Blog Post #13 - The Chorus Corner

Seniors (L to R): Megan Moriarty, Juliet Giangregorio, Sarah Gobiel and Kylie Nash hanging out in the Chorus Corner before Ingrid Sound rehearsal.

By: Juliet Giangregorio '20

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a great summer! I know starting a new school year can be scary, and a little sad (I’m a senior this year, so my feelings are all over the place), but whether you’re going into your first, second, third, or last year of high school, it’s going to be a great year. How do I know this? Well other than our school musical being The Addams Family (how iconic is that?) we have a really cool, exciting change to the chorus room that’s available for everyone to use, whether you do chorus, or just want to stop in for a minute to relax. 
You may have already heard, but if you haven’t, I’ll explain. Last year, seniors Kali Sheppard, Beck Ritter-Theriault, and Hannah Kelsey created a space in the corner of the chorus room (called the Chorus Corner) for students based on the concept of social and emotional learning.

What’s social and emotional learning, you may ask? 

According to www.casel.org, “Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.” The five core competencies of SEL, which are promoted by the Chorus Corner are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.  You can learn more about SEL and the core values from the posters hung up on the windows around the Chorus Corner.  

The Chorus Corner is equipped with comfortable chairs, desks to do homework at, a charging station, coloring pages, games, cute plants, and even a television screen and stereo that students can connect their chromebook to in order to watch videos from YouTube.

The guidelines for the corner are pretty simple. As long as you are respectful of the area, respectful of the people inside the area (and outside the area, meaning to be inclusive of everyone), aren’t disrupting anyone’s class time, and if you return the Chorus Corner to its original state after you’re done with it, you are free to use it. And the great thing is, anyone can use it. The Chorus Corner isn’t just meant for chorus kids. Whether you need to get some homework done, you want to hang out with some friends, or you just want to relax and watch videos, the Chorus Corner is available for you to use (just remember to be respectful!). 
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So don’t be afraid to stop in (as long as it’s not interrupting any class time) and relax! The three recently graduated seniors really worked hard to create a comfortable space for all students to use.  The Chorus Corner is an amazing addition to our chorus room, and I’m so excited for everyone to get the opportunity to use it!