Teacher Spotlight
Miss Athena Welbourne has been a teacher at Boone Grove High School for fifteen years. Whether it is being a counselor or a choir director, she is very interactive with her students. Welbourne has had just about every student at Boone Grove in her classroom. She simply knows everyone.
“I love spreading music knowledge and inspiring new musicians and inspiring curiosity,” Welbourne began when questioned what she liked about teaching.
“It was my freshman year of college. I was a pre-med major and I was doing great at school, then I joined the Valparaiso University adult choir. I auditioned and I got in. Then, we sang Saint Matthaus Passion in the chapel, and at the end of it, I looked up and I said, ‘That's it. I'm inspired. I want to share the gift of music with the world.’ That is the moment in time I had my epiphany, and that's when I knew I wanted to be a music teacher.”
Welbourne enjoys several activities outside of school as well. She loves gardening, which includes fighting off deer that eat her roses, playing beach volleyball, and being the secretary for her local Home Owner’s Association. She also shows off her independent personality by being acquainted with the art of painting, sanding, and fixing anything and everything. Most importantly, Welbourne has the love and caring traits to help people better themselves as individuals.
Comparing her to anybody else would be impossible, due to the fact she is one of a kind. Anybody at Boone Grove that has been blessed with her presence can recall how energetic she is and how wonderful her teaching skills are. Welbourne is most likely one of the best teachers that works at Boone Grove High School, considering she is one of the most involved teachers there. She succeeds in teaching the students in new and fun ways, allowing teens to be able to remember the curriculum better. Her teaching objective is to incorporate fun into typical learning in order to abolish boredom.
Whoever walks into Welbourne's room is greeted with a smile and comfort. Welbourne always tries to make the choir room a safe environment where everyone is allowed to be themselves because - like most teachers - she doesn't believe in bullying.
“Singing is an intimate thing. It makes people feel like they're vulnerable, and with singing, they're showing their true selves. For some people, it's really hard to let down their walls and show themselves. So, developing our relationship in a good environment where it's open makes people be more opt to expressing themselves”.
I asked Ms. Welbourne what she was most looking forward to this year, to which she responded, "I’m excited to see how much my musicians grow. From the beginning of the year, everybody seems super eager to learn, so I want to see how much I can push them to put more music and more knowledge in them.”
What's Coming Soon
Welbourne is currently working on the fall concert songs with her students featuring many Halloween favorites such as: The Ballad Of Sweeney Todd from the musical, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" and I'm In Love With A Monster from the band Fifth Harmony written for the film, "Hotel Transylvania 2". The fall Choir concert will be on Monday, October 17th in the Boone Grove High School auxiliary gym.
Of course, Welbourne directs more than one concert. Her choir schedule is full of high school and middle school choir concerts, an annual Madrigal Dinner, ISSMA, competition, and Six Flags. She also helps with the yearly spring musical.
After the fall choir concert, her students jump right into Madrigal Dinner season. Madrigal is a Renaissance themed dinner thrown by Welbourne every year in December. There are wenches, page boys, and the royal court. Welbourne awards the honor of Royal Court to students in choir with the best pitch accuracy, vocal technique, participation, and attention in class.
Seniors can also be awarded the roles of Queen and King, who act as the leaders of Madrigal. They must be able to demonstrate all the same things a person on Royal Court can and must be able to show leadership. Wenches and page boys tend to the food and guests while the Royal Court sings about the excellent food. The guests are fed only the best: fresh chicken breast, the finest of bread, steamed potatoes, and delicious wassail for dinner. The guests are also welcome to enjoy flaming pudding for dessert. Madrigal tickets will be on sale November 1st through the 28th.
Before the Madrigal Dinner, the Royal Court also offers their voices to tour the lands. They tour Boone Grove Elementary School, Porter Lakes Elementary School, and joyously sing at Crown Point Christian Village. This year’s tour is on Friday, December 9th.
Following Madrigal comes Choir ISSMA (Indiana State School Musical Association). In February, the choir students battle other districts in ensembles and solos. If they get a high enough scoring from the district judges, they can move on to state. At state and district ISSMA, the solos and ensembles have opportunities to win gold, silver, or bronze medals, depending on how high they score. District ISSMA is held on Saturday, February 4th at Kankakee Valley Middle School. State ISSMA is held on Saturday, February 18th at Perry Meridian High School in Indianapolis.
After ISSMA season ends, there is contest season. Annually, the Boone Grove Choir competes in a contest near Gurnee, Illinois. Later, the choir celebrates the ending of the contest season by going to Six Flags Great America. The contest is dated for Saturday, May 13th or 20th (TBA). Two more concerts are dated for Tuesday, March 21st and Monday, May 22nd. These two always have themes such as early 2000s, Motown, and Pop.
Welbourne also helps the Boone Grove High School Drama Club with their music. She correlates with the Drama Club Director Erin Clarich by holding sessions with the Drama Club members to teach them how to sing the correct parts. The Boone Grove Drama Club musical has a set date of May 5th, 6th, and 7th in 2017.