Dear Taconic Hills Families:
As the parent-teacher conference day approaches, I hope that you will have the
opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher regarding their academic and behavioral
progress so far this school year. Conferences are an important component to ensure
that the school and the home work together to maximize your child’s full potential. I
encourage you to stay in close communication with your child’s teacher and, most
importantly, to stay involved in their education. Whether through a phone call, an email,
or a note, theTaconic Hills staff is ready to help. Parent teacher conferences will be held
on November 21st from 5:00-7:30 pm.
Sign up here:
https://sites.google.com/tacon...
School will be CLOSED Wednesday, November 23rd-November 25th and classes will be
back in session on November 28th.
Report Cards
As the 1st marking period nears an end on November 10th, please make sure you are
ready to access your child’s report card on the district portal website. If you haven't
done so already, be sure to log into your Parent Portal account. Report cards will be
released to the Portal on Friday, November 18th and will be sent home with your student.
November is a time intended for giving thanks. Please ask your child what they are
doing to support this important character trait. How are they showing thankfulness and
appreciation? It's hard to believe that the 1st quarter has been completed. I am enjoying
meeting and supporting students and staff both in and out of the classroom. I wanted to
share with you all some of the activities and content that has been covered this quarter.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out!
Sincerely,
Lisa Cardillo
Principal Taconic Hills Jr. Sr. High School
🏫Counseling:
The counseling department’s goal for the 2022-2023 school year is to further grow and foster a
positive school culture. We have been working to do this by expanding our Elementary School
Titan Strong Initiative to all grade levels. Titan Strong’s are given out as a way to reward
members of the Taconic Hills school community. Students and Staff can earn a Titan Strong for
being empathetic towards others, for displaying self-control, for behaving with integrity, for
embracing diversity, or for showing grit. In addition, we continuously seek to build our empathy
and clinical knowledge through various training sessions in order to best serve our community
as a whole. Such training should help advance the empathy demonstrated towards our
students, as well as model skills for others who work within THCSD.
7th Grade:
💗Health- We are learning about the importance of family relationships and
friendships. We are practicing conflict resolution skills including using “I statements”,
compromise, solution solving, and agreeing to disagree. We will also be discussing bullying in
order to shape peer norms and instill a personal value that bullying is unacceptable and what to
do if you witness or experience bullying.
📚English 7- The English 7 focus this school year is on developing students’ skills as
critical thinkers, readers, writers, speakers, and listeners. This quarter, we are reading realistic
fiction stories and nonfiction articles. Our vocabulary work revolves around a study of Latin roots
that are commonly found in English words. Our writing focus is on short expository pieces and
longer realistic fiction stories. Parents can support their children by reminding them to read a
minimum of ten pages every day from their free-choice reading books. (Carpe diem, Grade 7!
Read on!)
🎨Art 7- 7th graders have been working on learning about Tim Burton and his style, we
have created festive self-portraits and learned about shading. We are now diving deeper into the
mind of Tim Burton and learning about his character development, how he overcomes the
obstacle of feeling “othered” through creating art, and the process of how he evolves a 2d
sketch into a 3d figurine/puppet.
🔬Science 7- We have been studying the metric system, Scientific Method, data
tables, experiment analysis, graphing, energy and states of matter, particle motion, kinetic
energy, potential energy, compounds, and chemical formulas. We will be learning about how
temperature and pressure affect states of matter, and starting to research possible Science Fair
project ideas.
Math 7- We just wrapped up our first unit, The Real Number System. During this unit,
students dove into conceptually understanding all rational numbers, including negative numbers
and how they are applied with all operations. We are beginning our second unit this week where
we will look at combining like terms, revisiting distributive property, and looking at one and two
step equations.
🗺️Social Studies 7- Welcome to the end of the 1st qtr! 7th grade Social Studies
has had a fun-filled, informative start! We have learned some geography, about Native
Americans and the establishment of the 13 Colonies. Students quickly adapted to their online
textbook, since it is by the same publishing company as their 6th grade Social Studies &
Science textbooks. There has been a learning curve dealing with organization and due
dates/deadlines. Overall though, it has been awesome getting to know our students.Our field
trips and team building activities have been well received and we hope to continue learning
through experience with a trip in December to the NYS Capitol Building in Albany
👍7th Grade Student Success- The inaugural class Social Success 101
is off to a great start! This quarter we focused on establishing what it means to be a
successful human being. Middle school is often thought of as the toughest time in a young
person’s life, so many changes and questions,.. In this class, we have open, honest
discussions about the world they live in and how to handle the challenges of middle school -
bullying, teen drama, and just trying to fit in somewhere. We are learning how to use the
Formative 5 Success Skills - starting with EMPATHY and SELF CONTROL We are also
engaging in some CIRCLE work to generate more understanding of how to implement these
tools, not just in middle school, but the rest of our lives.
7th Grade Spanish- We just finished our first unit (SOMOS 1.1) and we are
starting our new unit (SOMOS 1.2). Students are exploring Spanish through reading, writing,
drawing and translating. Ask your student to see a packet! They have practiced with a lot of
vocabulary and are progressing very well in the class. Students are in the library this week
exploring and researching the holiday, Día de los Muertos. They are working in groups to gather
information and make a digital poster. SchoolTool is updated weekly, or when an assignment is
due. After school help is on Tuesday, except for when I have a meeting. Any questions or
concerns, please email me at kproper1@taconichills.k12.ny.us
8th Grade:
📚ELA- we just started to read the short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe.
As we read, we identify literary devices and answer comprehension questions. At the end of the
story we will take a short quiz. We are also working on narrative writing. The students are
practicing writing a story using transition words and including all story elements. As a reminder,
all work is on Google classroom and I accept work up to five days late. If a student needs help
on an assignment, I stay after school on Thursdays. Please feel free to email me with any
questions at cposillico@taconichills.k12.ny.us
Math- We just finished Unit 1 which practiced 7th grade skills of distributive property,
combining like terms and solving equations. Test corrections are available to students but they
must stay after Monday, October 31st. This week we are starting Unit 2 which will practice unit 1
material as we dive deeper into the understanding of Linear Equations, slope, and graphing. As
a reminder, grades are updated weekly (if not more regularly) so please check and urge
students to complete their homework and Khan Academy. Assignments can be turned in late up
until the end of the unit when packets are due and Khan Academy can be made up for past
weeks. Notes are posted to Google Classroom daily and homework assignments are included in
the description of the notes. Stay after days will be held regularly on Monday’s, there is a sign
up form on our Google Classroom page. If at any time you have questions or concerns please
do not hesitate to reach out to me at bbeebe@taconichills.k12.ny.us
🧪Science- We have been studying Newton’s Laws of Motion. Students should be able
to tell you how forces act on objects. They have learned how to apply this information to regular
life- such as a game of soccer or the force required to overcome the friction of your car’s wheels
on the road. We are now moving into kinetic and potential energy, as well as how the two
interact. Our notes for the quarter are posted in Google classroom. I also post the textbook
readings of the content students miss when they are absent. This week we are working on our
quarter formal lab. This is a required lab for all students that they must “pass” in order to
consider it complete. Students will be asked to stay after or see me at lunch if their lab needs
more work. This is to get them ready for next year when they will have a Science Lab course,
and all labs will have to be completed in order to pass the course. That is a NY State Regents
requirement. I stay after Tuesdays (except the first Tuesday of the month, when I stay after
Wednesday) and can be reached at lhopkins@taconichills.k12.ny.us
🗺️U.S. History- We just finished the first half of Unit 7 on the Gilded Age &
Industrialization. Students completed a quiz that will be graded shortly. Next week we will begin
the second half of the unit focusing on the Progressive Era. Students will be investigating child
labor in America by analyzing the work of Lewis Hine and writing a reflection essay based on
one of his photos. Most of the assignments for the course can be found on Google Classroom
and SchoolTool is kept up to date with grades. I am available for extra help on Tuesday’s if
students need additional help. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to reach
out at mcahill@taconichills.k12.ny.us.
💵Financial Literacy- (Grades ⅞) - Working on empowering middle school
students to effectively set goals, prepare for careers, and manage their financial future through
interactive, real-life scenarios.
🎨Art- 8th graders have been learning about architecture, Antoni Gaudi, the evolution of
The Victorian style home, and craftsmanship. We will be experimenting with watercolor to create
layered skies behind our drawn homes.
✍️9-12 English Department:
12th Crime in Literature: We’ve finished the Serial podcast series and have started the novel,
A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder. Students are using their deductive reasoning skills to build
cases against characters suspected of crimes.
12th Literature Through Film: We have watched several films including Million Dollar Baby,
and Flipped and have taken a look at voice over narration and the role it plays in films, and have
done a number of activities on character development and scene perspective.
English 11: We have just finished reading The Crucible. We’ve written short responses based
on character analysis, central ideas, and literary elements. We will finish with a test and a
character project next week before starting some mini lessons centering on Regents prep. Our
next novel will be We Were Liars.
English 10: We are finishing up our exploration of the Lizzie Borden murder case from 1892.
Students will be using the primary source articles we read to compose a closing argument for
the jury as an introduction to argumentative writing using multiple sources.
English 10H: We are reading and discussing The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. This
creative non-fiction text has sparked some thoughtful discussions about consent in medical
experimentation, the rights of the individual versus the rights of the group, and other issues in
medical ethics.
12th Integrated Reading & Writing: We have been reading a myriad of short stories from a
variety of authors including “The Lady and the Tiger” by Frank R. Stockton and “Trifles” by
Susan Glaspell. To date we have explored symbolism, characterization, making predictions,
conflict, pacing, identifying important details, and making inferences. We also compared and
contrasted the short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber with the 2013
movie starring Ben Stiller.
English 9:9th grade English has finished the first quarter learning punctuation with commas,
building on their vocabulary, working on test response format, and we’ve written our first major
essay exam on the book The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. Our 9th graders are
acclimating to the demands of high school well. Preparing them for writing will take a formal
turn this quarter. In our daily writing journals we’ve been writing extemporaneously or on a
variety of open topics about current events or life in general. It’s clear to me that we are still
making up for deficits of learning that occurred during COVID with regard to writing skills. A
great way for kids to build on those skills at home is to have a home reading book or magazines
of interest that they read for 20 minutes a day, and they should have a journal at home in which
they would simply summarize what they’ve read in one half to a full page. This practice in
reading and writing done daily is proven to increase ability significantly.
English 9H:9 Honors was sad to say good-bye to the poignant tale Of Mice and Men, by John
Steinbeck, but we are happily now knee-deep in The Odyssey, by Homer. We are learning
about the culture, literature and traditions of Ancient Greece that are foundational to the world
we live in. Of course they are also excited to be finally reading the stories about the heroes and
gods and goddesses that have been reborn in so many films and books from Disney’s Hercules
to the Percy Jackson series. We’ll continue to develop our vocabulary and drill on the exciting
subject of punctuation and sentence types.
AP 11:AP Language and Composition has covered Aristotle’s rhetorical appeals, modes of
argumentation, forms of evidence, SOAPSTone, and we’ve been writing analysis essays on
various texts. We’ve also been learning how to dissect texts by examining the sentence
structure, syntax, different modes of expression, figurative language, different sentence types
and formulae of verbal logic. We have practiced annotating our texts. Next we move into
detecting fallacies of reasoning and examining, practicing the dreaded multiple-choice questions
for the AP test and we’ll get into writing synthesis papers in the format of the AP exam. All of
the students in this class have elected to get the Regents exam out of the way early, so we’ll
devote a few sessions to test prep for that exam in January.
Journalism: Currently putting the finishing touches on our first edition of the year.
Advanced Creative Writing: Writers are finishing their Horror Stories and beginning to work
on screenplays/skits. We have already written memoirs, an autobiographical poem, an essay on
Modern Day heroes, Fall haikus and our personal mantras.
English 101: This senior class is finishing up our process analysis essays and working on your
senior research papers.
🧬9-12 Science Department:
Living
Environment
We are currently in the Ecology unit and students created a classroom terrarium to
apply ecology concepts. We are investigating how living organisms interact with
their environment.
LE Lab We just finished using dichotomous keys to classify local trees.
We are starting to use microscopes and learning how to focus on a specimen and
make slides.
Marine
Science
Students are finding and presenting news articles to classmates about a Marine
Science topic. We just had Mrs. Colabelli as a guest speaker sharing her SCUBA
experiences. Next, we will be investigating the “diving response” in humans and
diving mammals.
Earth
Science
We are currently working through the Rock & Mineral unit. We’ve finished
discussing minerals, and are moving onto petrology and the rock cycle today after
the students take their mineral quiz
E.S. Lab Students have completed Prologue labs, and we are currently moving into labs
concerning Earth’s coordinates, field maps, and topographic maps.
Applied E.S. At the start of the year students voted and decided what major aspects of the Earth
Science they wanted to study this year. It was decided that the first quarter would
be Astronomy. We are currently learning about stars, and will finish up the unit in
the next few weeks as we discuss cosmology.
Earth
Science
In September we worked through Earth’s shape and how we find locations on
Earth. End of September into mid October we worked on mapping fields and
topography. We are currently working on Minerals and Rocks to learn what makes
up the Earth's surface.
Physics Students have just finished learning about how vectors represent a magnitude and
direction of a physical quantity. We are now moving into learning about forces.
Physics Lab Students have been investigating the acceleration due to gravity on Earth and
experimentally testing different ways to calculate the acceleration. Students will
soon write a formal lab report about this lab.
Applied
Chemistry
Students have been learning about the Periodic Table and different properties of
the elements. Students have begun working on a project personifying an element
into a superhero in class.
Regents
Chemistry
We celebrated Mole Day this week. Students completed mole-related extra credit
projects and presented them to their class. A lot of creativity was demonstrated this
year. Projects included a mole-day rap, posters, t-shirt, poem, joke book, and a
giant stuffed mole. We also played “Who Wants to be a Mole-ionaire.”
Regents
Chemistry
Lab
We are starting the atomic spectra lab. Students use modified prisms to look at the
light emitted from elements and compounds when electrons transition between
energy levels..
Chem 101 We are starting thermochemistry, which involves a lot of calculations of the energy
released or absorbed during chemical reactions.
Chem 101
Lab
We are finishing up the empirical formula of silver nitrate lab. After heating silver
nitrate and observing the change in mass, students perform calculations to
determine the formula of silver nitrate.
Living
Environment
In Living Environment class the students are learning about classification systems
of organisms. They are also learning how to use a variety of study tools to help
them practice applying their knowledge.
Living
Environment
Lab
In lab class we are currently using classification keys to identify organisms. Next we
will begin using microscopes and will learn how to prepare and focus on a
specimen.
Science
Research
Sophomores are learning how to read scientific research articles on their chosen
topic. They will soon by creating a SlideShow of research they have read and
sharing it with the class. Juniors are hard at work designing their experiments, and
our senior is analyzing her data from the research she conducted over the summer.
Families interested in science and the research our Taconic Hills students are doing
can attend our annual Symposium on Tuesday, May 30th at 6pm.
📊9-12 Math Department:
The teachers are continuing their search for “X”
Geometry: Solving for unknown angles and transformations.
Algebra: Solving multi-step equations and inequalities and graphing linear functions and
inequalities, analyzing functions and performing operations with polynomials.
Algebra 2 and Precalculus: Analyzing functions numerically, graphically, and algebraically.
College Prep Math: Reviewing algebra and geometry concepts and learning about gross and
net income.
Pre-Algebra II: Students are working with matrices to add, subtract, and multiply. They also
just finished solving systems with three variables.
Statistics: Students are beginning a new chapter on correlation and regression
📜9-12 Social Studies Department:
The social studies department as a whole has been working on improving student writing. Last
year we met with the school's literacy coach to discuss strategies, and have continued to work
on building the writing skills they need for Social Studies focused essays.
Students in Global 9 recently completed Socratic Seminars on Hammurabi's Code. Students
participated in setting rules for the discussion and prepared to discuss pre-chosen questions.
While half of the class discussed their questions, the other half took notes, and had the chance
to jump in a "hot seat".
In Global 10, students are learning about the Enlightenment and Nationalism. They are also
focused on building the document analysis skills needed for the Constructed Response
Questions on the Regents Exam.
In US History, students are finishing a Unit on the development of the US Constitution and the
functions of government. Students can earn bonus points on their unit test by memorizing and
reciting the Preamble.
Students in Economics recently went on a field trip to the Dutch Hollow Farm in Schodack
Landing, to learn about economies of scale and the environment of small businesses.
🌍8-12 Languages:
Spanish II: We just finished Somos 1.12, in which our cultural focus was quinceañeras.
We started working on Somos 1.13. Our first reading in this packet was about Lionel
Messi, a famous Argentitian soccer player. Students are excited to keep learning about his
life and achievements. Class is conducted 80% in Spanish. Students are acquiring
Spanish through reading, writing, listening, speaking and singing!
Spanish III: We are currently practicing vocabulary from different units in the Somos
Curriculum. In doing so, students are preparing for more advanced and challenging
readings. Class is conducted 80% in Spanish. Students are acquiring Spanish through
reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
Spanish IV: We just finished Unit 3 in which students learned about the Colombian
Peace Accords. They are now learning about Artistic Movements in Spain. Cubism and
Surrealism are our main focus and we are learning about Pablo Picasso and Salvador
Dalí, who are the two most important artists in each movement. Class is conducted
entirely in Spanish and students are learning through reading, writing, listening and
speaking.
9-12 CTE Department:
Currently in my two sections of agriscience students are learning about the scientific method.
This leads up to preparing them for their agriscience fair project they will conduct following the
winter break. Up to this point students in these classes have learned about safety in agriculture,
FFA, SAE’s, and record keeping. One section of agriscience is all 8th graders who will receive
their CTE credit for this class while the other section of all high school students will receive a
science credit.
Plant science students are finishing working with Farm On! Foundation for the fall season as the
weather gets cooler there becomes less outside work done for plants. They will begin planting
cover crops for the winter season and finish harvesting anything left from the spring and fall
seasons. These students are constantly studying plant identification in preparation for a
floriculture or agronomy CDE, career development event, in FFA.
Veterinary science students will begin learning about clinical procedures in the veterinary clinic.
Up to this point they have learned safety, veterinary terminology, and animal restraints. They will
soon be learning medical math, how to give injections (on oranges), and other various
procedures commonly done on animals.
Marine biology, although not an agriculture class, is doing great work learning about the ocean
and the aquatic life inside it. Students recently finished an ecosystem project and will next be
learning about the invertebrate and vertebrate organisms one may find in the ocean. This will
include both a squid and dog shark dissection!
Lastly, all students in an agriculture class are automatically in FFA, Future Farmers of America.
FFA has changed its name to National FFA Organization to include the biotechnology, business,
and leadership skills that are incorporated in this organization. FFA is an intracurricular program
where students learn agriculture concepts and material in class and can then apply it through
CDE’s, Career Development Events, LDE’s, Leadership Development Events,, or an SAE,
Supervised Agricultural Experience. Recently our FFA chapter attended the National FFA
convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. Here one student, Kaiden Klein, qualified as a finalist for his
agriscience fair project in plant systems division 1. He then placed 5th in the nation bringing
home a gold medal. Another student, Hunter Gardner, received his American degree, the
highest degree given. FFA is currently selling floral arrangements for their Thanksgiving
fundraiser. Through our fundraisers we are able to support students to attend conferences,
conventions, and other events to further their growth and education as students.
Business Computer Applications- students spent several weeks mastering typing and
keyboarding skills. Students then moved into the next opportunity to create amazing creative
projects using Microsoft Word using shapes, WordArt, backgrounds, borders and pictures.
Career and Financial Management- students have taken a broad look at the process of
identifying their skills, interests and abilities in order to match them with possible career and
occupation opportunities. Students have researched employment data on a variety of industries
and occupations and have taken a deep dive into education pathways and the job search and
application process.
Financial Literacy- students have been busy learning about saving and spending and
identifying their own personal financial goals. Students have become familiar with checking and
savings accounts and the benefits of investing for long term goals. Students are well on their
way to becoming savvy financial citizens.
Retailing Management l - Providing insight into the theory and application of
merchandise/service assortment, pricing, promotion mix, location, store layout, and customer
service activities necessary for successful retail operations.
Business Law l - Business Law I is a survey of the American legal system designed to develop
an understanding of the fundamentals of business law. Classes are conducted by using text and
actual case studies for the purpose of observing the development and application of legal
principles in a business activity.
Bruce Mallory
DDP (Design & Drawing for Production) classes are deep into learning CAD drawing, and are
using their new CAD skills to create production drawings for a 3D wooden puzzle. And using
these construction drawings they are crafting their puzzles using a combination of wooden
blocks and 3D printed blocks.
Intro to Robotics class is currently building racing robots that uses two motors, selected gears,
and computer code that controls the motor’s behaviors. The “simple” task is to build and code
their robot to move along a straight path for 55 feet and then stop. What’s simple in concept is
not so simple when working with inconsistent building materials and obtuse coding structures
and students are deeply immersed in mechanical tinkering and program tweaking.
Animation class is unraveling the complexities of professional animation software and learning
concepts such as “tweening,” “motion guide paths,” and “bone tool manipulation.” Using these
skills, students will be animating self-designed characters that walk across the screen with
moving arms and legs and bobbing heads.
🏃Physical Education:
HS Health Education-We are currently learning about the significance of mental health and
how to protect our mental health. This Unit includes the correlation between self esteem and
health and ways to improve self esteem. We also identify the effects of stress and practice
various stress relaxation techniques and healthy coping skills. We have discussed different
mental health conditions and have identified helpful resources on and off school campus. We
have also discussed suicidal signs and what to do if you are concerned about yourself or a
loved one.
High School PE- The high school PE classes are enjoying the bonus warm weather this
time of year. So far we've completed units in flag football, titan ball, soccer, basketball
and tennis. We'll continue to go outside with the classes as long as mother nature will
allow.
Middle School PE- Middle School PE has been enjoying this gorgeous fall weather! We have
gotten through several units in this first quarter. We started out the year with some Soccer &
Flag Football skills and drills, then transitioned into games. Field Hockey, Disc Golf, Bocce Ball,
& Ultimate Frisbee were our latest activities in class. We also completed our fitness testing
which looks at the five components of fitness for each of our students. We are enjoying a well
deserved week of cooperative games as we approach our Thanksgiving Break. Our students
are graded daily based on their participation, attitude, effort, and preparedness. They are also
evaluated at the 5 & 10 week mark on their skill improvement, which is based on a 10 point
scale. Grades are kept up to date on School Tool.
📚Library: As of today, 20 free books have been redeemed from the book vending
machine. Students earn tokens by participating in the library book club and other library
promotions, as well as for earning Titan Strong Awards and Honor Roll.
📷Fine Arts:
Studio Art: We’ve just wrapped up our “Eyes are the Window the Soul”, a conceptual self
portrait where students got to express different parts of their lives and personality through
illustration and line. We are now diving into the history and process of Still life drawing,
specifically “Vanitas” ( the Dutch Genre of still life that explores the symbology of objects like
skulls, decaying food and flowers, and hour glasses to communicate the fleetingness of life and
material objects). Through our practice of drawing we are using tools like blind contour drawing
(an exercise of connecting the hand and eye to better draw from observation), gesture drawing
(the loose fluid drawing fast and swift) and shading through blending charcoal and value.
Ceramics: We have just wrapped up our first wet work project, we explored unity, theme and
texture by using the additive and subtractive techniques on a set of 3 pinch pots. We learned
about artists Paulus Behensohn, Heather Knight and Lorna Fraiser and their influences on the
ceramics community. We are now starting the brainstorming of our next project which will be a
conceptual self portrait by sharing our personal narratives using sgraffito surface decorating on
coil pots that reference an ancient style of coil pottery. We will be learning more and hearing
more wisdom from the conceptual artist Grayson Perry and how he explores his identity through
iconography, ceramics and tapestries.
Photography: We are on our 9th project, each project includes a powerpoint full of techniques,
information and the history of photography, each project also includes a research paper based
on an artist that aligns with whatever we are learning. We are working towards building a
photography essay of our ongoing learning and bettering our techniques to show ourselves and
others our progress. We are also creating a photo journal that allows us to take notes of our
photography process by choosing our favorite photo and documenting things like our camera
settings, time of day we took the photo, or process of how we took the photo. Students are also
learning how to care for a camera and all its additions and the responsibility of having a DSLR
Camera and how to use Adobe photoshop.
Drama: Our focus this year is on theater experiences that build an understanding of theater and
of drama skills and techniques. In addition to studying and performing the works of professional
playwrights, students write original one-act plays and monologues. Students also take part in
theater games and improvisation activities. Through both group and individual practice and
performances, students develop self-confidence, creativity, and empathy as well as
critical-thinking and collaboration skills.
Some of the Upper Level High School Art Students are participating in showing their artwork at
Hudson Opera House Gallery, coinciding with the Winter Walk Festival! This will be hung till
December 3rd and gives most of the students their first gallery showing. It's a very exciting
opportunity to add to their portfolios and resumes.
The vocal students at Taconic Hills are busy preparing our music for the upcoming
concerts. Jr High Chorus has been focusing on multicultural music and learning about
the different timbres and tonalities of each piece. We have discovered which line of
music to follow and have focused on blend and balance within the ensemble. The High
School Mixed Chorus and Select Choir have focused on vocal performance within each
different piece of music, for example a different "voice" or timbre is used for a classical
piece versus a popular piece in our repertoire. Phrasing and use of expression have
been the focus for the beginning of the year, as well as sight reading and music form of
ABA.
Our concerts are quickly approaching! The HS concert is Tuesday, December 6, 2022
at 6:30 PM (snow date of 12/7). This concert will feature all of our HS Ensembles. The
Jr High Winter Concert is Tuesday, December 13, 2022 at 6:30 PM (snow date of
12/14), and will feature the 7-8 Chorus and 7-8 Concert Band. Both performances are
an outgrowth of what we are doing in the choral classroom. We look forward to seeing
you there!
Seventh Grade General Music and HS Music Theory have been working on the basic
foundation and fundamentals of music; respectively at the age appropriate levels.
Along with basic fundamentals of tempo, dynamics, and rhythm, Music 7 students
discovered tone poems as well, studying Danse Macabre, by Camille Sainte-Saens.
HS Music Theory expanded the fundamentals of tempo, dynamics, and rhythm, and
have moved into identifying key signatures, Major scales, Major and Minor seconds and
thirds, and the interval of a Perfect 5th. Triads and other intervals were exposed and
will be the focus moving forward in the second quarter. We have been listening to, and
analyzing various pieces in both general music classes, and will apply our knowledge to
our own personal genres that we listen to.