EAST WESTWOOD, Ohio (WKRC) - Once a month at Roll Hill School, an after-school program gets the creative juices flowing in students, parents and teachers. The program is run by members of Melodic Connections, a nonprofit organization that provides a variety of services connecting people through music.
“What you hope is that someone says, 'I played the guitar today. I’ve never played the guitar before. What can I do now?'” said Melodic Connections founder, Betsey Zenk Nuseibeh.
At this month’s jam session, a dozen kids played the guitar, the keyboard, drums and sang.
“It feels good. I feel my soul going through the waves of the music,” said sixth-grader D’Angelo Carter.
The partnership creates a space for the children to let go of everything, be themselves and have fun.
“It’s pretty awesome and amazing to see students' confidence just blossom and grow in this circle,” said resource coordinator, Kyle Reiser. “We’ve had a few returning parents and students who say their relationships have grown from being a part of this circle.”
Some of the students came to the program not feeling up to it after a long day at school, but it didn’t take long for that emotion to shift.
"I was mad, then I got proud of myself because I really tried,” said J’Eniayah Harris.
Fellow fourth-grader Alexionna agrees.
"At first, I was not in the mood, like, I was mad. But when we got to play the instruments and stuff, I was feeling it. Started to feel happy and excited,” said Alexionna.
That’s what music does. It makes you smile; it triggers feelings.
"It's something that they can create, something that's their own, and they're not wrong,” said Whitney Coble.
Coble is a teacher at Roll Hill. She and her 8-year-old daughter Gabrielle jammed for about an hour Wednesday.
“I was nervous, but now I feel happy because I was nervous because there was people not from my age group,” said Gabrielle.
This is the first year for the program. The school hopes to bring it back next year.
