A lesson in sight-reading made fun Every day this week, we've been sharing how the teachers at Our Lady of Mercy School are not only meeting the challenges of distance teaching and learning, but transcending them. The video below, created by our marvelous music teacher, Mrs. Carey D'Agostino, is another stellar example. In this lesson, you can see and hear Mrs. D'Agostino: a) taking what COULD be a difficult subject for schoolchildren to grasp: sight-reading (and ultimately, sight-singing); b) breaking it down into clear, simple, manageable bits; c) using "tasty" images and words to illustrate her key points; d) exuding contagious enthusiasm and making every step along the way fun; e) teaching children how to sight-read and then sight-sing the notes of a "mystery song"; and f(inally) with hilarious gameshow music playing in the background, revealing to the students what the title of the mystery song they just learned is. (You can also see that Mrs. D'Agostino is as versatile and adept with her computer keyboard as she is with keyboard instruments!)
So when you have a moment, hit PLAY, watch a masterful teacher at work, learn something you might not know about music, and by all means sing along. Then, as Mrs. D'Agostino says, "Keep singing. It's good for your brain and good for your soul!" Amen and God bless you, Mrs. D'Agostino and all of the hardworking teachers at Our Lady of Mercy School! You are an inspiration and a blessing to us all.
1 day ago
Every day this week, we've been sharing how the teachers at Our Lady of Mercy School are not only meeting the challenges of distance teaching and learning, but transcending them. The video below, created by our marvelous music teacher, Mrs. Carey D'Agostino, is another stellar example. In this lesson, you can see and hear Mrs. D'Agostino: a) taking what COULD be a difficult subject for schoolchildren to grasp: sight-reading (and ultimately, sight-singing); b) breaking it down into clear, simple, manageable bits; c) using "tasty" images and words to illustrate her key points; d) exuding contagious enthusiasm and making every step along the way fun; e) teaching children how to sight-read and then sight-sing the notes of a "mystery song"; and f(inally) with hilarious gameshow music playing in the background, revealing to the students what the title of the mystery song they just learned is. (You can also see that Mrs. D'Agostino is as versatile and adept with her computer keyboard as she is with keyboard instruments!) So when you have a moment, hit PLAY, watch a masterful teacher at work, learn something you might not know about music, and by all means sing along. Then, as Mrs. D'Agostino says, "Keep singing. It's good for your brain and good for your soul!" Amen and God bless you, Mrs. D'Agostino and all of the hardworking teachers at Our Lady of Mercy School! You are an inspiration and a blessing to us all.
2 days ago
How have the teachers at Our Lady of Mercy School responded to Governor Roy Cooper's recent directive that all in-person classes in NC schools remain suspended until May 15th? The words and actions of Mrs. Paula Cancro, director and lead teacher of Mercy's 5-star Pre-K program, exemplify the resourceful can-do spirit that all of our faculty members share. Mrs. Cancro says that although the reality of having to physically spend more time away from her students was at first a difficult one to absorb, it has ultimately inspired her teaching assistant and her to redouble their efforts to support Mercy's Pre-K students and their families. She writes: "[This week] we made our second student 'Take Home Activity Packets' available to our families with enrichment activities to use in conjunction with Google Classroom." The photos below represent "some of the activities we sent home to support hands-on learning at home for our preschoolers," she adds. Bravo Mrs. Cancro and all of our faculty members for the kind, thoughtful, and imaginative ways you are helping Mercy students continue to grow intellectually and spiritually during these challenging times!
2 days ago
3 days ago
For years, Mrs. Elissa Brannan has been putting on a clinic re: how to teach reading retention and exceptional writing skills. (Passing those hard-won skills on to today's too-easily-distracted students has sadly become a lost art.) In this video -- which Mrs. Brannan recently filmed and sent to her third graders -- you can see how she invites her students to: 1) listen carefully to the story she reads aloud to them (with characteristic warmth and brio!); 2) do some brief exercises, such as filling in missing letters in a word puzzle to re-create various words from the story; and 3) write a few "bullets;" then write a complete sentence; then write a paragraph containing: a) a compelling introductory sentence; b) good details ("You know how I love those!" Mrs. Brannan says.); and c) "Don't forget your 'super SO WHAT' at the end." "I am very excited to read your paragraphs," Mrs. Brannan adds toward the end. Then she concludes by saying that she hopes the students will ENJOY their writing assigment -- because after all, writing and communicating well should be both mind-expanding and fun. See the way that Mrs. Brannan has combined rock-solid, tried-and-true fundamentals with just the right amount of tech savvy to create a very personal and engaging learning experience? To us, that graceful combination of what some might call "old school" pedagogical techniques, plus an infectious enthusiasm for good writing and storytelling, plus "new school" tech savvy and more, is one of the distinctive hallmarks of a Mercy education. Thank you, Mrs. Brannan, for giving us the privilege of "looking over your shoulder" for a few minutes and watching you work. You and your fellow Mercy teachers are our heroes! #MercyTeachersRock!