CB Talents Shared With The Community

Many extraordinary teachers are implementing new and rewarding aspects into their curriculum.

With all the new changes occurring on our Christian Brothers campus we must not forget the wonderful and uplifting changes that are occurring inside the classroom.

Mr. Ronald Slabbinck is the Director of Visual and Performing Arts and has worked at CB now for several years and has loved every single year and aspect of teaching. He has never had an ensemble preference, but has loved every single student individually and has enjoyed watching and being apart of the students’ growth throughout years in choir.

Due to his love for teaching and a yearning to make the Choral Department stronger, Mr. Slabbinick challenged himself and his Concert Choir class to teach elementary students at our neighboring school, Oak Ridge Elementary, a thing or two about singing in an ensemble.

Mr. Slabbinck along with Mr. Findlay McIntosh decided to have one of their classes teach the Oak Ridge students shortly after the Oak Ridge student-tutor program and arts program were eliminated.

Both Mr. Slabbinck and Mr. McIntosh thought it would be an outstanding idea to find a way to provide assistance to our neighboring school while having their students mentor other students — employing the Lasallian Core Principle of Quality Education.

Mr. McIntosh’s class has already received wonderful reviews for their work with the 6^th and 7th grades. Mr. Slabbinck will be taking Concert Choir twice this semester and twice next semester to Oak Ridge elementary. He plans to teach the 6^th and 7^th grade Halloween songs on Halloween.

“We hope that after we teach the 6^th and 7^th grade, they will then take what they have learned and teach the younger grades,” Mr. Slabbinck said. “It’s an overall great way to share and exhibit what we learn in the classroom.”

As we all know, everything is better learned when taught to someone else. The Concert Choir ensemble along with Mr. McIntosh’s students will be working diligently at least four times this school year to not only reinforce what they learn in class, but to give back to the community.