Week One: Haslett Middle School, 7th Grade

This past week, I had the opportunity to begin my observations of Samara Valla’s seventh grade choir.  It was truly a pleasure to experience Mrs. Valla’s rehearsal.  For the most part, the students were really well behaved – which is remarkable for this age group.  From the beginning warm-ups, to the sight-singing activities, to the repertoire work, the class was chock full of engaged learning! 

            

The transitions between activities were swift, and the class just moved right along.  Mrs. Valla is really great with classroom management.  There were a few moments in which the students got a bit chatty, but Mrs. Valla pulled them right back into focus by chanting, “sh-sh-sh-sh-sh.”  The students would repeat it back to her, and then the rehearsal would continue on, right back into focus.  There was one particular moment in which she asked the students to stand up, and they did so with a wave of talking.  Mrs. Valla simply responded by saying, “You can stand faster and without talking. Try it again.”  This was extremely effective, and the rehearsal carried right on. 

           

One individual behavior that I noticed was in the soprano section, where a few of the girls had their iPhones out throughout the entire rehearsal.  I’m not sure if Mrs. Valla saw this and chose not to call attention to it, or if she just didn’t see it.  I find it interesting and pretty alarming that such an engaging and exciting rehearsal couldn’t even pull these kids away from their technology.

            

Overall, I thought that this rehearsal was great!  It was such a joy to watch Mrs. Valla interact with her students.  Most of the kids really seemed to be enjoying themselves, and Mrs. Valla clearly has a great relationship with the class.  I am excited have the opportunity to watch this class grow and learn over the course of the next seven weeks!