Music

Mrs. Gonczy - Music Teacher

dgonczy@scsmustangs.org

Hello Whitney Families, I am so glad to be your child’s music teacher. This is my 32nd year of teaching. (My how quickly that time went!) 30 years in Strongsville and 2 years with the Berkshire School District in Geauga County. In Strongsville, I have taught at the Early Learning Preschool, Drake Elementary, student taught at Zellers Elementary, taught at Center Junior High, Albion Junior High and now at Whitney Elementary. I have worked with students at all levels and often accompany middle school and high school musicians when they go to instrumental solo competitions.

Whitney Rocks!!!

My undergraduate degree of Bachelor of Music Education was attained at Baldwin-Wallace College (now a University). I received my Masters of Music in Performance with Choral Conducting at Kent State University. I am also Orff Level I certified, World music drumming Level I and Level II certified.

I have been married for 27 years to my husband, Chip. We have two children, Kate and Jonah who both went through Strongsville City Schools. We have a dog, Cody who keeps us busy while the kids are away.

Each year I try to focus my musical teaching on different cultures from around the world. This year our continent of study is North America so we will R.O.C.K. in the U.S. A. . I always find that I learn as much as the students. I think it is so cool to learn about music through different cultures. I plan on taking the students on a musical journey through the United States, Canada and Mexico. The students are my best teachers so I am excited to be learning about these places with their help as many of our students and families have traveled across North America. We will also focus on music reading, rhythms and melodies and performing on our classroom instruments and by using our singing voices. Our fourth graders will be learning about music through playing the recorder. I also have a fourth and fifth grade choir that meets before school on Tuesdays.

In my spare time, I enjoy cooking, walking my dog, watching movies, reading and making homemade cards.

I look forward to working with all my amazing music students and families here at Whitney. Feel free to contact me through Class Dojo or at dgonczy@scsmustangs.org.

Grades For Music

Grades For Music

A Note About Grades for Music

In music class, I am teaching the Ohio Music standards. We are learning many musical concepts. As we cover a standard, I will evaluate students on their mastery of the standard. When looking at grades for my music class, please know that they are standards based and NOT traditional percentages/letter grades like you may be used to in the past few years. I also grade the students on their participation in music class.

M= Standard Met

P= Progressing to Standard

N= Standard Not Yet Met

In order for our system to turn the student’s performance into standards- based grading, we have to put it in as a percentage. Each grade level and department has standards that students are working toward and this is what is being evaluated.

Although you may see a percentage, please ignore the percentage and look at the progression toward the STANDARD (M, N, P). Grades are not utilized in the sense that a traditional grading system uses them. You will see somewhere between a 50% and a 100%, but again, focus on the M, N, or P, as that is the official mark; the percentage is just a placeholder.

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Mrs. Gonczy - Music Teacher

dgonczy@scsmustangs.org

Grades For Music