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The Rhythm Of Lower Elementary School

Every Tuesday morning at 10:30 a.m., Kindergarten classes file into Molinari Hall in the Lower Elementary School where they are greeted by music teachers Billy Janiszewski (with a guitar over his shoulder) and Anitra Brooks. For 30 minutes, 90 children sing—in loud and soft voices, in English and other languages, trying to hit high notes and low notes. They also dance—tapping their bodies, waving their arms, and jumping. On a recent morning, they were learning songs for Kindergarten Circus, a tradition performed by thousands of GCDS kindergarteners: “Flap, flap, flap, flap. Here come the seals with clap, clap, clap,” they sang, pretending to be seals.

The class is unbridled joy during which the students are fully engaged—body, mind, and heart. Nothing about the class, however, is random. Every moment of the class is planned and thought through.

“First and foremost in our minds is joy, joy, joy. We want them to walk out of class loving music,” says Ms. Brooks, who teaches Nursery, Pre-K students, and Kindergarten along with Mr. Janiszewski. “Part of how we achieve that is making sure that every single moment is planned and intentional.”