the wires... ).
The beauty of this projector is the pictures are larger and clearer at a close distance from the screen, and students have noticed that the colors are much natural looking. Lesson transitional times have shortened, and I am jumping from one gadget to the other for reference reasons much easily. Our lessons have become more colorful and exciting.
As I am able to use a laser pointer I can be closer to my students and watch them stay alive and get involved with the lesson. So, the teamwork has become better. The students have realized that we cover more lesson material now, and they have become more proactive, and so learning has become a happy event!
Thousand Thanks”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sevdayan
Learning As Simple As "See, Understand, and Follow..." That's it!
Funded Jan 17, 2017Thousand thanks for your time and financial support, as I now have less set up time for our music class, and more learning time, thanks to this light weight ELMO project reader. Our music class has clear, colorful visuals, and learning concepts are expedited because of it. Students were very excited when they saw how much this small sized ELMO project reader could do? They all bless you and thank you!
We still need a quality lightweight projector to go with it, as currently we are borrowing one from different classroom teachers. That will be our following step. Thank you”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sevdayan
Speedy Music Learning With iPad
Funded Feb 26, 2015When the news got to the students' ears that the iPad has arrived, there was the atmosphere of excitement and eagerness to learn about the possibilities of learning music through this iPad. The first day of the class students were all around it with "wow"s and "OOh"s.
I downloaded interactive apps. about learning the rhythm and the sounds of music, and some that teach the orchestral instruments. For example; with one touch of a finger, students not only were observing the instruments in color, but the way they were played and sounded (to recognize the tone colors)!
The beauty of this project was that, the iPad involved learning through many senses (ear, eye, voice) to help memorize the subject, and made learning musical concepts a fun activity. At the end, through the iPad, I could even have more time to assess the learning! I could sense the students' happiness and gratitude, and I was content with the outcome! I had more time to teach more...”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Sevdayan