Prior to Saturdays 100.7 CRUZ FM concert, Trooper hosted 60+ students and teachers from the Red Deer Eastview Middle School at their afternoon sound check. The school had been using Trooper themes in their lessons for the last couple of weeks in a new cross-curricular competency approach to education. It was a one-of-a-kind adventure for both band and school, and it was a blast. Language Arts did lyrics analysis of Trooper songs, Science studied how sound and amplification works, Social Studies did a mapping game of finding and then plotting places Trooper has played (coast to coast to coast), and Math did number problems tallying up the mileage of the bands tours for the last twelve years (we cant wait to find out THAT number!) Art had students designing CD covers, Career and Technology students made a graphic design for a special Trooper sound check access badge, and the schools Sound and Tech club tagged along to get some up close and personal insight on what professional production involves. The Sound and Tech students and teacher Greg Boulay geeked out at the soundboard with Troopers Sound Engineer, while the rest of the students and staff took a ton of videos and pictures of the band running through the sound check routine. Band members talked to the kids about sounding up instruments, in-ear monitors, and generally what was going on, then gave them a private mini concert after the students called out for Raise a Little Hell and Were Here for a Good Time. Afterward, Trooper hung out with students and staff and got a rundown on what they had studied, and ended up getting swarmed for autographs, including one girl who had brought her guitar to be signed. And then it was done. Poof. Like a tornado, the Grade 7 students swirled in chaotically, there was the calm while they listened and learned respectfully, then they swirled out in a rush of noise and motion and excited grins. What a ton of fun. Administration higher up in the education system got wind of the school-band collaboration and took notice, asking the school to videotape their Trooper-themed lessons and the sound check finale, which is expected to become a presentation used through the provincial school board. This would provide valuable information as to how middle school programs can better meet the needs to more students. Our sincere thanks to teacher Kelly Goheen at Eastview Middle School for reaching out to us with the idea, and to students and staff for making sound check way more fun than usual!
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 15:42:43 +0000
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