RSCS music department deserves so much creditThere are many people that deserve a lot of credit within our school district and community, but there are some really special people within our community that give our school a real special touch. Everyone has or remembers having that group of teachers that always make us smile, laugh, and push us to the absolute maximum of our ability. They could teach math, English, social studies or language. For others, those people are found in gym, art or science. Each and every teacher contributes something new to our education each day. In my case, I have come across at least one incredible teacher in each subject and could easily go on and on about how awesome each one of them is, but that would take up this entire newspaper. The thing that intrigues me is that, in my opinion, the greatest number of teachers that fit this description are in the music department of RSCS. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, as I am mine. And I have to think that music teachers have an incredibly difficult job, because they are always faced with criticism (good and bad) from every nook and cranny of our little town of Richfield. They push and push us until concerts and different activities, festivals and competitions are brought to the surface. They deal with focused, confident students who share a passion for the path in life that they have chosen, while attempting to deal with pranksters all at the same time. Why, you may ask, are they different from the other teachers? Because their students don’t have to be there. They could drop the class and could still graduate. There are so many kids in our school that take these classes just for an easy grade and I personally have no respect for those people, at all. We have had so many wonderful people come and go from the RSCS music department but the ones who are here now deserve a lot of credit. Credit and notes of thanks and gratitude that should come in a lot higher quantity than I, myself, have shown through the years. First, there is Mrs. Allen, who was there in the beginning and can almost always be found helping out the others. She taught most of us to play our first instruments and gave us the first steps of involvement in the world of music. Then, there is Mrs. Kennedy, who always has a bright, cheerful outlook and never fails to push us through to the best of our ability. She introduced our school to musicals for grades 5-12. She has been more than a teacher to so many students and is totally an inspiration. Mr. Blake, who is our new band director, has already proved to be an awesome part of the music department. He makes his students practice hard and perform harder, while having fun and getting his students to smile and have fun in the same practice time. One last person who definitely deserves mention isn’t a teacher, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t learn things from him. Mr. Gloo is always ready and overly willing to help out our many programs. He is our pianist for our musical year after year, and on many occasions, has accompanied students with their NYSSMA solos and the entire group in challenging pieces for our concerts. Each of these incredible people deserve a lot of credit within our community. They give many hours of effort and commitment, by spending multiple hours inflicting their skill upon us as students. They have each made a large impact on me as an individual musician and an even bigger impact on the students and RSCS musical system. So please, when you see them around town, let them know that their efforts are not going unnoticed. Thanks. Cassandra Collins Richfield Springs
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