January Newsletter
A student's artwork of me, I believe playing the piano. This was sent to me in a letter through our school's Post Office, which took place last month.
Happy New Year!
It's great to be back and I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and a restful vacation. Here is what's happening this month in Music class:
Pre-K: We are adding more songs to our repertoire! You might be hearing your child sing songs like "The Snowman" or "Hi...my name is Joe". These songs are sung with specific movements, and being able to sing a song and perform a specific movement is a form of part work. We are also continuing our basic rhythm and rhythm writing work.
Kindergarten: In every music class, we start with a hello song. From now until the end of the year, I am asking a different student every week to lead our hello song. Up until now, it has always been me who led the song. This opportunity allows the child to be in the spolight for the moment but it also gives me the chance to assess their singing and performance skills. We are also singing songs about Winter, continuing our rhythm and beat work, and playing music games with songs and/or a specific movement.
First Grade and Second Grade: The hello song in every class from now until the end of the year is led by a different student every week, providing me a means to assess students' singing and performance ability. We are taking a brief break from our solfege and rhythm skills to begin our "Peter and the Wolf" Unit. Peter and the Wolf is a Russian folk tale that was set to music by the composer Sergei Prokovief. First Graders will read the story together, do an instrument study of the instruments used to represent the characters, and finally listen to the piece. Second Graders will be revisiting this unit again, however we will taking an more in-depth look at the story and music, including the relationship between the music and what is happening in the story.
Chorus: The Chorus did an amazing job at the Winter Concert! I am so proud of all of them. Our next big performance won't be until May but in the meantime we are working on songs for our March to Borough Hall in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, which is an event all 3rd, 4th and 5th graders participate in.
Mr. O
