December Newsletter

Thank you for some wonderful music in December! I hope you all have a fabulous winter break. Just to give everyone a heads up: we will have a student teacher working with our students January 6th-April 10th here in the music room. His name is Mr. Matson and his wife is already a strings teacher here in our district. We are excited to welcome him to our school after winter break. Here are some highlights from the music room this month:

Kindergarten: we continued to work on tracing the melodies we sing and use lots of hand percussion in our "Going to the Farm" game. We continued to work on created 4-beat rhythms for each other to echo in our first activity every class.

1st grade: we are working on becoming composers! We practiced writing 8-beat rhythms on white boards and paper before performing each other's rhythms on various hand percussion.

2nd grade: We have been working on a super fun song, "Great Big House" using our new singing notes (Do and Re). There is a complicated movement game to go with this song. Here is a link to college students demonstrating it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt3mxHZJtdM
Our students are able to complete this challenging task at a more appropriate tempo, it's awesome!

3rd grade: we are working on our winter song, "Happy Winter" for the winter assembly on December 20th at 9:40am. We hope you can join us for this performance! We will be singing with the choir, and then reviewing some fun winter traditions from around the world.

4th grade: we are starting to prepare for recorders in January, yay! More information will be sent home after winter break.

5th grade: we finished reviewing our rhythmic notation, and are about done reviewing our pitch notation (5-line staff). We are doing this in preparation for using an awesome notation program available on their chromebooks. All students have access to this program via their Edmonds email, and it's totally free! Check it out: https://flat.io/

6th grade: we are putting the final touches on "Pride" in preparation for our performance at the Martin Luther King, Jr. assembly. Please make sure to attend our assembly performance on Monday, January 13th at 9:30am. These students are ready to perform for you :)

November Newsletter

Happy Thanksgiving from the Music Room! We had a very eventful November, here are some highlights from each grade level :)

Kindergarten: we learned how to "trace" melodies as we sing them, and started using hand percussion in our "Going to the Farm" game. Eventually, we'll have 7 instruments at once to use in our game - so exciting! We also learned what it means to "echo" (copy) someone, and created 4-beat body-percussion patterns for each other to echo.

1st grade: we finished our steady beat game and have full command of our 3 1st-grade rhythms: ta, ti-ti, rest (quarter note, pair of eighth notes, quarter rest). We also started discussing how we'll be writing our own rhythms to perform on hand percussion as we become composers :)

2nd grade: we had a fabulous performance at the Veterans' Day Assembly, great job! We quickly transitioned back into review mode and went over all the notes/rhythms we learned in 1st grade. Then, we added 2 new notes for 2nd grade ("Do" and "Re") and started playing a game that allows us to perform songs in a round (a canon with songs!). Students learned "Naught Kitty Cat" and "Bow Wow Wow" for this game.

3rd grade: we made AWESOME progress on our Water Cycle song, and got through the entire first page. This is huge! We're now going to do some intensive work on our singing in December as we prepare for our performance in the Winter Assembly on December 20th. We'll be joining the choir on a partner song, "Happy Winter".

4th grade: we can read tabs, play 3 (almost 4) chords on the ukulele while singing, and read a lyrics/tab page. So cool! Now, we're transitioning to standard notation in preparation for recorder in January. We'll review what we learned last year, and keep strumming away until the end of December. :)

5th grade: we tried to go back to ukuleles, and had mixed success. So, we're changing it up! We're going to do an intensive notation review in preparation for work on a computer notation software called FLAT. All students have access to this program via their Edmonds email, and it's totally free! Check it out: https://flat.io/
We'll review all of the notation knowledge from 4th grade through December and hopefully start working with the notation software in January.

6th grade: our work on the song "Pride" has been inspiring. We're learning the basics of cajon right now (the drum we'll be using for the song), and we'll add ukulele back to the mix in a couple of weeks. We're performing this song at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Assembly on January 13th at 9:30am. I hope some of you can make it. It's going to be awesome :)

Also, the Mountlake Terrace Tree Lighting is December 6th at 6:45pm at the Evergreen Playfield on 52nd Ave W. Our Little Hawk Choir will join with Terrace Park's choir to sing songs of peace and snow before the event officially starts. Then everyone is invited to sing holiday songs during the event with the choirs. Dress warm, and bring a smile. There is free hot chocolate and cookies for anyone that attends!

October Newsletter

Hello MTE families! This month was quite busy in the music room. Here are some highlights within each grade level :)

Kindergarten: We continued to work on our "steady beat", and started playing a name game to demonstrate the difference between a chanting (talking) voice and a singing voice. We also discussed the different sections of the orchestra and watched a short video to see how a double bass is made. We continued to work on our proximity games and continue to explore our creativity in our movement.

1st grade: We continued to work on our "steady beat" game - we're up to level 3! We are working very hard to understand the relationship between ti-ti (eighth notes) and ta (quarter notes). We're even using rhythm cards to practice this concept. We're also discussing the names of the various parts of music notation (bar line, measure, double bar line), and reviewed the different sections of the orchestra.

2nd grade: We are performing our song "Red, White, and Blue" at the the Veterans Day Assembly on November 5th at 9:30am. They sound great! We discussed all of the work that goes into being a singer including the correct posture, how to sing with a supported sound, and the importance of breathing.

3rd grade: We continue to work with the Water Cycle Cups song, and now we're reading it using standard notation! Student are responsible for being able to read the cups ostinato rhythm while singing and performing the cups pattern. This is a LOT of work, and I am so proud of them!

4th grade: We have made a lot of progress with our ukulele knowledge. Students know how to hold the instrument, strum, read tabs, and transition between the C, a-minor, and F chords. We've moved on to reading a lyrics/tabs sheet like one they would find online if they were trying to learn a song on their own at home. This is an excellent skill to have for independent music making. We'll continue to work on this for years to come :)

5th grade: We are performing our song "Red, White, and Blue" at the the Veterans Day Assembly on November 5th at 9:30am. We will not be using ukuleles for this performance. We simply didn't have enough time to learn the song on ukulele, but that's okay! We'll perform with the 2nd graders using our sign language, and then we'll learn the song on ukulele after the performance. This song teaches some really great skills (island strum, chucking), so it'll be useful to keep working on after the performance.

6th grade: We continue to work on our song "Pride" for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Assembly in January. These students are rocking out! We are finally singing while strumming and students are beginning to explore the dynamic differences between different sections of the song. Our goal is to be able to play through the song without stopping on ukulele before Thanksgiving so we can start working on cajons in December. 

September Newsletter

September was full of surprise this year! We got 2 new classroom teachers this month (Kindergarten and 6th grade), and we got to hire Ms. Oakley to be our new band teacher this year to work with Ms. Bierman. It all happened so fast. We're all being flexible as changes continue to come down the pipe line. Here is what is going on in the music room:

Kindergarten - we learned the basics of the music room! We know our criss-cross song, where to go for our "think" time, where we sit (in a square), and how to move around safely in the music room. We've just started learning our "Name Game" song and what a "steady beat" is. We'll continue working on steady beat, and music opposites in October.

1st grade - we reviewed how we behave in the music room, and we're already getting into reviewing content from Kindergarten. We're going over "ta" and "rest" in our "Name Game" song, and are also learning the difference between a "steady beat" and a "rhythm". We'll continue working on steady beat and rhythm in October by playing a passing game with lots of fun movements!

2nd grade - we reviewed how we behave in the music room, and we got into reviewing content from 1st grade very quickly. We're already playing our "Steady Beat" game, and demonstrating steady beat v. rhythm with a partner. In October we'll start learning the song for our Veteran's Day assembly performance (Red, White and Blue). This song uses sign language, and we get to perform with the 5th graders at the assembly.

3rd grade - we reviewed how we behave in the music room, and we are already learning our first song of the year: the Water Cycle Cups song! There is a practice video posted on Mrs. Harreld's youtube page. We're also learning how to count the rhythms for the Cups ostinato, and discussing time signature (this is a BIG deal for 3rd grade, you should be proud of them!).

4th grade - we reviewed how we behave in the music room and are in the process of learning how to hold/play the ukulele! There is a how-to video for ukulele basics on Mrs. Harreld's youtube page. We have a phrase right now in class, we "go slow to go fast". This means we're going to take things extremely slow at the beginning so we can move through chords and content quickly once we know what we're doing :)

5th grade - we reviewed how we behave in the music room and how to hold/play the ukulele. We're starting to work on our song for the Veteran's Day assembly (Red, White and Blue).  We'll perform this song with the 2nd graders at the assembly.

6th grade - we reviewed how we behave in the music room and how to hold/play the ukulele. We're starting to work on the ukulele part for the MLK, Jr. assembly song (Pride by U2). We'll eventually learn a cajon part for this song as well!

Changes in Music Staffing for Band

Hello friends!

In June 2019 the school district reduced our staffing district wide and that led to a lot of music teachers changing their positions. This included asking me to teach band in 19-20 school year. I said "yes", and we started this school year with me teaching 5th grade band, and Ms. Bierman returning to teach 6th grade band. Well, last week we found out that our staff at MTE was restored, which means I no longer have time in my day to teach band (I will be teaching general music full time).

For now students will be working with our special guest Ms. Oakley! Ms. Oakley is a former general music specialist, band teacher, current coach of the Cascade Youth Orchestras, and has already been working with our students helping them try out the flute during our instrument try-out days :)
On Wednesday we will be sending home fliers about 5th grade band, and she will communicate more with the students then. If you have questions about 5th grade band you can email her: OakleyB@edmonds.wednet.edu
If you Ms. Oakley doesn't have the answer, you can email the district music and visual arts coordinator Scott Barnes: barnessc@edmonds.wednet.edu
If you have questions about 6th grade band you can email Ms. Bierman: BiermannA@edmonds.wednet.edu

Our orchestra teacher is still Mr. Collins (yay!). You can email him here if you have orchestra questions: collinsr226@edmonds.wednet.edu

The Music Room has a Youtube page!

I created a YouTube page to help our students make music at home! The videos on this page will never feature students, and the videos will never be monetized. The videos are strictly to help families and students know how the music room works, what is going on in class, and what techniques/tips we learn in class to play the many instruments we learn.

You can find all of the videos here: Mrs Harreld is on YouTube!

My hope is that students will use these videos to help them practice as they want to, and for families to have a better idea of what happens in the music room. If you have questions please feel free to contact me. If you have an idea for a video that will help support our young musicians please send me an email. I am always looking for new ways to engage our community and support our students :)

Welcome back to another school year!

Hello Little Hawk families,

I am extremely excited to be returning to MTE for my 5th year as the general music teacher and choir director! There are some exciting things happening this year: we'll be continuing ukulele club, I'm teaching 5th grade band this year, we have Missoula Children's Theater returning, we are welcoming representatives of Seattle Opera to our school to perform in an assembly, and the Dance Dude is coming back at the end of April!

On this blog I will be sharing information about what has been happening in the music room at the end of each month. Additionally, I will be posting useful documents, recordings, etc. on the related pages as the year progresses. Below are some websites you should have bookmarked in your browser in order to stay up to date with everything MTE-related throughout the school year. Also below is some information about an exciting personal goal I am continuing to pursue and how it benefits your student and the community.

The MTE staff truly appreciates the effort it takes to get your student ready to come back to school and learn after a long summer break. Thank you for your dedication to their education! We can't wait to see them :)

Welcome back,
Mrs. Harreld

This Blog (all music programs) - I will be posting information about grade-level performances once a month, information about choir/band/orchestra performances and field trips as they come up, resources for various ensembles, and information about my journey to become National Board Certified! More on that below***

PTO Website - Are you a member of our amazing PTO? If not, SIGN UP NOW! We need families to volunteer to help run events in order for all of our amazing PTO celebrations to continue. You can sign up for various events/volunteer needs throughout the year on their "signupgenius" website: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0f49aead29a6f49-needed
You can also text "PTO" to 88202 to receive text message updates from the PTO about all of their events, meetings, and opportunities to support our students. These messages are administered through your fellow humans, not by machines, in case you're wondering :)

Our School Website - This is a great place to check the school calendar for special events, see if your child's classroom teacher has a website/blog/classdojo or seesaw page, and keep up to date with special programs at our school that are run by the district, or someone in the building.

ClassDojo - This is a website designed to help teachers communicate with families. Teachers create classroom pages, invite families to connect to the page via their account, and then you can see pictures of school work, videos from the classroom, and special reminders from your student's teacher about upcoming events or homework. There is also a message center within the website that allows you to have an instant message style conversation with the teacher that created the online classroom. Additionally, there is an app you can download (for all smart phones). This makes conversing with the teacher super easy, and keeps your feed updated with all of the latest posts from the classroom. I will be using this app for choir and ukulele club this year, so please keep an eye out for those invitation forms to connect if your child brings one home!

***Never heard of the National Board Certification? Basically, it's a super rigorous assessment for teachers to determine if they are an accomplished educator in their area. We have many NBCTs (National Board Certified Teachers) on our staff, including: Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Knowles, Mr. McCarthy, and Mrs. Gloth! (and there may be more, if I missed you let me know!)
The NBCT assessment is extremely thorough. I'm pursuing this high standard of accomplished teaching to benefit your student's music education in my room, and to have a greater influence in improving music education in the district. :)
I will be sending home release forms at the beginning of the school year in order to meet requirements for my submission. The release forms let the test administrator (Pearson Assessments) know I have your permission to share your students' written work from class. The release form also tells them that I have your permission to submit a video or audio recording of your child's performance in class. The videos, audio recordings, and all written work for my certification are for Pearson's assessment of my skills only. None of this information will be published and available to the public. I cannot submit materials if I do not have the signed release forms from families, so please mark "Yes", sign the form and return it to me as soon as you are able. I really appreciate it! Remember, this is all to benefit your child's music education at MTE and in the Edmonds School District.

End of Summer Newsletter

Hello MTE family!

We have some exciting things happening in the music room as we get ready for school to start again. We purchased 6 more cajons with our grant from the Foundation of Edmonds School District. Yay! We also got our Donors Choose project funded. BIG BIG YAY!!! With the addition of these portable pianos I am hoping to significantly increase our students' musical independence as they continue to develop their musical skills. :)

Otherwise, things are progressing as expected. Stay tuned here, and join ClassDojo when you're invited at the beginning of the year to learn more about all of the amazing things happening at MTE!

Watch the music room transform!

Hello everyone, I hope you’re all having an amazing summer :)
I’m starting to get ready for the school year (yes, I know it’s still July), and thought you’d like to watch the process! It takes me about a month to get ready for the year. Between setting up the room, putting together lessons plans and a curriculum map, and deciding on repertoire I have plenty to do to prep for school each year.
I’m documenting the process on YouTube:
Day 1: https://youtu.be/RMLTVD01s84
Day 2: https://youtu.be/tfKtUFsIiE4
Day 3: https://youtu.be/izySpWPTD1Q
Day 4: https://youtu.be/X7dYVDOyAXo
Day 5: https://youtu.be/WsEyjwuac10
Day 6: https://youtu.be/hur8GhVD6_k
Day 7: https://youtu.be/iXtpbf7-voI
Day 8: https://youtu.be/0UO2t5_BP70
I’m hoping that I can become adept enough at creating videos to continue to share things from the classroom throughout the year via ClassDojo. If you don’t know what ClassDojo is, don’t worry! The school will be sending information out in the fall, and if you’re in one of my extra curricular music groups I’ll help you get signed up.
Also, have you heard about our DonorsChoose project? I found a cool new resource: personal, roll-up pianos. That’s right, they roll up and we can charge them via USB cables so we don’t need to buy hundreds of batteries. Yay! Lol
We’re within $450 of our project being funded, please consider helping us reach our goal:
https://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=4208894&rf=page-dc-2019-07-project-teacher_3944904&challengeid=20852705&utm_source=dc&utm_medium=page&utm_campaign=project&utm_term=teacher_3944904
Continue having a great summer everyone!

Updates for 2019-20 School Year

Hello all! We have some quick updates for the 2019-20 school year:

Mrs. Harreld (me!) will return to teach general music and choir. General music happens during the school day. All students receive two 30-minute music lessons with me each week. We learn the basic elements of music, vocal technique, and how to play a multitude of instruments!
The Little Hawk Choir is for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. This is a before school program on Tuesday and Thursday morning - we start rehearsals in late September. There is no fee associated with this program. You must join ClassDojo (a communication app/website) so you can get updates about performances, field trips, etc. in a timely, efficient manner. I will walk you through this personally in September if needed.

Mr. Collins will return to teach 5th and 6th grade orchestra. Orchestra is available for 5th and 6th grade students. This program happens during the day on Monday and Wednesday - rehearsals start the first full week of school. Students need to provide their own instruments and book. (Scholarships, district-instrument rentals are available)

Ms. Bierman and Mrs. Harreld (me!) will be sharing the band program! This is a recent change. Mrs. Harreld will teach the 5th graders, and Ms. Bierman will teach the 6th graders. Band is available for 5th and 6th grade students. This program happens during the day on Monday and Wednesday - rehearsals start the first full week of school. Students need to provide their own instruments and book. (Scholarships, district-instrument rentals are available)

I will also be trying to run Ukulele Club again this year. We'll see how the schedule piece works out... I'd like it to be during an afternoon recess so 4th, 5th, and 6th graders can attend, but it might only work out to be available during lunch recess for 5th and 6th graders... I'm working on it, so please be patient! I'll know more information starting in September. There is no fee associated with this program. You must join ClassDojo (a communication app/website) so you can get updates about performances, field trips, etc. in a timely, efficient manner. I will walk you through this personally in September if needed.

May and June Newsletter

Is it really June already?? May was full of testing, hot and cold weather, and many classes beginning their last units of instruction for the year. This will be my last newsletter for the year. Thank you all for your support this year as our students continue to grow musically and work through the many challenging moments learning music can bring. I truly do love my job, and I am grateful for the opportunity to teach music to our students everyday! First off: 3 important performances coming up:
1. Recorder/Band/Orchestra Concert on June 12th at 6:30pm - 4th graders will be performing the same evening as the 5th and 6th graders in band and orchestra. 4th grade will perform first, and then the rest of the night they get to watch students play the instruments they can choose to play next year!
2. 6th Grade Graduation on June 25th at 6:30pm - The choir and 6th graders will perform “High Hopes” on ukuleles, canons, and xylophones. The choir will also perform “Count on Me” as their musical gift to the 6th graders as they leave our school.
3. End of Year Assembly on June 26th at 9:15am - The choir and 6th graders will do a repeat performance.
We hope everyone will be able to come see their students perform. They’re working very hard, and are sounding better every day. Here is what happened in the music room in May, and what we’ll finish the school year doing:
Kindergarten - We finished our hand percussion unit inspired by farm animals. Students loved playing all of the instruments and are looking forward to our last unit of the year: games with “ta” (quarter notes) and rest.
1st grade - We have been learning songs and games from Central America. Some songs are in Spanish, and our Spanish speaking students have been patiently helping us non-Spanish speakers work on our pronunciation :) We will finish the year by continuing to learn songs and games from Central America.
2nd grade - We learned our last bit of 2nd grade content for the year: our singing notes “Do” and “Re”. We’ll continue to use these new singing notes in our songs for the rest of the year.
3rd grade - We have continued traveling musically and learned a song in French. We will learn one more song this year in Spanish and continue using Boomwhackers as we sing. The last week of school we will update our passports so students can take them home to share with you.
4th grade - After all the work we put into our Yellow Belt song, we flew through the Orange Belt song and are currently prepping for the Green Belt song! We will perform these songs at our Recorder Concert on June 12th and then students will get to choose their own songs for the rest of the year.
5th grade - We successfully performed a 3-part xylophone song in ABA form with solos and it was SO COOL! Every year our 5th graders learn more challenging repertoire and I am so proud of them for persevering and having fun by the end of it :)
6th grade - We continue to work on our graduation song “High Hopes”. We are starting to get better at singing while playing, so the last piece is adding the Cajons. Please come see them perform this song on June 25th and June 26th.

April Newsletter

Happy May, everyone! April was a fun month, and we finished off with the dance dude this week! Did you know the dance dude is hosting a dance tomorrow night at 6:00pm?? Our theme is "The Jungle", so wear exciting colors, clothing with animals on it, or animal print and get ready to dance! This is not a drop off event, so all students need a chaperone. The event ends at 7:30pm, and there will not be food available. So, please make sure to eat before you come :)
Here is what happened in the music room before the dance dude came:
Kindergarten - We're continuing to work on our hand-percussion unit with a farm theme. We are currently up to 5 animals and instruments! We've also been working on matching pitch, and demonstrating a canon with body percussion.
1st grade - We are composing are own songs to play on tone bells. We are also working on matching pitch with each other in a singing echo game at the beginning of each class.
2nd grade - We are reviewing Mi, Sol, La with a composition on tone bells, then we'll add Do and Re! We are also working on matching pitch with each other in a singing echo game at the beginning of each class.
3rd grade - We finished updating our passports, and learning about Ekaki Uta (Japanese drawing songs). We learned how to draw a fish, a duck, a pig, and a dog as we sang.
4th grade - We are working hard on our belt songs, and have now mastered the Yellow Belt song, Gently Sleep. It's challenging because it's a lullaby, so you don't want to play too fast or too loud. Next is Orange Belt: Merrily We Roll Along!
5th grade - We can play all 3 parts of our xylophone song! Now, we'll jam out as we learn how to improvise on a pentatonic scale :)
6th grade - We learned the ukulele part for our end of year song, High Hopes. We'll do a quick review next week, and then learn the xylophone part for the rest of May.

March Newsletter

Wow, March was quite the month wasn't it? Between 2 choir field trips, multicultural night performances, and getting ready for Spring Break it's been hard to find time to take a breath! I hope that everyone is able to rest over break and come in April ready to learn a ton!Here is what we did in the music room during March:
Kindergarten - we learned the importance of practicing, and finally performed our Pizza song in English and Spanish. We're now working on our hand-percussion unit within a farm theme. It's super cute and the kids love playing all of the instruments :)
1st grade - we learned how to play Bump Up Tomato (a Mi, Sol, La song) on the tone bells! When we get back from break we'll do some review and then work on making a song of our own with the tone bells.
2nd grade - we finished reviewing Mi, Sol, La, on Tone Bells. We will do a brief review after break and then work on adding our new singing notes (Do and Re) before making a composition using all 5 of our singing notes.
3rd grade - we performed the Tinikling dance at Multicultural Night and got to teach some of our families at the same time, super fun! Now we're making our music passports in preparation of singing songs from all around the world for the rest of the year :)
4th grade - we can play Hot Cross Buns!! After months of working on reading notation and translating it to performing on the recorder we can play our first song and I didn't have to play it for them once! I'm so proud of them. We'll continue learning more songs after break.
5th grade - we are able to independently play 1 part of our 3-part xylophone song. After break we'll add part 2, and eventually part 3.
6th grade - we learned how to play the Cajon and read accents in sixteenth note rhythms. We'll be using this skill during our end of year performance for our 6th grade song "High Hopes". After break we'll start learning the ukulele part to the song, get excited!

Lastly: in case you didn't know, Edmonds was named one of the nation's Best Communities for Music Education for the 11th year in a row! This is a huge achievement, and I hope you see evidence of this award in the music education your child receives at MTE. Thank you for your support as students continue to grow their musical skills!

February Newsletter

Good afternoon! Did February even happen? Honestly, that snow storm is still messing with my sense of time... Thank you for being flexible and safely getting your children to and from school. While we didn't have much music time in February, but we did have an awesome experience with some pieces on loan from the Seattle Art Museum and Schack Art Center. I posted about it last week, but in case you missed it I'm posting it here again below the February highlights from the music room. :)
Kindergarten - we are going to be performing at Multicultural Night on March 21st! We will be singing our song "I am a Pizza" with our Shape Pizzas we made in English and in Spanish. Multicultural Night is a fun event for our community and it has become a tradition for Kindergarten and third grade students to perform at this event. We hope you'll be able to come!
1st grade - we are working on reading/composing with our singing notes Mi, Sol, and La (All Around the Circle). This is in preparation for playing tone bells in the future.
2nd grade - we are working on understanding forms in music (how music is organized). We get to use the hand percussion while we do this.
3rd grade - we are going to be performing at Multicultural Night on March 21st! We will be performing the national dance of the Philippines: Tinikling. Students LOVE this dance and are excited to share it with you. Multicultural Night is a fun event for our community and it has become a tradition for Kindergarten and third grade students to perform at this event. We hope you'll be able to come!
4th grade - we are working on making beautiful sounds with our recorders and are starting to read music while playing. Did you know there is a 7 step process we have to go through in order to be able to understand, internalize, and produce music written on a page?? Music is often seen as another language, and this is why! In order to be able to express yourself musically you need to understand all of the different symbols and patterns music notation is capable (much like letters and words in an alphabet). Students are already working hard on this, I'm proud of their dedication :)
5th grade - we are finishing up our work in FLAT and moving onto our Zimbabwean xylophone piece "Tatenda". Students will be learning a 3-part song and taking turns to improvise as they play the instruments.
6th grade - we are finally done with our rhythm review and are going to be learning how to play the cajon. A cajon is a Peruvian instrument that makes sounds like a drum set. It's shaped like a tall box, you sit on the top, and you play the sides of the drum with your hands.

SPECIAL POST ABOUT ART MUSEUM ITEMS WE GOT TO USE IN FEBRUARY:
I'm very excited to announce that the Schack Art Center (in Everett) in partnership with the Seattle Art Museum has loaned us artifacts from 2 different cultures. We have items from the Philippines and items from the NW Coast Native Americans for students to handle and see in the music room! All students will get a chance to learn about the importance of the items from these 2 cultures this week. We hope to continue to receive materials from the Schack Art Center in the future to continue to learn about different cultures. :)

NW Coast Native Art items:

- our own drum by Margie Morris (Tlingit)

- drum by Greg Colfax (Makah)

- Button dance robe by Terri Shinn

- Portrait Mask by Bruce Cook III (Haida)

- Eagle tile by Paul Luwing

All items used with permission from artists for educational purposes.

Items from the Philippines:

Winnowing basket

Woven backpack (inside there is a yo-yo, a bowl, and a flute/whistle)

Filipino Flag (underneath are maps of the Philippines)

Sungka board and stones (similar to the game "Mancala")

Not pictured: posters showing various games, folk dances, and instruments

Special Art Exhibit in the Music Room!

I'm very excited to announce that the Schack Art Center (in Everett) in partnership with the Seattle Art Museum has loaned us artifacts from 2 different cultures. We have items from the Philippines and items from the NW Coast Native Americans for students to handle and see in the music room! All students will get a chance to learn about the importance of the items from these 2 cultures this week. We hope to continue to receive materials from the Schack Art Center in the future to continue to learn about different cultures. :)

NW Coast Native Art items:

- our own drum by Margie Morris (Tlingit)

- drum by Greg Colfax (Makah)

- Button dance robe by Terri Shinn

- Portrait Mask by Bruce Cook III (Haida)

- Eagle tile by Paul Luwing

All items used with permission from artists for educational purposes.

Items from the Philippines:

Winnowing basket

Woven backpack (inside there is a yo-yo, a bowl, and a flute/whistle)

Filipino Flag (underneath are maps of the Philippines)

Sungka board and stones (similar to the game "Mancala")

Not pictured: posters showing various games, folk dances, and instruments

January Newsletter

Happy Wednesday everyone! I know this month's newsletter is late. Thank you for understanding the delay. Between report cards and snow days it's been a busy time of year. :)
In January we had our first ever theater experience with Missoula Children's Theater! 38 students participated in "The Snow Queen" and got to wear amazing costumes as they acted, danced, and sang on stage with 2 professional thespians. The experience was amazing for everyone, and we can't wait to invite them back into our community. If you'd like to be a part of that, please let the PTO or me know! We could definitely use support next year with supervision after school, in particular.
In January in the music room we did a lot of assessments (for semester grades) and discussed what a musical was (in preparation for the musical assembly). Here is what happened in each grade:

-Kindergarten: we are almost done learning our Pizza song in Spanish, and we'regetting really good at matching pitch with Mrs. Harreld in our "Little circle" drawing song. We will start to use hand percussion soon as we visit the farm. Stay tuned!
-1st grade: we worked really hard on performing rhythms using our 1st grade symbols and got to play the hand percussion as we learned yet another musical form: ABA form (aka Ternary form). Can your student describe the difference? Coming up next: singing notes (aka solfege) in preparation for tone bells.
-2nd grade: we got to create sentences based on our SOAR principles for our school. We then created 16-beat rhythms based on the number of sounds in each sentence. This was challenging to do with all of the Mondays we missed in January, and the half days on Fridays. So, we'll be doing another composition unit in February to continue developing our rhythmic and melodic notation skills.
-3rd grade: We are using Boomwhackers! Students are practicing chanting/singing while performing an ostinato. They're also using the Boomwhackers to perform 8-beat rhythms using their 3rd grade symbols. We will continue to work on this as we learn a song for Multicultural Night :)
-4th grade: We started our Recorder unit, and the kids are doing so well! We are currently learning how to tongue, read notes on the staff, and how to cover the holes on the recorder completely. We'll soon start songs in our recorder packet and start earning belts.
-5th grade: we are working on entering our Xylophone song "Tatenda" into FLAT on our computers. Students will be creating a 3-part song in their program and have to navigate melodic, rhythmic, and structural notation entry into to complete this assignment.
-6th grade: Our performance at the MLK, Jr. assembly was inspired, truly. I am so proud of them! We took a well deserved break, and are now reviewing rhythms in preparation for our drumming unit on cajons!

December Newsletter

Hello all, happy new year! I hope you all had a restful break. Below is what happened in December in the music room, including a beautiful new art installation by our very own Margie Morris!

This mural is right above our refocus area in the music room. Students and staff already pointed it out when they walked in today. It truly is a beautiful piece of work - thank you so much, Margie!

-Kindergarten: we continued learning a song about pizza in Spanish and English (I am a Pizza/Soy una Pizza). While singing this song we reviewed our 5 basic shapes (oval, square, rectangle, circle, triangle). We also got to watch part of The Nutcracker Ballet, and use our shape knowledge to start playing "Little Circle, Little Circle" (it's a song they draw to as they sing).
-1st grade: we continued to work on our compositions, and got to pick instruments to perform them on. We also learned about the musical form RONDO (it's in all caps, because it's a very BIG form). We also got to watch part of The Nutcracker Ballet, and discuss the science/math in music!
-2nd grade: we had a grand ol' time playing our music dictation game. With 7 rounds (yep, 7!) students had to use cards to identify the rhythms I was providing, and then also notate on a whiteboard the rhythms I was providing. We'll be doing more music dictation this year, they really loved it :)
-3rd grade: we had a fun time performing with the choir at the Winter Assembly. We messed up a bit, but we got to start over and finish the song strong - it's all about growth and never giving up at MTE! We'll now be moving into some rhythm review before working with Boomwhackers.
-4th grade: we will be starting our Recorder unit very soon. The belt charts are up on the wall, and the recorders are out. You'll be receiving more specifics in your email soon.
-5th grade: we finished our rhythm review and are moving into music composition via FLAT (a Google based app that students can access at home, as well as at school). We'll be setting up accounts this week, and then students can create as many compositions as they want in their free time. In class we'll be working on putting our written rhythms into the program. Then we'll work on putting some written melodies with harmonic accompaniment into the program.
-6th grade: it's almost time for our performance! We'll be performing "Blackbird" at the assembly on Monday, January 14th at 9:30am. Students have learned 13 chords for this song, as well as a plucking pattern and strumming pattern. I am impressed with their growth and can't wait for them to show off their skills. :)

We also have Missoula Children's Theater coming next week!!! Are you interested in our one-week musical experience?? Auditions are on Monday, January 14th after school (3:20pm) on the school stage. Parents MUST be able to pick up any student in the program when they are done at 7:35pm. Students that are accepted into the program will receive more details after the audition. There is a $50 participation fee, and scholarships are available. Some other highlights:
-UPDATE: Call time has been changed to 9:00am on Friday morning (yay!). So, students will go to their classrooms before they come down to the commons for our dress rehearsal.
-all costumes, make up, and props are included int he $50 participation fee
-2 seasoned actors are leading our students through this experience
-2 performances: 1 assembly at 1:45pm on Friday, Jan 18th and 1 evening performance on Friday, Jan 18th
-students cast in the show must be in rehearsal after school ALL WEEK (3:20pm - 7:35pm). I will be watching kids when they are NOT required to be at rehearsal, so the pick up time is the same for kids all week (Monday-Friday).