Cello: Week 3

Oh man, what a week it’s been! I had spent a lot of time practicing the first few parts of The Scientist by Coldplay and am beginning to notice quite a bit of improvement! A classmate of mine brought in his cello to play, and I found that the strings felt closer to the fingerboard than mine. […]

Reflective Thinking: Internet Safety and Professional Online Presence

It was really interesting having Jesse come in and speak to us about internet safety and professional online presence. Something that I learned that was pretty shocking to me was that while you are connected to WIFI networks, your privacy and information are very compromised. Although I do have an online presence, I’ve made all […]

Cello: Week 2

Well, the first two weeks of trying to teach myself how to play the cello have been… interesting! There is so much to think about (surprise, surprise), and I’m starting to think that professional lessons may be a good idea as I don’t want to develop /ingrain bad habits. I am finding that I have a lot of motivation to practice, and will spend next week trying to teach myself to read music.

In the meantime, please feel free to check out the video below for a summary of my cello practice the past two weeks.

*No cello or cello accessory was harmed in the making of this production.

Reflective Thinking: Most Likely to Succeed

I was pretty blown away by the film Most Likely to Succeed and High Tech High. While I knew the current education model that was created over 120 years ago was a solution to generating factory workers, it was interesting to learn that it was previously adopted from Prussian military institutions. Understanding where we’ve come from, made […]

Week One: Cello

WOW! What an interesting week it has been! I was able to pick up my Cello rental from Long and McQuade last Thursday and have begun experimenting with its sounds. I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful and handsome it is even when playing just open strings! After playing around for some time, I decided […]

Free Inquiry

I grew up relatively unconventionally from my peers being raised by a single father, living with my grandparents, and having a lot of freedom to explore the outdoors as a child. Coming from a single-family income and playing high level soccer meant that my dad worked evenings and weekends. I learnt a lot about what […]

Hello world!

Hello and welcome to my site! My name is Ashley Conrad, and I am a mother to two wonderful children ages seven and nine, and wife to the world’s most supportive husband. I love nature and anything wild (especially beavers) and have a passion for Brazilian Jujitsu! More recently I have taken up watercolour painting […]