NY1
Brooklyn, New York, USA - Some days start with a school bell. Others start with the sound of the steelpan drum.
It's a typical morning at Meyer Levin Junior High in East Flatbush. Students get a chance to dance, celebrate birthdays, cheer accomplishments, and share heartbreaks as part of a daily ritual called "Town Hall."
"We don't know what they went through when they left us yesterday, or on their way to school today," Principal George Patterson said. "So this is our way of putting our students in a good frame of mind to get ready to attack these classrooms."
First Lady Chirlane McCray and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza dropped by Wednesday to spotlight this approach to learning, watching as students took part in a ceremony called "libations," sharing important events.
....On this day, the school's steelpan drum band played the "Star-Spangled Banner" and "Lift Every Voice and Sing," often called the black national anthem, with the goal of celebrating their culture and identity. Students also sang the South African national anthem.
Replies
Mercer Ramdoo: That SCHOOL is in NEW YORK -- yuh know. And I know that you know where the REAL MECCA OF PAN is.
Why yuh making jokes like that?
Operative word-Serious
Way to go. Serious business in the Mecca.