We wanted to share a little of the excitement that reverberated through the school this morning when our entire student body was treated to a visit by the rhythm masters from Drum Café. The Drum Cafe’s Education programs are designed to help students develop their social interaction and leadership skills in an encouraging way through drumming.  They are world renowned for their hands on and visceral approach to community building,

The kids entered the auditorium to discover a drum on each of the seats and were basically left to their own devices to get to know their instrument and experiment with it. And oh how they all experimented!

We encourage all of you to ask your children about the program this morning. Here is a list of talking points to help you engage them in discussion:

• The drums they used are called “Djembes”, which come from West Africa and are made of wood and animal skin. The drums were all different sizes.
• The students were told how African cultures use drums as they gather as a community. They did a roll call on the drums by grade.
• They learned about how important is to listen to the bass beat, since it is what keeps them all playing together in unison.
• The 4 & 5 graders learned about respecting each individual’s voice/ song and how powerful that voice/song can be when it is shared by others.
• They were taught the rhythm, “boom ta boom, taki taki boom” which they then shared with one another and helped to grow and expand upon.