Monday Morning Musings: Music Moves Us

Principal ponderings...

Being married to a musician, clearly music is a big part of our life. But I know that even without a musician husband, I have always loved how music can move me. The lyrics and the notes and the beat have the ability to bring me to tears or make me pump my fist in support or make me grin. This weekend, I noticed the music in my life. Saturday night was all about bagpipes and drums as I attended Burns Night at Mechanics Hall with my extended family. The beat was mesmerizing and made me remember spending time with my great grandmother who came over from Scotland. Friday night was about a daddy singing his daughter to sleep. I watched with tears in my eyes as Emerson selected "Hakuna Matata" as her bedtime song. Some nights it's the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine", some nights it's Queen's "We Will Rock You." She requests the song, her daddy quietly sings it to her while stroking her hair and she chimes in on the chorus as she slowly drifts off to sleep. He is not always home for her bedtime, but when he is, it's magical. Sunday night was about celebrating the music and the performers while watching the Grammy's. This weekend, after the tragedy of yesterday's helicopter crash combined with learning that a friend from high school lost his battle with cancer, I knew I needed music to move me. I did not get to watch all of the performances, but I recorded them so I can spread out my viewing this week.

There are so many great songs that have been written and shared over and over, and there are so many new songs, as Billie Eilish said "being written and recorded in bedrooms" all over the world. Our students are fortunate that they get music every week and Mrs. Popek works hard to expose them to the amazing world of songs, instruments, rhythm, and melody. And I see teachers using music in their classrooms. Music can be a powerful tool. Let's make sure we are always considering how we can include it in the learning process.

Here are some songs that moved me last night. I have tried to include video clips with the lyrics included so you can read them, some truly amazing lines.

Alicia Keys performed this great song "Underdog." Love her message that she is saying throughout the song. And she even includes "young teachers." We are all part of that group...we were all certainly "young teachers" at one point!

This Thursday we will be focusing on the overall student and mental health and systemic student support. Demi Lovato's song and her performance after surviving an overdose was a powerful one. She even had to stop and start over because she was so emotional. Listen to her sing "Anyone."

Another moving moment was when Camila Cabello sang "First Man" to her dad who was sitting in the front row.

What music moves you?

Currently reading:
I am still listening to The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog...it is definitely a tough book to listen to. I am almost done with Innovate Inside the Box. This book is full of ways to blend an innovator's mindset with UDL components.

Another great new book that will be in the Book Fair in March is a picture book called Hair Love. This is a wonderful book about a dad and his daughter and how he tries to style her hair.

Check out this Oscar-nominated short film created by the author:

Events this week:
Monday - Motoko visits Grade 5, CST Meeting @ 8:30, Welcome back Liz Bercume
Tuesday - Fit Club @ 8:00, UDL Book Club @ 8am, CST Meeting @ 8am, Report Cards available to parents in PS, Grade 2 @ Glenwood for F&P training
Wednesday - Motoko visits Grade 5, Grade 1 @ Glenwood for F&P training
Thursday - Fit Club @ 8:00, Half day, dismissal at 12:20, Afternoon PD begins at 1:10 in the library, Sandwich Co PTA Fundraiser 1:00-8:00
Friday - Emma Appleby is Principal for the Day!
Saturday - MSAA EdCamp in Franklin from 8:30-12:30 - check out this link:

Great things I noticed last week:

I have been enjoying reading in several different classrooms over the past week. We had some thought-provoking conversations about equal rights, race, and education with the books Someday is Now about the Oklahoma Sit-Ins of 1958 and Malala's Magic Pencil about educational inequalities in Pakistan happening in recent years.
I popped into Mrs. Hilton's 1st grade group to see her using Scholastic Literacy Pro to read about germs before writing about germs. (Certainly a popular topic in school lately!)
I don't have any pictures from Wednesday night, but all of the Holden principals joined the HPD and HFD to present to parents about ALICE and school safety.
On Friday, I enjoyed listening to Matt Glover at the early literacy institute with our writing grant team.