PolyToday: Where the Rosin Meets the Strings

Before third-graders ever touch a bow to a string, Lower School Performing Arts teacher Mrs. Scheidemantle has them practice with egg cartons, an ingenious, low-stakes way to master posture and bow hold. Her classroom hums with games and laughter as students race to pass a rag from one end of the room to the other—using only their practiced bow holds. Over the past few weeks, they’ve been getting to know their violins and cellos: naming each part, learning what a “down bow” is, and picking up the vocabulary of musicians. The real moment arrived recently: bows on strings, sound filling the room, and grins all around. “It felt amazing to finally play for the first time!” said one musician-in-the-making.“Out of this world!!” said another. And from a classmate: “It sounded like heaven.”