Lincoln Elementary Students Receive New Xylophones
Thanks to AOSA
The 2019-2020 school year at Lincoln Elementary in Ponca City, Oklahoma, has gotten off to a musical start
with three new xylophones thanks to a grant from the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA) in the
amount of $1,160.25. The grant was awarded to Lincoln Music Teacher Amy Muegge. Muegge has taught 21
years in both Oklahoma and Kansas and has been at Lincoln for the past 10 years.
After her first year at Lincoln, Ms. Muegge determined that the best approach to working with the population at
her school was Orff Schulwerk. This began her journey to become certified in Orff Schulwerk, which she
completed in 2017 and to build an Orff Schulwerk classroom. The Orff Schulwerk, or simply the Orff Approach, is
a developmental approach used in music education. It combines music, movement, drama, and speech into lessons
that are similar to child's world of play. It was developed by the German composer Carl Orff and colleague Gunild
Keetman during the 1920’s.
In January of 2019, Ms. Muegge submitted a grant to the AOSA for the purchase of one soprano and two alto
xylophones. Ms. Muegge was very pleased when she received word that she had been awarded the grant.
With the teacher shortage in Oklahoma, class sizes have grown. With three additional instruments, fewer
students will have to share instruments.
The two alto xylophones arrived at the end of the school year. On the day they arrived, three 5th Grade
students from the Lincoln Orff Ensemble had the joy of helping to open and set up the instruments. One of the
students said it was like Christmas. They were also the first to play the instruments, a privilege they bragged
about to their classmates.
During the last few weeks of school, the instruments were played every day, and the
soprano xylophone arrived over the summer. Two sisters, who used to attend Lincoln and were helping their
mother get her 3rd Grade classroom ready for the 2019-2020 school year, stopped by the Music Room to try
out the new xylophones.
Muegge said “Thank you AOSA for making it possible to have more instruments so that my students can
continue to grow their music skills and knowledge.”
Pictured: Back Row L-R: Keanna Lente-Brown, Halle McHenry, Nathan Warrior, Lyrik Collins
Middle Row: Thomas Pettit, Ky’zhon Davis, Linsey Contreras, Axel Luna, Prudencio Hernandez, Landon
Vermillion
Front Row: Pamery Mission, Kyleigh Bear, Chayce Homan Wilson, Leila Morthel, Genesis Ibarra