BMPRSS students sang and danced with Klezmer music
BMPRSS students sang and danced with Klezmer music
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Bruno M. Ponterio Ridge Street School students were introduced to a great way to start a Monday — Klezmer music!
During a toe tapping assembly, hosted by the PTA, students literally got out of their seats and clapped and danced to the music of Pushcart Kapelye, a Klezmer band consisting of musicians Meghan Fitzgerald, Harry Sweet, Judy Sweet, Ethan Hasiuk and Elliott Kurtz.
“Gut morgn!” Judy Sweet said to students once they had settled in their seats in the cafetorium, addressing them in Yiddish. She said a common response to the salutation was “gut yorh,” or “good year!”
In addition to learning a few phrases in Yiddish, students learned about where Klezmer music came from. It was a type of music made popular among Jewish families living in Eastern Europe. Ms. Sweet shared a story about a young Jewish boy living in Poland, who immigrated to the United States, bringing with him his beloved accordion. He had played in bands and traveled with musicians back in the old country, and while things were different in his new home, he never lost his music and shared it with this family. Eventually a great grandson took up the “klezmoran,” and began to play just like his relative.
“In Yiddish, we dance,” Ms. Sweet announced, as an accordion, violin, clarinet and drum played out a lively tune. She invited students up to learn a few steps, and students laughed and clapped their way through the moves. They held hands and moved in one direction, before moving the opposite way and finally, briefly stopping to clap, before they began again.
Ms. Sweet also shared how when dancing, it is common to use hand gestures as part of the moves, and she showed students how to position their hands as the music continued to play.
“Klezmer music is dance music!” Ms. Sweet said as she danced among the students.
- BMPRSS
- District
¡Hola! Spanish comes to BMPRSS
This year, Foreign Language in Elementary Schools (FLES) is back at the Bruno M. Ponterio Ridge Street School, and both teacher Jasminne Paulino and students are exclaiming “¡Olé!”
Each day, Ms. Paulino steps into the classrooms of third, fourth and fifth graders where she spends 20 minutes introducing students to the Spanish language. She brings with her a rolling basket of resources that includes everything from message boards with images pertaining to vocabulary students will be learning, a speaker for them to listen to authentic Latin music and worksheets to help them write in a new language. Occasionally, she surprises the students with some playful puppets that she uses to enhance their engagement. Among these puppets, Arturo seems to be the favorite.
Ms. Paulino takes the approach that students want to be active and engaged. To that end, her lessons usually begin with a physical warm up where she and the students stand and recite the names of their body parts in Spanish—shoulders, ears, knees etc. Throughout her interactions with students, she uses Spanish 95 percent of the time. English is reserved for providing instructions that may be challenging for students to understand.
“There’s a lot of repetition, switching up activities, playing games,” Ms. Paulino said. “Everything is meant to establish that connection so while they are not in the classroom, they are using the language as much as possible.”
The teacher is spending the first half of the year teaching students’ everyday language, with the second half focusing on units of study about Spanish speaking countries.
“Opening their minds to that level of diversity is something I love to see,” the teacher said, adding that when she informed students those different regions have a different way to say the word “cool,” the students were impressed.
“You are giving kids a glimpse into the culture,” she said.
“Starting a foreign language in elementary school is so wonderful,” Ms. Paulino continued. “It leads into the language program at the middle school. It will change the whole K-12 world language program.”
Most of the students she is working with are not native Spanish speakers. Many of them have relatives who are fluent in Spanish, or they possess some prior knowledge of the language. Some of her students have told her they are practicing what they have learned with older siblings who are also studying the language.
“I think the trick is to make it fun, make it engaging,” she said. “I feed off their enthusiasm. It’s a lot of fun for me.”
Just a few weeks into the new school year, Ms. Paulino has seen how students have embraced what they are learning. One afternoon as she left the building after school, two fifth graders spoke to her in Spanish.
“Seeing the children this excited a month in, it makes me look forward to the rest of the school year,” Ms. Paulino said.