Piper Stewen: quietly industrious, artful and helpful

WARWICK, NY – When her teachers talk about Park Avenue Elementary School fourth grader Piper Stewen, two things become clear: Piper works hard in class and takes the time to help her classmates.

Every morning, for example, Piper writes the daily schedule on the board in Ms. Davis’s room. If Piper finishes a project early in art class, she usually looks for other students to help.

“Piper is a kind and helpful young lady,” Ms. Davis said. “She is responsible and can be counted on to be a good role model for her classmates. She takes the initiative to help out in the classroom.”

Piper also plays the clarinet in the Park Avenue band. In addition to being a hard worker, Piper has a bright and cheerful personality that helps set the mood in her band lesson group. Piper is usually the first one in the room for lessons. She immediately sits down, puts her clarinet together and starts working on her music. That sets an example for the rest of the students.

“Piper has been a diligent worker in band this year,” said Park Avenue music teacher Mr. Muehlbauer. “She is consistent with her practice and always comes to lessons fully prepared. She is always eager to learn more, is not afraid to experiment or make mistakes and shows great musical insight.”

Piper picked the clarinet over percussion last year. She said the hardest part at first was figuring out where the notes were.

“I like the sound the clarinet makes,” said Piper, who played in the WVCSD Combined Band Concert in March. “And I like that I have to put my fingers in certain spots, and it sometimes gives me a challenge.”

“Piper doesn’t say a lot, but the way she commits to playing notes shows that she knows what she is capable of,’ Mr. Muehlbauer said. “She has a really big sound on the clarinet.”

Piper also enjoys art and had two pieces on display at the district Art Show on May 13. One was a paper mache donut she made with the Art Club. The other was a collage in the style of Henri Matisse.

Park Avenue art teacher Ms. Martimucci said that although Piper is kind of quiet, her talent, passion and creativity show through.

Piper’s favorite class this year is science, and she might want to become an engineer. Outside of school, Piper is an avid tennis player and plays AAU basketball.