November Newsletter

Hello everyone! November is always an exciting month with lots of half days, no school days and opportunities to be with friends and family. Below you'll find what we did in the music room in each grade level. Have a great weekend!

-Kindergarten: we continued our work on musical opposites (high v. low, soft v. loud, fast v. slow) with our Music in Motion game with Olaf. We also started learning a song about pizza in Spanish and English (I am a Pizza/Soy una Pizza). While singing this song we are reviewing our 5 basic shapes (oval, square, rectangle, circle, triangle). We will continue to work on this in December, as well as play some winter-themed games.
-1st grade: we continued to work on our concept of Steady Beat (Steady Beat Game) and started creating our own 8-count rhythms to read with our "Challenge" game. We also started working on matching pitch with our song "Pass High Pass Low". We'll continue to work on our rhythmic knowledge and pitch development in December.
-2nd grade: we had a fabulous performance at the Veterans Day Assembly (great job!) and started working on our rhythmic knowledge. Each aspect of our school rules/motto has been assigned a rhythm. For instance, "Little Hawks" has become "ti-ti ta rest rest" (ask your student to demonstrate and write out the rhythm). The rhythms are printed on cards and then we use them to play a game. We'll continue learning our rhythms and then transition to a dictation game using the cards as well as white boards and pens. It's a really fun time :)
-3rd grade: we finished working with our notation packet, and can now navigate a treble clef staff! Next, we're going to work on singing in a partner song (singing 2 different sets of lyrics at the same time). This will help us prepare for boomwhackers in January when we have to sing a phrase and think of the notes names at the same time. We will be performing with the choir at the Winter Assembly on Friday, December 21st at 1:00pm.
-4th grade: we know our first 3 chords (C, F, and a minor), as well as how to read a tab. Now we're going to look at transitioning between chords and singing at the same time (When I'm Gone).
-5th grade: we performed at the Veterans Day Assembly and did an awesome job! We started reviewing our music notation so we can use xylophones in January. We're currently working on a notation packet, then we'll use a notation program on their laptops (flat.io) to practice reading the xylophone music before we start playing it.
-6th grade: we are comfortable with the chords for Blackbird, so now we're moving on to plucking the verses and strumming the bridge. Strumming and plucking are very different, as some students are noticing, and they're working very hard to learn this in time for their January performance :)

This week I also sent home information about our school musical in January! I sent home info via kid mail, as well as an email to all families via skyward. Here are the highlights about the program:

-Missoula Children’s Theater (company running the program at MTE) is a nationally renowned program for their productions with children.
-This year’s show is called “The Snow Queen”. It is not the same is “Frozen” and that is all I know for now. I will give a synopsis to students when I know more.
-The 2 MCT employees sent to run our musical have been in many notable shows, including “Peter Pan”, “Schoolhouse Rock Live” and “The Wizard of Oz”.
-Auditions for the show are after school on Monday, January 14th at 3:20pm. The program can host up to 60 students in all grades (K-6). Not everyone that auditions is guaranteed a spot in the show.
-There is a $50 fee for the program, and there are scholarships available. Payment is due Tuesday, January 15th once you know whether or not your student has been cast in the show.
-If you are cast in the show you will need to have a bag lunch/snack to eat during the 15 minutes break
-There are 4 stage crew positions, and only students that audition for the show are eligible to be stage crew (this is MCT’s guideline).
-Students MUST be able to attend rehearsal ALL WEEK. They cannot miss a rehearsal/show under any circumstances once they are cast (stage crew included).
-Here is the loose schedule: Monday (Jan 14th) 3:20-7:35pm, Tues (Jan 15th) 3:20-7:35pm, Wed (Jan 16th) 3:20-7:35pm, Thurs (Jan 17th), Fri (Jan 18th) 8:00am! call for morning dress rehearsal and students will need to stay afterschool until their evening performance at 6:30pm
-There are 2 performances on Friday, January 18th: 1 assembly performance at 1:30pm and 1 evening performance at 6:30pm
-Costumes, make up, props, and sets are all included with this program
-You CAN record the performances this time (we bought the license so we’re allowed) :)

October Newsletter

Hello everyone! Sorry for the long hiatus - October was extremely busy with conferences, and preparing for our Veterans Day Assembly. Below you'll find what we did in the music room in each grade level. Have a great weekend!

-Kindergarten: we've been working on learning our musical opposites: loud v. soft, high v. low, fast v. slow. We started by looking at pictures of the words and identifying the difference between the pictures, then we started working on showing the differences with our bodies (for example: hands up when we hear a high note v. hands down to the ground when we hear a low note). Finally, we moved into our "Music in Motion" game with Olaf (Olaf wears dancing shoes, so you know you're supposed to move!). Students stay in their square, with their voices off, and use their bodies to demonstrate the music opposites we learned. We will continue to do this, and start our hand percussion unit next month. This works on our understanding of timbre and steady beat.
-1st grade: we started diving into the difference between steady beat and rhythm. In particular, we've really focused on how to keep a steady beat with our bodies while we say something rhythmic. We're using a game for this, as well as looking at rhythmic notation on the white board as it relates to various songs (Naughty Kitty Cat, Gato Travieso, I Can Keep a Steady Beat). Next month we will make our rhythm game harder, and then we'll move into some pitch notation.
-2nd grade: we're performing on Wednesday, November 7th at 9:30am for our veterans! Please come to the assembly and see your children sing and sign our Veterans Day song of thanks. After that, we will start to work on learning 2nd grade rhythms with new songs and games.
-3rd grade: we finished working with the cups, for now, so we can start to learn how to read notes on the 5-line staff (so exciting!). We have a packet we're using to demonstrate our understanding, as well as using the music room rug and our music white boards to learn this concept. Once we complete the packet and can demonstrate an understanding of pitch notation we get to use Boomwhackers!
-4th grade: we started our ukulele unit, and learned our first chord: C major. We will continue to work on learning our chords for our first ukulele song, "When I'm Gone".
-5th grade: we're performing on Wednesday, November 7th at 9:30am for our veterans! Please come to the assembly and see your children sing and sign our Veterans Day song of thanks. We will then take a break from ukuleles and work on music notation with our laptops.
-6th grade: we are still working on the chords for Blackbird, and the improvement has been incredible! We're starting to pair lyrics with chord changes. Did you know students are already reading 12 different chords for this song??? If you see your student today give them a pat on the back for their hard work, they deserve it!

Thank you all for everything you do to support our music programs. Stay tuned for exciting news about our school musical this year: rehearsals/performance/everything all happens the week of Jan 14th! I will be sending home information the week after Veterans Day. :)