BROOKLYN EDUCATION: Music Together of Bay Ridge welcomes new teachers

With deep appreciation, gratitude and good wishes, MusicTogether families say so long to teacher, Rene Collins. Afternearly 12 years of teaching Music Together in Bay Ridge, Rene ismoving with his family to Los Angeles this fall. Michelle Zilles,who will be taking over for Rene in Bay Ridge, has taught MusicTogether in Park Slope for over 12 years. She has a BFA in Theater,an MA in Music Therapy and plays guitar.

Music Together welcomes another new teacher, Christine LongGabel. A cellist, singer, actor and a fourth generation musicteacher, Christine holds a BFA in Theatre and a master’s degree inEarly Childhood Education. She plays autoharp in class.

Families should mark their calendars for Saturday, September 24when the Music Together Band will be performing in Manhattan at theChurch of St. Paul and St. Andrew at 5:00 P.M. The concert willbenefit Save the Children and kids will get a chance to meet UncleGerry. For details, visit musictogether.com/MTBandConcert.

Music Together offers family music classes for babies, toddlers,preschoolers and the grownups who love them. Free demonstrationclasses begin on September 9th and the fall semester starts onSeptember 17th at three locations in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights.For more information, visit musictogetherBR.com.

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This summer, 40 girls ranging in age from eight through 13cheered, jumped and performed stunts at Fontbonne Hall Academy’s12th annual Cheer with the Champions cheerleading camp. Thecamp’s director, Laura Lamela Bonomolo ’97, started the program in2000. Fontbonne’s varsity coaches, Katie Volpe ‘05 and JenDiBitetto ‘06 ran the camp this year. Current varsity and juniorvarsity cheerleaders were counselors. Many of them attended thecamp in the past.

For one week in August, the girls learned sideline cheers,several types of jumps and a mini-routine, which consists of acheer, a dance and stunts. They also learned about working togetheras a team.

At the end of the week, the campers performed for an audiencefilled with parents, relatives and friends. In fact, severalFontbonne graduates have daughters who attended the camp this year.Those proud moms are Joan Calise Gaya ’83, Phylis Pizzirusso Biondo’83, Dana Chiesa Gibaldi ’85, Rosemarie Romeo Trantino ’85,Stephanie Corso Granite ’86, Mary Jo Tozzi Larney ’87, ChristineJohnson Maxwell ’88, Susan Persico Spata ’89, and Roseann FrascaGiugliano ’92.

Fontbonne’s new junior varsity coaches, Jillian Fraumeni ‘09 andJanine Fraumeni ‘10, who assisted with the camp this year, have aspecial history with the program. They started as campers and then,as members of Fontbonne’s cheerleading squad, worked as counselorsat the camp. This year, they are coaching the junior varsitycheerleading team. They have many fond memories of cheer camp andthe friendships they made have grown stronger over the years. Theirrecommendation: Put Fontbonne’s Cheer with the Champions summercamp on your to-do list for next August!