
Every
Wednesday
morning
in
the
T.
Clay
Wood
Elementary
School
music
room,
the
sounds
of
drumming
echo
down
the
hallways
as
10
fourth
and
fifth-grade
students
gather
for
a
weekly
Drumbeats
music
session.
Drumbeats
is
a
social,
emotional,
and
leadership-skills
building
program
for
students.
Each
session
starts
with
an
ice
breaker,
such
as
rumbling.
Rumbling
is
when
students
continuously
tap
the
drum
to
create
a
"rumble"
rhythm.
Students
rumble
with
the
drums
focusing
on
positive
aspects
in
their
life,
such
as
rumbling
if
they
are
looking
forward
to
a
great
day
or
rumbling
if
they
love
to
read.
Andrew
Buchheit,
principal
at
T.
Clay
Wood
Elementary,
started
the
Drumbeats
program
at
the
school
to
provide
more
social-emotional
opportunities
for
students.
"I
have
enjoyed
working
with
the
students
and
hearing
their
thoughts
on
how
to
include
others,
make
friends,
show
and
gain
respect,
and
the
importance
of
harmony.
I
have
no
rhythm
myself
-
so
I
truly
enjoy
working
not
only
with
our
talented
students,
but
our
talented
music
teacher,
Ashley
Meyer
and
our
talented
school
counselor,
Amy
Cunningham,"
Buchheit
shared
Drumbeats
is
an
evidence-based
social,
emotional,
and
leadership-skills-learning
program
that
uses
a
combination
of
five
core
elements
to
build
healthy
social
interactions
and
emotional
learning,
social
connection,
and
development
of
supportive
relationships
to
empower
individuals.