Shaker High School seniors Pavithra Jayakumar and Gopika Madhurima Sarvepalli are being recognized as the March North Colonie Kids Care recipients for their willingness to help other students in the music department.
Pavithra and Gopika were nominated by Ms. Desiree Burke, a Shaker Middle School music teacher, who had both students when they were at SMS. Both students are members of the Shaker Orchestra program and have been playing the violin since they were in fourth grade. After the pandemic, Pavithra and Gopika moved onto the high school, where they saw a need to help underclassmen thrive.
They proposed a tutoring program to help others dive into the art of practicing violin. Pavi and Gopika designed a presentation for Mrs. Keough, our Music Supervisor, outlining a concern, a plan, and a solution. They then met with Ms. Burke and helped launch an after school practice buddy system with SMS students, and it has been a huge success! The girls go to the middle school each Wednesday and work with students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades to practice note reading, advance skill sets, prepare for the NYSSMA Solo festival, or simply find JOY in playing their instruments. Ms. Burke says she and her students all look forward to Wednesdays, when they work with Pavi and Gopika to create music.
Ms. Burke says the girls have a wonderful demeanor with the middle school students and are blossoming into kind and thoughtful teachers as they empower younger students to become independent musicians. Congratulations Pavi and Gopika!
