Music in the Parks
May 7, 2010
St. Anne’s School of Annapolis band and chorus students performed at the Music in the Parks competition in Hershey, Pa. on May 7, 2010. Here is a video of them in action.
Our Psalms
December 9, 2009
The St. Anne’s School of Annapolis community has many stories to tell. That’s why the theme for the 2009-2010 school year is “OUR STORIES.” We will share our stories here all year.
The Psalms of St. Anne’s School
Religion and Music Come Together
This fall, Third and Fourth Grade students began a study of the Psalms of David in religion class. Students read and sang the Psalms in both Hebrew and English. Students read many different kinds of Psalms. Joyous Psalms like Ps. 100, “O, be joyful in the Lord,” and mournful Psalms like Ps. 42, “Like as the hart desireth the water brooks, so longeth my soul after Thee O Lord.”
We learned about King David, the author or 73 of the Psalms and presented a special “David Chapel.” In this chapel, all grades learned of David’s humble roots as a shepherd, and how God chose him, the youngest of eight sons, to rule as the second King of Israel.
This powerful story reminds us of the importance of faith, and the true meaning of strength. After seeing Eliab, the oldest, tallest and strongest of Jesse’s sons; the prophet Samuel thinks he has surely found Israel’s next King. But God says to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7)
Using the prompt “The Lord is like a friend at school…” students began writing their own Psalms. The results were touching in both their creativity and maturity. Some students wrote about creation, some about feeling God with them during conflicts or sadness.
The next step was setting their words to music. Tehillim or “Praises” are, of course meant to be sung, not spoken. Students chose a familiar tune and altered their words if necessary to make them fit with the melody. I hope you enjoy some of the Psalms of St. Anne’s School. They are being shared and sung each week during Lower School Chapel, as we “Come before His presence with a song” (Ps. 100) in the great tradition of King David and Levites, the first “ministers of music” in the temple. Here are some of their psalms:
Where I’m From
December 3, 2009
The St. Anne’s School of Annapolis community has many stories to tell. That’s why the theme for the 2009-2010 school year is “OUR STORIES.” We will share our stories here all year.
The Fifth Grade has written poems about their stories. Click on the names below to read the poems:
Stories from Heifer International
December 2, 2009
The St. Anne’s School of Annapolis community has many stories to tell. That’s why the theme for the 2009-2010 school year is “OUR STORIES.” We will share our stories here all year.
The Seventh Grade created videos from their trip to the living classroom at Heifer International. While there, they lived the lives of others in the world, and learned how individual action and community cooperation can create sustainable solutions for global hunger, poverty and the environment.
Here are their videos:
My story through poetry
November 30, 2009
The St. Anne’s School of Annapolis community has many stories to tell. That’s why the theme for the 2009-2010 school year is “OUR STORIES.” We will share our stories here all year.
The Eighth Grade has written poems about their stories. Here is one of them:
Shattered
by Lillian Y.Laughter pealed
as I stood on the deck
listening to the silence,
taking a break from my family.
I watched
the brilliant sky,
glittering with scattered stars,
thrown
far and wide.
The waves had been hushed.
The world had ceased,
but the sky had moved:
it pulled me from where I stood
into the night.
Then the wind blew,
the waves came on with a whoosh
and that laugh bloomed.
I heard my loud family
inside the house.
The silent moment was gone,
shattered.
Fourth Grade Fierce Wonderings
November 23, 2009
The St. Anne’s School of Annapolis community has many stories to tell. That’s why the theme for the 2009-2010 school year is “OUR STORIES.” We will share our stories here all year. Here’s a story from our Fourth Grade:
Fierce Wonderings
“What do you wonder about? What’s on your mind when you wake up? What do you daydream about at lunch or on the bus? What questions haunt or nag at you at night during those last moments before your consciousness crumbles and you fall asleep?” The fourth graders responded to this prompt by Ralph Fletcher in their writer’s notebook and titled their questions, Fierce Wonderings. Here is a sampling of fourth grade fierce wonderings:
How did all of the islands form over the years?
What will I look like when I grow up?
How old is the world?
How old are the planets?
What high school will I go to?
Will I have fun this year?
Is space really endless?
Why don’t people take care of the earth?
Will robots take over the world?
Will I become famous one day?
How does the earth spin?
Is it fun being a mother or do mothers just say that so they don’t offend you?
Are silver and gold really valuable?
Is there really such thing as the end of time?
How big could a shark get?
Why do camels have two humps?
Why is our country called the United States of America?
What will I look like when I’m a teenager?
When will I die?
What will my job be when I’m an adult?
Will Jesus come back to earth?
Will I ever sleep walk?
When will I get married?
Why is the sky blue?
Why did God make people?
What’s the reason I was born?
Will the world end?
What do our insides look like?
Will I ever go on a journey?
What is it like in Heaven?
My story through poetry
November 23, 2009
The St. Anne’s School of Annapolis community has many stories to tell. That’s why the theme for the 2009-2010 school year is “OUR STORIES.” We will share our stories here all year.
The Eighth Grade has written poems about their stories. Here is one of them:
A Tall Tower
by Ryan S.
My little hands build.
Big blocks first
then little ones.
It’s above my nose now,
it’s above my eyes.
My little hands build.
Build a tower
build friendships.
I hope the friends I make
at this new school,
stay with me forever.
But if the tower falls,
are they still my friends?
If blocks could talk,
what would they say?
Would they complain about being abused by
small,
grubby,
hands?
Or would they be proud
that they are in the hands of the future.
The future architects,
the future engineers,
the future builders.
Or would they go about their lives,
day in,
day out,
never caring enough to realize
who these
small,
grubby,
hands belonged to.
It fell.
Down to the ground.
My stomach flips.
What should I do?
Time to start again,
and hope for the best.
Preschool Family Literary Journal
November 17, 2009
The St. Anne’s School of Annapolis community has many stories to tell. That’s why the theme for the 2009-2010 school year is “OUR STORIES.” We will share our stories here all year.
Mrs. Wells’ Preschool class read Help! by Holly Keller and are taking turns journaling with their families about a time when they or someone they know helped a friend. Here are some of their stories:
My story through poetry
November 16, 2009
The St. Anne’s School of Annapolis community has many stories to tell. That’s why the theme for the 2009-2010 school year is “OUR STORIES.” We will share our stories here all year.
The Eighth Grade has written poems about their stories. Here’s one of them:
Halloween
by Jordan F.
October 31, 2008,
I saunter into school,
sporting my grim reaper robe.
I barely recognize anyone:
I’m in another world.
But this world isn’t like anything you have ever imagined
It’s like a world where people are replaced with colors or shapes
This world isn’t imaginary
It’s my reality.
Everyone wore their outfits
Even the teachers—awkward
Ryan=mystery man
And there were about 7 girls dressed as skittles.
During my classes that day
The combo of teacher and student costumes
The variety of colors and costumes was like a rainbow
But this rainbow was an aberration
It’s not the usual colors you see every day
Instead of red it was blood red
And there was this weird mixture of orange and black.
I received some candy and money
I can’t believe how some people gave me pennies for candy
But I couldn’t be too sad because I ended up with some cash:
3 dimes and 7 nickels
Before the day was over
The time I was waited restlessly for
The HALLOWEEN PARADE
There was music
Hundreds of people in costumes
And there were teachers on lookout like vultures in the desert
When the parade started grade by grade
Kids and teachers went up on the stage
Showed their costumes
And then got down
When it was our turn it took a little bit longer since
We had the biggest grade
But once we all got up there
I did a peace sign then got down
And that is how my best Halloween went.
My Story through poetry
November 9, 2009
The St. Anne’s School of Annapolis community has many stories to tell. That’s why the theme for the 2009-2010 school year is “OUR STORIES.” We will share our stories here all year.
The Eighth Grade has written poems about their stories. Here’s one of them:
Hiking in Arizona
By Olivia S.
Tucson, Arizona
My family and I hiked
in the Catalina Mountains
and Sabino Canyon.
We took a tram up the mountain,
five thousand feet high.
We left around 7:30 am.
It was already 90 degrees.
HOT!
We got to the top:
we started hiking down.
I saw so many
different types of cactus:
Saguaros
Prickly pear
Chollas
and lots of Barrel.
We came across
warnings to watch out!
“The Mountain Lions
Were Out!”
The signs said
to carry walking sticks.
We walked more
and more
and hiked further.
Only half way
there, still more to come
We came into
some pools of fresh
water; it was from
melted snow and rain.
COOL!
Every ten steps
there was
a lizard crossing.
Many different lizards.
I felt free
walking through nature.
Listening to all the pretty
noises.
All birds chirping.
It was HOT and COOL!
