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July kicks off a brand new year with the Keys 2 Success STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) summer camp! I love camp time because I am convinced that music and science/engineering education go hand-in-hand. Growth in one subject boosts our abilities in the other, and vice versa. In this newsletter, you will get to hear from members of our community. I hope they lift your spirits!
Jee-Hoon Krska, Executive Director
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This cheerful young man first joined our program in second grade. After his first lesson, he had announced with mischievous child-like confidence that he was only going to stay in piano until Christmas. Thankfully, after the first Christmas recital, he was hooked and continued taking piano classes.
Last month, Dante joined the ranks of 500,000 students from across North America in taking The Royal Conservatory piano exams, which is the gold standard for serious classical music students.
How did he do? Dante earned a near perfect score of 96 -- First Class Honors with Distinction! The conservatory describes this honor as "...Achieved by truly exceptional students who demonstrate complete technical command and perform with a confident, masterful style."
Play on Dante!
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Elise was four years old when we saw her cousin Kaylee perform on stage with Keys 2 Success at South Street School in Newark. She decided right then and there that she wanted to be pianist also. The next year, she joined our in-school program as a kindergartener. Elise always loved to sing. She sang as we walked down the hall, she sang when she played the piano, she sang when we went to sleepaway camp together last year with the El Sistema NJ Alliance in Princeton-Blairstown campgrounds.
Sadly, Elise's family moved across town last year and they had to transfer her to a school closer to home. For seven months, we missed Elise's sweet voice and gentle piano playing. Then COVID-19 forced us to innovate on teaching online.....and an opportunity opened up for us to offer piano lessons to scores of students who have moved away from South Street School!
Elise immediately jumped back into piano lessons. For the last four months, she has faithfully attended piano class everyday. Her mom, Kayla, supports her lessons by keeping her little brother occupied in other activities in the bedroom so that Elise can have time to focus on piano.
Kayla is proud of the progress Elise has made outside of the classroom as well. "Her dedication to [music] right now has given her a lot of confidence in herself, so I really can't wait to see how much she can do," she said. "I'm really grateful to Keys 2 Success for having her join them." Watch the short video from Elise' mom, Kayla.
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We won't let a global pandemic keep us down! We are excited to be hosting our fifth annual summer camp, with one modification -- a virtual format. Our summer camp will run from 12:00-2:00 every weekday afternoon from July 13th through August 7th. As usual, our staff will be assisted by a large team of high school student volunteers who will be teaching STEM and music workshops. In addition, we will have special guests from the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and the Newark Museum visiting us each week.
As one of our volunteers, Kenna Srivastava, said so eloquently, "It's truly a rewarding experience to work with the campers. You hear so many stories and create a few of your own."
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to get regular updates on what our students and volunteers are learning in summer camp!
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INSPIRED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
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