Lower and Intermediate Schools Welcome Guest at Morning Ex

Since 1901, Morning Ex has provided the community with a space to get together and share common ideas and learning opportunities. The Morning Ex on Wednesday lived up to this tradition in spades.

Three IS student emcees kicked off the Morning Ex by welcoming the audience and explaining the first event. Students in Kirkland La Rue’s Senior Kindergarten read the book Map of My Heart by John Porcellino and discussed their own heart maps and what this means. The SKers then drew photos of their own hearts, which La Rue put on video and shared with the audience. Next, students from 3rd, 4th and 5th grades read from pieces they have prepared with Lower and Intermediate School Spanish teacher Karen Liszka.

Finally, the Music Department’s Caitlin Hickey introduced special guest tuba player Akshat Jain, who discussed the two types of tubas he brought, spoke to his history playing the tuba and, of course, performed some selections to illustrate the differences between the two tuba sounds. As a special treat, bandmate Hickey joined Jain to showcase the ways these two brass instruments—Hickey on the trombone and Jain on the tuba—sound when played in concert. They even demonstrated their ability to play a scale of music using just the mouthpieces!

Whether it is learning about what their peers in SK are working on or listening to Jain’s real-world experiences playing tuba, these types of sharing experiences are vital as our students learn to think and act with empathy and clarity.

Click here for photos.