News
KUDOS FOR CONTINENTAL
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| MARIO AGUILAR | Green Valley News Tom Horne, Arizona’s superintendent of public instruction, plays the piano at Continental School on Monday. |
By Ellen Sussman, Special to the Green Valley News
State chief honors school for ‘excelling’
It was a very special day at Continental School on Monday, when Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne paid a visit to bestow a plaque of “excelling” status on the school.
The Continental School District was one of only two school districts in Pima County to receive “Excelling” status.
Welcoming everyone at the school’s David J. Fanning gymnasium, Bonnie Klahr, president of the Continental Governing Board, said, “It’s a very special day for Continental School. We went from “Highly Performing” status for three years to “Excelling” this year — it’s the highest honor a school can receive in Arizona.”
Under the leadership of music teacher Dan Lambertson, the school’s chorus sang “God Bless America.” Five seventh- and eighth-grade students — Lindsay Osborne, Gabriella Gomez, Andrea Pardi, Lauren Rayner and Stephanie Valenzuela — sung as a quintet before the trained chorus proudly joined in.
After Lambertson led the Continental School Band in the “William Tell Overture,” Klahr said, “Dan Lambertson’s only been here since October; look what he’s done.”
Continental Superintendent Dr. Gaye Leo gave a brief, gung-ho introduction to Horne.
“This school has grit… this school has high ideals… Tom Horne’s opinion matters,” she said, adding that he’s responsible for 1,800 schools in Arizona.
“He came down from Phoenix today to honor you… when the superintendent comes to a school, it’s historic. Continental has changed forever; we’ve become the best we can be,” she told the audience.
Horne spoke briefly, congratulating everyone for meeting or exceeding the highest level of achievement. He praised teachers, students, volunteers and the governing board for their cooperative efforts that has resulted in the school receiving “Excelling” status from the Arizona Department of Education.
Then it was time for a very special program performance. A prolific pianist, Horne gave some background on how pianist and songwriter George Gershwin wrote “Rhapsody in Blue.”
“Rhythms of a train can be heard as Gershwin wrote some of the music on a train to Boston,” Horne said.
On the train with its rhythms, bangs and rattles that can often be stimulating to a composer,” Gershwin is quoted as saying, “I frequently hear music in the very heart of the noise.
“And there I suddenly heard, and even saw on paper, the complete construction of the rhapsody from beginning to end.”
With no sheets of music notes before him, Horne played the second and third movements of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” solely by memory on a baby grand piano on loan from Pima County Community College.
Handed a tuba, Horne then played “God Bless America.” Both performances may have given Lambertson’s music students something to aspire to.
Horne’s wife, Marty, said her husband has a very fine musical memory.
“He has about two hours of music memorized and will play anywhere, even when we’re on vacation.”
Ellen Sussman is a freelance writer in Green Valley. Contact her at ellen2414@cox.net.
It was a very special day at Continental School on Monday, when Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne paid a visit to bestow a plaque of “excelling” status on the school.
The Continental School District was one of only two school districts in Pima County to receive “Excelling” status.
Welcoming everyone at the school’s David J. Fanning gymnasium, Bonnie Klahr, president of the Continental Governing Board, said, “It’s a very special day for Continental School. We went from “Highly Performing” status for three years to “Excelling” this year — it’s the highest honor a school can receive in Arizona.”
Under the leadership of music teacher Dan Lambertson, the school’s chorus sang “God Bless America.” Five seventh- and eighth-grade students — Lindsay Osborne, Gabriella Gomez, Andrea Pardi, Lauren Rayner and Stephanie Valenzuela — sung as a quintet before the trained chorus proudly joined in.
After Lambertson led the Continental School Band in the “William Tell Overture,” Klahr said, “Dan Lambertson’s only been here since October; look what he’s done.”
Continental Superintendent Dr. Gaye Leo gave a brief, gung-ho introduction to Horne.
“This school has grit… this school has high ideals… Tom Horne’s opinion matters,” she said, adding that he’s responsible for 1,800 schools in Arizona.
“He came down from Phoenix today to honor you… when the superintendent comes to a school, it’s historic. Continental has changed forever; we’ve become the best we can be,” she told the audience.
Horne spoke briefly, congratulating everyone for meeting or exceeding the highest level of achievement. He praised teachers, students, volunteers and the governing board for their cooperative efforts that has resulted in the school receiving “Excelling” status from the Arizona Department of Education.
Then it was time for a very special program performance. A prolific pianist, Horne gave some background on how pianist and songwriter George Gershwin wrote “Rhapsody in Blue.”
“Rhythms of a train can be heard as Gershwin wrote some of the music on a train to Boston,” Horne said.
On the train with its rhythms, bangs and rattles that can often be stimulating to a composer,” Gershwin is quoted as saying, “I frequently hear music in the very heart of the noise.
“And there I suddenly heard, and even saw on paper, the complete construction of the rhapsody from beginning to end.”
With no sheets of music notes before him, Horne played the second and third movements of Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” solely by memory on a baby grand piano on loan from Pima County Community College.
Handed a tuba, Horne then played “God Bless America.” Both performances may have given Lambertson’s music students something to aspire to.
Horne’s wife, Marty, said her husband has a very fine musical memory.
“He has about two hours of music memorized and will play anywhere, even when we’re on vacation.”
Ellen Sussman is a freelance writer in Green Valley. Contact her at ellen2414@cox.net.
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