Grove Music Hustle & Bustle

At Pottsgrove High School, the 500s wing (the music hallway) is somewhat separated from the rest of the school. Whether taking a class, having a study hall, or being involved in a program, many students have ventured into that section of the high school despite the location. However, are there students who have no recollection of the hallway altogether? An anonymous survey was conducted to better understand the music hallway habits of Pottsgrove High School students. Out of the 40 respondents, 32.5% were seniors, 30% were juniors, 12.5% were sophomores, and 25% were freshmen. First, survey takers were asked, “What is the biggest reason you are in the music hallway?” 60% of respondents stated they are there for music classes. Surprisingly, the remaining 32.5% go to the music hallway for study hall or they wind up there when randomly wandering the school. How often are these students in the hallway on a daily (school day) average? Well, 47.5% are only in the music hallway once a day and the remaining go there twice or more. Which room do people go to the most, once or more a day? The band room (52.5%)! The choir room was the second most visited (27.5%), and it makes sense for there to be a minimal visitation to the orchestra room since Mr. Einhorn must share his time with the middle school and high school each day. Students were then asked, “How many music classes do you currently take at Pottsgrove?” The majority of respondents (55%) reported taking only one music class, the second most respondents (22.5%) reported only having study halls, while the remaining results (22.5%) have taken more than one music class. What many students are not aware of or do not consider taking are the various expanded music classes, including guitar, theory, music uncharted, etc. Have people taken any of these courses (a class besides band, choir, and/or orchestra)? A whopping 65% of respondents answered “No”, meaning most students who are in the music wing only take the ensemble courses. 22.5% of the student respondents have taken both an ensemble and expanded music course, and 12.5% of respondents have only taken the other courses or used their music hall time to play an instrument for leisure. With all of these students being in the music wing at least once or more a day, with a majority of them being music students themselves, do students ever venture into the halls for things other than music? Do students come down to eat lunch in a music room? Mostly no, 50% of student respondents have never eaten lunch in the 500s wing, 35% eat in Ms. Zerefos’ room, and the remaining 15% eat in Ms. Fritshaffer’s room or “the hole”. Have students ever sought guidance from a music teacher or taken a break in the hallway? Once again, mostly no, not even once (52.5%). Those students who do seek guidance or “chill time” daily (22.5%), or have at least come down once or every so often (25%). It seems clear that the students at Pottsgrove who explore and engage in the music hallway (500s wing) take one or more music courses, or must come due to a study hall. Those who aren’t required to be there may never experience the musical gifts and the fun, relaxing environment of the hallway. Clearly, despite many students just coming and leaving, something about the hallway is intriguing to those who frequent the band, choir, and orchestra rooms.