The Legacy of A Grant and The Barrel Drums

Editor's Note: Margot Olsen, a retired music at Roseville Area Middle School, gave the following speech at the Roseville Area Schools Foundation's fall fundraising luncheon last week. She is now a member of the Foundation's board: 

About 20 years ago, as the (Roseville Area Schools) Foundation was started, I was teaching music at RAMS (Roseville Area Middle School)  and one of my classes was a choir made up of 45 seventh grade BOYS.  

Now, these boys could SING, particularly without the distraction of girls in the class.  Singing is a very “physical” activity, using your whole body, but I knew I was going to need some special projects and activity to keep these boys busy learning.  So I decided we should build some barrel drums.

We bought three sizes of oak pickle barrels, (from a place in South St. Paul that no longer exists), we sanded and stained them, created designs to paint on them,  bought a whole cow hide, at a tannery on University Avenue., soaked it in a big plastic tub,  cut it into  appropriate sized circles to become the heads of the drums and then nailed those hides to those oak barrels. 

Now picture, all those boys gathered around those three barrels, stretching and pulling the hide over the edges of the barrel, while other boys held the tack and someone else pounded it in with a hammer!   A couple of the boys built wooden stands for the drums to sit on (with the help if the industrial tech teacher) and we had ourselves a set of three beautiful big barrel drums to complement our singing!  

We sustained no injuries, learned a lot, and many hands played those drums over the next 20 years!  I also became a donor to the Foundation, having experienced first hand the great possibilities it offered.

Those drums were funded by a grant from the Roseville Area Schools Foundation, and those 45 boys and I have been forever grateful for that hands on, musical experience.  

Over the years I wrote and received several other grants for special projects that enriched the curriculum and student’s experiences in my music classrooms and in the RAMS Theatre program. 

My students and I are grateful for those grants. You notice that I said “my students” are grateful… and that is because the Foundation grants are not for teachers, they are for kids… for the everyday learning that goes on in classrooms all over this district.
 
In addition to being a grant recipient, I saw my four sons, all graduates of Roseville Area High School, benefit from grants received on their behalf by their teachers: science, English, IT, music,  media specialists and many more… grants that enriched their learning. 

As a parent, I was grateful to the Foundation. Being a member of the 623 community and owning a home here, I am grateful to the Foundation for adding to the experiences, learning and quality education that these district schools provide for 1000’s of kids each year. 

The Roseville Schools are a huge benefit to all of our community, whether we have kids in the schools or not. And now, I am a member of the Roseville Area Schools Foundation Board, and have the privilege of serving on the grants committee,  which brings me to the to heart of my message today… we need you all to give and give generously.
Our goal today is to raise $30,000 at this luncheon. (Editor's update: At last report, the Foundation luncheon raised more than $32,000.)

We have heard Mindy Greiling speak with passion about the need for us all to support education and our schools. She is a stellar example of service to this community and our children. This is your chance to go beyond your tax dollar support and contribute directly to our students, classrooms, programs and teachers.
There are real needs! Our requests for grants far exceed our ability to fund them. We receive so many creative, unique requests that have great potential for impacting the learning of students and the collaboration of teachers. 

You can rest assured that your tax deductible donation today will be thoughtfully granted to students and the effects will be felt beyond this school year into the future.  (Remember, that $1000 grant for barrel drums brought enthusiastic (and loud) music making into the hands of hundreds of students over the next 20 years!)
 
We all have many places in our lives where we are asked to be generous, where our giving makes a difference.  The Roseville Area Schools Foundation is a unique vehicle, with the nimble ability to help meet the immediate needs of our ever changing, richly diverse community of students and families. We ask that you give generously.  

Our website also has a “donate now” button you can use at any time for a gift to the foundation.