Upper School Curriculum

Suggested Reflection Questions

1. Your role at Burke's

2. When did this opportunity take place?

3. Summary of workshop/ opportunity

4. Goals & Collaborations:

   - What were your big takeaways from your workshop or project?

On March 5th, I had the privilege of attending the Western Division Conference of the American Choral Directors Association in San Jose — my first time back at the conference after many years away, and it reminded me immediately of why I love this work. The Western Division conference brings together choral artists from California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona each year for performances, clinician sessions, workshops, and honor choirs. This year did not disappoint.

One of the highlights was a morning concert featuring the Ragazzi Boys' Chorus of Silicon Valley, Choral Audacity, and the Castro Valley High School Choir. Choral Audacity's set stayed with me long after the applause faded — their repertoire offered a thoughtful look at our country: who we are, where we come from, and what we might yet become. The concert closed with "Heal Our Land" by Oscar Williams, Jr., a piece that drew the…

I attended a brand new conference in ATL this past weekend and I chose to go to this conference after PoCC was cancelled. PoCC was a conference that really kept me grounded, inspired and optimistic about the work I do as a black female educator in independent schools. So after the devastation of if being cancelled, I needed to look for an alternative. Initially, I was going to attend Roots to Routes in PA but the weather impacted my travel and I was unable to attend. I am grateful for the experience and opportunity that presented as this conference was amazing!

Rooted in Resistance was an intimate conference with about 150-200 attendees. They opened the conference by saying "welcome home" and it couldn't have felt more welcoming and comfortable as a black woman to hear those words. Dr. Bettina Love was an inspiring keynote and her presence throughout the conference…

On October 30th I participated in an online workshop as PD for the Sex Ed unit that I assist the US Science department with.

For the most part it was reassuring that what we were currently doing for the Sex Ed unit was in line with what the speaker was saying.

I was able to take away additional insight and advice that will be useful such as:

Students are seeking truth - addressing misconceptions is very important

We are giving information, not permission to do something or encouraging students to do anything.

I will take what I have learned during this workshop and apply it to teaching Sex Ed this year.