For two weeks in February, the students at Phoenix Academy experienced a daily music smorgasbord, courtesy of award-winning playwright and professional teaching artist, Anita Woodley. Woodley also received a lot of Help from Her Friends - a cast of successful local musicians who represented a variety of musical genres. They arrived each day before lunch, and students seemed to leave with more energy and bounce than when they had arrived. “She was always trying to make me smile,” said one student on his participant evaluation. “So I finally broke out in a smile.”
Woodley likes to speak about her goals as a teaching artist as “looking for ways to serve up plates of creativity and positivity.” During her work with the students at Phoenix, she rarely stopped smiling herself, and she sang and danced and exhorted the young people until they had little choice but to sample those plates of positivity. To say Woodley’s enthusiasm for music is infectious is an understatement.
A student wrote on the final evaluation, “Thank you soooo much for expanding my horizons,” and another wrote, “I found out how much I love different music.” Although many students were quiet observers and listeners during the first week of the residency, the level of participation increased steadily through the second week.
“I always want students to believe in themselves and have hope,” Woodley said. “And to know how to create that in themselves.” She offered lists of positive affirmations, in addition to all of the music, and she spoke each day about how to frame experiences into validating expressions. “Everyone has to have self-love. If you have that, you stop looking outside all the time, thinking about how people are treating you.”
The residency was sponsored by the Town of Chapel Hill Community & Cultural Arts, and the choice of Woodley was a great match for the students at Phoenix. “Someone might look at a group of high school students and assume, okay, they all want rap, but then we start to look at diverse tastes,” she said. “You might find inspiration in a mandolin, but you didn’t know.”
Lex Parker said that he often turns on the radio when he’s stressed out. “After hearing the bluegrass they played, I realized it was kind of relaxing.”
During the first week, Woodley performed a medley of songs that represented some of the genres they’d been exploring, Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti,” Bob Marley’s “One Love” and “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holliday. She led them through activities for group songwriting and showed them how lyricists, like poets, “make a chain of words.”
The students learned about the history of foot stomping as a musical accompaniment, and Woodley encouraged them to recognize the importance of hand clapping.
As the list of visiting musicians grew - Vattel Cherry, Charles Pettee, Yah-I Tafari - the number of instruments also mushroomed beyond guitars and stand up bass. Students also experienced the banjo, flamenco guitar, harmonica, djembe drum and mandolin. Students noted on their final evaluations how much they appreciated learning about different instruments. As Cherry played his guitar the first day, he used his “old school style, it makes you think of cutting grass and delivering papers.”
Throughout the discussion of musical genres, Woodley and her guests shared tidbits of cultural and social history, and they often returned to questions like “How can music be used to comment on social issues and to bridge gaps?”
TayNov El, a guest musician who calls himself a “Conscious Rap M.C,” spoke at length about his deep roots in the African-American community of Chapel Hill-Carrboro. “I keep my grandparents’ voices in my head all the time. They went to Lincoln High, right here where we are today.” His grandfather played in a gospel group, and as his website shares, “His uncles used to spit freestyles to him when he was single digit age.”
When TayNov was in eighth grade at Culbreth Middle School, he cut his first hip hop album, and later went on to perform as a member of an iconic group, TyFu. He shared many of the lessons he’s learned from integrating music into every part of his life. “When you’re not at peace, not satisfied with what’s going on, music gives you the chance to speak out,” he said. “Hip hop was created out of hard times.”
Brenda Whiteman, CHCCS Arts Education Coordinator, said, “I think the biggest thing that the students got from the residency was the opportunity to learn about and explore a wide variety of musical styles and instruments - bluegrass, jazz, hip hop, spirituals - drums, harmonicas, percussion, mandolin, guitar, banjo. They seemed genuinely interested and many of them learned things about themselves and their preferences.”
Anthony Hairston, a freshman at Phoenix, said he really enjoyed the entire experience. “It allowed me to express myself in ways not usually available in schools. To be myself.” On the last day of the residency, as Woodley invited students to engage in a rap battle, Hairston was front and center, full of confidence and energy - being himself.
The McDougle Middle School Orchestra and Choir recently participated in the Busch Gardens Music in the Parks Competition in Williamsburg, Virginia.
“Our trip to Boston was an amazing experience!” said Franklin. “We learned so much about the history and culture of the city, particularly through the musical instruction and performance experiences. One of our favorite highlights from the trip was playing on stage at Symphony Hall (built 1900), which is known for having the best acoustics in the United States.”
"The trip was an eye-opening and orchestra-bonding experience," said Ethan Rayala, sophomore cellist.
"The trip was a nice way to step away from school work for a while and enjoy senior year,” said Iris Chien, senior violinist.
A student wrote on the final evaluation, “Thank you soooo much for expanding my horizons,” and another wrote, “I found out how much I love different music.” Although many students were quiet observers and listeners during the first week of the residency, the level of participation increased steadily through the second week.
TayNov El, a guest musician who calls himself a “Conscious Rap M.C,” spoke at length about his deep roots in the African-American community of Chapel Hill-Carrboro. “I keep my grandparents’ voices in my head all the time. They went to Lincoln High, right here where we are today.” His grandfather played in a gospel group, and as his website shares, “His uncles used to spit freestyles to him when he was single digit age.”
The annual PTA Reflections Art competition rose to a more visible and celebrated stage on Friday, February 9 when the FRANK Community Outreach Gallery hosted a reception and show of CHCCS artwork, at the same time the main FRANK Gallery welcomed hundreds of friends and patrons to its recently opened location at University Place. The inaugural event was a crowded and joyful success.
During the summer of 2013, several Carrboro High students traveled to the Dominican Republic with Transcending Borders of the Global Leadership Institute. One of those students was Leah Simon, who now attends UNC, and the trip ignited her passion and commitment to the culture and the people they met. When she and the other students returned to school, they began planning various projects and fundraising efforts, under the guidance - and with tireless energy - from teacher John Hite. Dr. LaVerne Mattocks, principal at the time, offered her enthusiastic support as the core group built bridges with the community of Tenares in Hermanas Mirabal Province.
The December exchange that brought 15 Dominicans here had been in the works for some time, but plans were scrambled by the succession of powerful hurricanes in 2017. Throughout the months of delays and complications, Hite stayed focused on making sure the exchange could take place. “There were so many moving parts, I had to make sure it all fit together.” 
The parents of the visiting students expressed their gratitude in emails to Hite after their children had returned home. One father wrote, “More than grateful for that great experience my son has lived. You who welcomed them and treated them so well from North Carolina-- thanks to you, students, teachers, professors and high school director. Thank you very much, it was unforgettable for our children.”
Lulu is a 5th grader in Ms. Sheila Singh’s class who has achieved a new notoriety among her schoolmates. Although Ephesus school policy allows for chewing gum, it also stipulates that students chew quietly and dispose of gum properly. But Lulu had noticed that gum proliferated under desks. “Last year I could always identify my desk, not by the name tag, but by the gum! My desk had a purple and white chewing gum pattern. It was kind of fascinating but really gross.”