Elementary Music/Music Technology Blog

I have just two weeks left before I leave on my maternity leave for the remainder of the school year. It is an exciting time for me as this is our first child and also the first time that I will not finish out the school year after working in this same school for 12 years. Currently, I am lucky that the music teacher that will teach for the remainder of the year gets to have some time with me before I leave. However, I am concerned because I leave right before 5 performances:

1. 1st Grade Play - includes 7 songs about Australia
2. Grandparents’ Day - includes 4 songs about our theme of colors
3. Performing Arts Showcase - I direct the elementary band who will perform two selections
4. Kindergarten Diploma Day - includes two songs
5. Closing Ceremonies - includes 5-6 songs and that are performed in a special ceremony that occurs on the last day of school

As I am preparing the music teacher who will replace me for the final 5 weeks of school, I thought to myself about what I could do to make sure that she has everything she needs to successfully direct these final performances. I do not worry because she has subbed for me before and has wonderful experience. However, I also want to make sure that she has everything she needs, especially if the baby decides to arrive early. Therefore, I made her a document (which quickly turned into a book…) titled “Everything You Need to Know…” with the subtitle of “Use this as a resource for when you have a question.” I have divided it into the following sections:

1. Schedule - Shows all of my classes that she will teach in a 7-day cycle.
2. Duties - If you teach in an elementary school, then you know that this means recess, dismissal, lunch, bus, arrival duties, etc.
3. Lessons/Curriculum - I have outlines all of my lessons for grades PreK-3 and grade 5 from March to June so she understands the process of the current curriculum.
4. Concerts/Plays/Performances - This includes all titles and rehearsals dates and times of the 5 upcoming performances.
5. Calendar - This includes the school calendar from April - June and what she will need to attend.
6. Class Lists/Seating Charts/Allergies - This includes the seating charts so she can learn the names quickly. The allergy list is important because you never know what will happen.
7. Discipline (behavior, social problem-solving, and nurse) - This will assist her when she needs to discipline the students so that she can be consistent with the school discipline policy.
8. If you need to call a parent - This will assist her in the protocol to calling a parent if she feels it to be necessary.
9. Who’s Who - This will assist her in knowing who on the staff and faculty that she will come into contact daily.
10. Report Cards - This includes a rubric to grade each student in grades K-3 general music and grade 5 instrumental music.
11. Report Card Samples - This includes sample report cards (comments and grades) for grades K-3 and 5.
12. Music for plays/concerts/ceremonies - This includes all of the music she will need for the 5 remaining performances.
13. Resources - This includes songs that I have made up and wrote out for her. In addition, it includes resources that I am currently using in each class such as John Feierabend’s Music for Little People for my 3-year-old music class.
14. If you need to get a hold of me - This includes my contact information.

I am hoping that this guide is more helpful than overwhelming. If you have ever gone on maternity leave or have been a music teacher for a maternity leave, what was the best item you could give your maternity leave, or received from the current music teacher?

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 12th, 2009 at 10:47 pm and is filed under You Can Find Me Here:, Reflections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.