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:

The Fifth Grade has written poems about their stories. Click on the names below to read the poems:

Carley T.

Ryland

Morgan S.

Graham H.

Megan J.

Abby P.

Morgan S.

Cameron S.

Tyler K.

Michelle G.

Jordan L.

Lauren W.

Bahram T.

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:

The Eighth Grade has written poems about their stories. Here is one of them:

Shattered

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.

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?

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.

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:

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.

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!