St. Francis weekly newsletter – 3/27
The Buzz 
What’s POPpin at St. Francis?
General Updates & Reminders
POP FAMILY PORTAL:
Online learning resources now available!
Our wonderful Teaching Artists have been hard at work on learning materials for students to use right from their homes (even students who did not bring home their instrument!).
These resources include:
- Practice videos
- Music theory videos
- Mini lessons on repertoire and technique (3-4 minutes, focusing on different sections of the piece/s)
- Music theory worksheets
- Sheet music
- Links to some fun online Music Theory games, exercises, and other interactive learning
How to access the Portal & POP Resources:
- Go to www.playonphilly.org (bookmark this site if you haven’t already!)
- Click on ‘POP Family’ (right side of the screen, next to ‘About’, ‘Programs’, ‘How we work’, etc)
- Type in password: popfamily
- Click on ‘RESOURCES’ (right side of the screen)
- This will take you to the bottom of the page – find the button that says ‘CLICK HERE’
- After clicking the button, a new page should open on your browser with a Google Drive Folder called ‘Family Resources’. I recommend bookmarking this page on your device(s).
- Here you will see the different resources labeled accordingly.
- NOTE: the Practice Videos are organized by level and instrument. The Music Theory videos are not always instrument specific, and can apply to more than one instrument family.
POP SUMMER CAMP :
Last day to sign-up is this TUESDAY!
- Registration will close after the 31st, and late registration will not be possible
- The only fee for current POP students to attend camp is the $25 registration fee – there is no additional tuition!
- Payment can be made up until June 8 (but registration must be completed by Tuesday)
Registration steps:
- Go to https://playonphilly.org/
programs/summer-camp/ (or click this link) - Scroll down to click ‘REGISTER NOW’
- Make sure you select the ‘My student currently participates in POP programming’option
- Fill out and submit the online form – You may pay the registration fee at this time, but it is not due until June 8.
DRESS REHEARSAL VIDEO UPDATE
We are currently in the process of editing the filmed Dress Rehearsal. An email will go out upon its completion, and POP families will have access to the link of the performance, which you can enjoy at any time! We can’t wait to share it with you soon!
Teacher Feature
Meet our fabulous Teaching Artists!
Each week we will shine a spotlight one of the
18 teachers on our St. Francis team.
We are so lucky to have each and every one of them here at POP!
Tessa Ellis
Tessa Ellis is the Exploratory Music teaching artist at St. Francis de Sales. She completed a Bachelor’s of Music degree and a Community Artist Fellowship at the Curtis Institute of Music. During her fellowship, Tessa taught general music to pre-K students at Cramp Elementary School and she was thrilled to have the opportunity to keep working with young children through Play On, Philly! Tessa is also on faculty for the Settlement Music School, where she teaches Children’s Music Playshop to students ages six months – three years. In her classroom, she plays the baritone ukelele and sings, but her primary instrument is the trumpet. Tessa is a founding member of the Arcana New Music Ensemble and the Opus Five Brass Quintet, and performs as a freelancer throughout the greater Philadelphia area. She won first place in two divisions of the National Trumpet Competition, won second place at an International Trumpet Guild competition, and was a finalist at the Ellsworth-Smith International Trumpet Competition in 2016. Tessa became a mother this past September, with the birth of her (10 pound 5 ounce!) son, named Luigi.
Upcoming Events
ALL UPCOMING POP EVENTS ARE CANCELLED
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
POP is currently scheduled to resume on MONDAY, APRIL 13.
Any changes to this and other information will be emailed out promptly by your Site Coordinator or the POP Leadership Team.
Be well, stay healthy, stay inside!
-Ms. Allie
