Kinkaid School Community Analysis

Many may ask what leadership,service, and citizenship truly mean. I have had abundant experiences with each of these unique characteristics. Personally I believe the National junior honor society is looking for strong individuals with very imminent, powerful and strong traits. Someday I would love to be a teacher, and being in NJHS would really give me a true representation of what being a leader and teacher is like. I fit this intricate job description for many reasons, and I hope you enjoy listening to my experiences.

The strongest example of my leadership and community involvement has been my service to my high school through Student Senate as the Student Body President. In this position I have been responsible for planning and coordinating events, running weekly morning meetings, giving speeches, communicating between my advisors and councilmen, and being an active leader in and out of the classroom. I’ve learned a lot about people while in this position, I have found a way to work with other people and their needs, as well as becoming a very effective communicator, and a great team player.

I am a dedicated and conscientious student in class, and a key member in many extra-curricular activities. As a keen musician, playing violin, trombone and piano, I contribute to a number of musical ensembles in school and played an integral part in the organisation of our school’s summer concert. I am also a member of several local youth orchestras and bands, with whom I have toured abroad many times, most recently to Italy, France and Belgium.

At the beginning of my senior year, I committed myself to additional volunteer works. These volunteer activities require leadership skills that I have learned previously. Some of these activities include:

In the first grade, I picked up a clarinet. It was my sister’s, collecting dust while waiting for me to play it. From the moment I produced my first sound, an ear-piercing squeal that frightened my dog, the path of my life took a turn for the better. I began teaching myself for the following three years, along with learning from my sister how to properly play the beautiful instrument. The music pushed me out of my comfort zone: concerts that forced me onstage, tests that made me play difficult songs, and teachers that pushed me to be an exceptional player. From the shy elementary school student I used to be to the outgoing band member I take joy in being today, music has shaped my everyday life.

Understanding a community is essential when planning for instruction. My current placement is at Kofa High School which is a located in an urban community –Yuma, Arizona- with an estimated population of 93,000 people. It is fundamental to recognize that Yuma’s population mostly consists of Hispanic and White people. Although English is mostly spoken in this area, Spanish is commonly heard in the community due to the high Hispanic population.

Carolina High School, located in Greenville County, was established during the 1956-1957 school year as a 9th-12th grade public high school. With fourteen high schools in the district and over 72,000 students, Carolina High is the smallest. In 1995, Carolina High was selected as a magnet school where Pre-Engineering and Health Professions would be its focus and students from all over the school district could apply. At its peak enrollment, the school served over 1300 students but after the changes the community faced and closing of the local mills, enrollment dropped and today it serves a little over 700 students. According to the 2010 Census, the community that Carolina serves has an average per capita income of $36,296 and a quarter of the families in the area reported an income of less than $15,000 per year. Over 20% of the population reported to have a single mother raising children in the home and 44% are considered renters instead of homeowners.

It was late into the evening when I returned to my high school’s football field to recollect the jacket I had left back. It had finally come, it was the night of my last marching band rehearsal. In that moment, I was alone, but as the neighboring building lights dimly poured into the field, I could imagine the arena glow with life as I thought of my four seasons of marching band. It was at this location, out of many, that provided me the opportunity to share unique memories with my peers and develop my greatest talent: playing the clarinet. I initially chose my instrument without understanding as an elementary school student what band was, but through my first set of rehearsals, I quickly realized that playing an instrument was harder than I had anticipated. That, however, did not discourage me. I grew fond of playing and was determined to practice daily technics that would strengthen my musicianship. As I played into middle school and high school, my lung capacity, along with the ability to keep tempo, improved, but I believed by then that my performances should exemplify more than my skills. Through my participation in marching band and Wind Ensemble, I’ve aspired to take not only the audience, but myself included, into a world beyond music’s notes and phrases. I find comfort to know that I can create something out of pure air and have others find happiness within it. This is what kept me playing for nine years. I have incorporated music deeply into my life, but I believe it does not define me. Instead, I have learned valuable lessons that have benefited me off the stage such on time management and discipline and have grown alongside my talent.

Across the United States many elementary school music classrooms are filled with simple and popular tunes such as Hot Cross Buns and The Ode to Joy, played on the recorder, while high school students may be playing collegiate or professional pieces of music such as Armenian Dances and Carmen Suites. I have been very fortunate to have gone on the journey of progressing through different music education programs within Fairfax County Public Schools. If I was never exposed to music while in elementary school I might not have ever found one of my greatest passions or been able to create such fond and unforgettable memories. While music education programs across the country appear large and strong, many schools are beginning to experience budget reductions. As a result, music is often the very first component of a school 's curriculum or programs to be cut or significantly reduced, but I believe this is not the right course of action. It is important to preserve and promote music education in public schools because of the proven cognitive, character,and academic benefits for students.

In addition to academics, Madelyn will contribute to the school community as a musician and artist. Madelyn’s skills continue to grow as a clarinetist and she has become a great leader to the 7th grade students in her current middle school band. Having met briefly with Mr. Rotz, your Director of Music & Arts, Madelyn is excited at the prospect of adding depth to the band’s clarinet section. Her contributions to the school’s arts will go beyond musical pursuits, as

Working with music takes a certain type of patients. That’s why when I knew this project was present, I had the perfect person in mind because I worked so close with this person once before. So, I decided to gather my resources and get in contact with our family friend Dr. Snodgrass who is the superintendent of the Fort Osage R-1 School District and ask if I could receive her email so I could set up a facetime call with her and get this interview on the road. Her name Is Erica Gregory and she is a high school band teacher at Fort Osage located in Independence Missouri. The reasons I decided to interview her were simple. First, she was my star time teacher which meant she was my study hall teacher. As a freshman coming into high school and being placed in a study hall class

Music has always been a major part of my family and my parents were determined that my sister and I were well acquainted with music from a young age. Inspired by the sound of the piano by the time I was six, I knew that I wanted to learn how to play it. Fast forward to the first day of class, my teacher, Ms. Lilly, guided me through the school and into a narrow hallway that held five doors. Each door opened to a cramped room that each held a piano, a stool, and a chair. Ms. Lilly’s hand softly held my shoulder as she led me to the first room. I became excited to finally expand my knowledge of music, excited to be given the opportunity to not only listen, but play music, excited that I had the opportunity to inspire others. But I soon became apprehensive about the idea of playing in front of a crowd. I worried that I wasn’t ready to excel in such a complex instrument. I held my breath and sat on the wooden stool beside my teacher, my conflicting emotions, making me dizzy, but

My sixth grade year was the most significant year of schooling for me. A few weeks into school, and not knowing anyone in my classes, I decided to talk to the school band director to find potential in me playing an instrument. At the time, I didn’t know anyone in band; I just wanted to become apart of it.

In my junior year of high school, my counselor briefly mentioned a leadership program called Billings Chamber of Commerce Youth Leadership. I did not realize that by the end of the school year how much this program would end up impacted me. Somehow I agreed to applying for the program, doubting I would actually get accepted. To my surprise, then soon delight, I was accepted along with 40 other high school juniors around the Billings area. The leadership extracurricular activity allowed all of us to meet up once a month to learn, volunteer, and experience the Billings community. Each day had a different topic or educational focus, such as health care day, government day, and volunteer day. Overall, I contributed my time and to each of the local

Music has been a major hobby of mine since 7 years old when I started learning the piano. Since then I have picked up the flute, the violin and the guitar along the way. Before attending my current high school, which is Auckland International College, I attended Westlake Boy High School. WBHS is a school where the students are classed based on their academic abilities. The classes are segmented into 3 main sections: A-class, B-class and C-class. A-class students are those who have higher academic abilities. The academic abilities of the students are gauged by an overall exam at the end of each year.