Orchestra students are holding cutlery, not bows, in Faith Willett’s orchestra classroom. What’s going on? The fifth graders are celebrating their completion of the 12 Days of Practice with a special reward—lunch with the orchestra teacher!
The students seem delighted by the treat. They munch tacos and cheese sticks in the calm space lit by twinkle lights and enjoy quiet conversation with their teacher.
The 12 Days of Practice is one of several innovative ways that Katonah-Lewisboro’s elementary orchestra and band teachers are encouraging good practice habits. “Regular practice is the key to building individual skills,” said Willett. “When students are prepared, it allows the whole orchestra to make the most of our rehearsal time.”
Willett, who graduated from John Jay High School in 2019, said that the practice-focused program is based on her own experience as a student at KLSD. "Eating lunch with my orchestra teacher was one of my favorite memories, so it’s incredibly meaningful for me to create those memories with my current students," she said.
She created a different way to support fourth grade orchestra students’ practice skills, called Strings in Space.
The first-year string students can ask to be assessed each week by playing a page in their music book for Willett. They earn colorful beads for musical milestones which they add to binder rings affixed to their instrument cases. Each bead represents a different planet in the solar system.
“Students have already received a bead for the Sun, Mercury and Venus, and some even have one representing Earth,” said Willett.
Band teacher Chris Oriani also uses beads to celebrate young musicians' building skills. He calls the rings of colorful beads that adorn students' horn and woodwind cases Band Belts. "Students are proud to earn new beads and see, as well as hear, their progress," he said.
The visible rewards of diligent practicing swing from instrument cases in hallways at Katonah Elementary, Increase Miller Elementary and Meadow Pond Elementary.
As students lunch with Willett, mentorship happens naturally. "Finish the story," the students ask. Willett continues sharing an experience from her own orchestra experience as a student. She talks about practicing the viola, participating in various orchestras, and the connection she had with her mentors that led to her becoming an orchestra teacher.
“We talk about music, and life,” one of the fifth graders said about the special lunch experience.