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5th graders being themselves...most of these guys I haven't seen since 2nd Grade!

Welcome back to another school year at P.S. 261! It has been a busy and exciting time: meeting new faces and getting re-acquainted with old ones.

This year I will be working with the following classes/grades:

Pre-K

Kindergarten

1-208, 1-209, 1-210, 1-211, K/1-215

2-308, 2-309, 2-311

4-419

5th Grade

In addition, 4th and 5th Grade Chorus is back! Rehearsals will start in October. Auditions have been happening the past two weeks and are coming to an end. I am extremely honored and grateful for the huge interest from our upper grade students. However, due to space I can only take 25 4th Grade students and 25 5th grade students. The final Chorus list will be out the first week of October. All other students who auditioned but did not make it will be placed on a waiting list. If a spot in Chorus does open up, a student from the waiting list will be chosen. Please see the Chorus tab on the home page for more information.

Also I am thrilled to announce that the Young Composers and Improvisors Workshop (YCIW) is back! Many 4th and 5th Grade students have expressed great interest in being a young composer. This is a smaller group and, as of right now, I am only taking 10 4th graders and 10 5th graders. Each student will work on a Google Chromebook in the library so there needs to be one Chromebook for each participant. Also composing, and becoming acclimated to the YCIW program, can be challenging especially for our newer members. A smaller group allows me to give one-on-one time to students who have issues or questions.

All 4th and 5th Grade classes will attend a dress rehearsal at the Metropolitan Opera. The choices this year are: Madama Butterfly (at the end of October), Cendrillon, and Romeo and Juliet (both in April). Each class will do a study of the opera prior to attending the performance.

Lastly, 4th and 5th grade parents: I am using a new app called ClassDojo to keep track of my students progress and to keep you guys informed of what we are doing in music class. Keep on the lookout for an invite paper that will allow you to create a free account, log in, and check on your child's progress.

Looking forward to an amazing school year! It's definitely to be a busy one!