Fly, Blackbird, Fly

Holy stinkin' cow, I don't even know where to begin!

We wrapped up Glee last week with one hell of a performance! The girls and boy totally owned it and seriously brought tears to my eyes. More rewarding than a successful performance was the parents who came up to me after to let me know how much more confident their child has become, or that they looked forward to getting out of bed in the morning. Remember the boy? He rocked his solo, and his mom called to say thank you, because he found his niche. It doesn't get much better than that, folks! And for me, I couldn't be more proud of them, and more relieved that my first experience teaching music "alone" was this encouraging and successful. And hey, we even made it onto the news for a hot second!

Backtrack two days. My friends arrived!! The last week and a half has been a blur, in the best way possible. We have done so much and had such a great time. We celebrated my birthday in Waikiki last weekend, and boy, was it fun! I have to admit, this timing, though not intentional, is both exciting and crazy. Come Monday morning, after a birthday weekend in Waikiki with them and after Glee, it was...

...dun dun dun, time to begin my new job! With Monday came my first teacher work day. Several of my new colleagues are familiar faces, because they were the very teachers who inspired me several years ago at this very same school. They're a fun bunch! Everyone was so welcoming, and I instantly felt the sense of community that is so present amongst the faculty. There are pros and cons to working in an independent school, but that instant sense of support immediately made up for any cons that one might associate with not teaching in the public school system.

Monday and Tuesday were inservice work days. I learned so much, so quickly, and honestly enjoyed myself! I can't believe how hilarious all of these amazing people are! BTW, for any Lambdas out there, the meetings were JUST LIKE LAMBDA WEEKLY MEETINGS. Hilarious! I loved it. :)

Amidst this huge life change, I've been playing hostess. I'm so glad that my three homies are totally capable of getting around and enjoying themselves without me, cause there are definitely things I've had to get done on my own as I begin my new career. Thankfully, this weekend will bring plenty of time for fun.

Wednesday was our first day of school, although I didn't do any teaching. I met some awesome students, played some guitar, etc. Thursday was my first day of teaching, but due to my part time schedule, all I had to do was teach the first class of my Honors Literature class. I was floored - those students are really special young men and women. They are exceptionally bright, good humored, and very eager. I'm REALLY excited for that class! They were excited about weekly quotes, our literature, and reading more than required. I seriously can't wait. :)

We had mass this morning. I haven't started playing piano or anything yet, but I did play a slack key offering during communion. I am going to start private piano study, and am about to dive head-first into the world of musical ministry, which seems like it might be my most time-consuming, interesting, and important role at the school. I am really excited for this! The church is so beautiful, the mass is beautiful, and I am honored to be able to work toward this important task.

Finally, we had 8th grade general music today. It was a rowdy bunch, but super fun. I assigned homework - probably a first for them in music class, but I'm hoping they will like the assignment. As far as band and orchestra go, we begin demonstrations in general music class next week, and I'll offer recruitment days and instrument "fitting" throughout that week and the next. Once I can see our demand, I can figure out the instrument situation. We certainly have a solid amount for a small school, but I will most likely need to contact local music stores about rentals. Then, in week 4, we begin band! (week 4 for us is mid-August - still earlier than public schools in New York for reference).

For now, I need to buy some mouthpiece disinfectant, refine previously-used demonstration plans, brush up on my string knowledge, and come Tuesday night, answer lots of Facebook happy birthday posts. As soon as everyone leaves, I will be very sad and lonely, but the bulk of my work will begin. Until then, happy Aloha Friday!

DA