Queen Creek Unified School District’s (QCUSD) Superintendent Dr. Berry recently visited Queen Creek High School (QCHS) and joined choir students as they learned, practiced, and shared their love of music. Choral students welcomed Dr. Berry into their classroom and immediately invited him to see their hard work in action. At one point, Dr. Berry even got the opportunity to conduct the students while they sang and ask them about their experiences in choir. One theme quickly became clear: the skills students develop in choir can translate into real-world skills and experiences.
Wanting to know what choir was like for students, Dr. Berry asked about their first impressions. One student who is new to choir shared, “I first noticed that everybody was really, really inviting. Everybody said hi to me and introduced me to others, and told me what the parts were.”
Some students may come into choir with apprehension, but as the new choir student explained to Dr. Berry, “There’s no need to be worried about this class, because there’s not just people in here that are natural-born singers. There are people from football, culinary, sports, everything.”
Choir helps students build confidence while becoming better singers. “There’s people from all around the campus that just love to sing in general and want to navigate their voices better,” the student continued.
Another student told Dr. Berry that they never stop learning, largely because of choir teacher Mrs. Reynolds. “I’ve been singing for forever, and I’m still learning things from Reynolds.” The student also added that in choir, “you’re accepted as who you are, but don’t plan to stay as who you are because these programs really help you, both confidence-wise and personality-wise.”
Programs like these help students find their voice and grow in confidence. “I have become a more confident and capable person through these amazing opportunities.”
Dr. Berry also asked students about the specific opportunities choir brings. One student shared, “We do so much, like go on trips. Last year we went on a trip to New York, and that was such a fun experience. We went with choir and theater combined. And we got choir opportunities. We got theater opportunities. It was just such an amazing growth experience.”