Mrs. Niu - niu@bpsk12.org Mrs. Rzasa - rzasa@bpsk12.org
For all information regarding the Memorial String Orchestra Program, please click HERE.  

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

More Mad Libs!

Mrs. Kip's class was the last group to do the Music Mad Libs this week.  Check out their silly songs!


Frosty the puppy man
Was a sweet, ugly soul,
With a corncob kitty and a button ear
And two eyes made out of Wii U.
Frosty the candy cane man is a mad tale, they say,
He was made of monsters but the children know
How he came to New York City one day.
There must have been some magic in that
Old pair of underwear they found.
For when they placed it on his leg
He began to run around.
Oh, Frosty the volcano man
Was alive as he could be,
And the babies say he could slap and pick his nose
Just the same as Natalee and me.



You better hop on one foot
You better not sit
Better not punch
I'm telling you why
Rithikh is coming to Los Angeles
He's making a store
And checking it 6 times;
Gonna find out who's ugly and totally weird
Ben is coming to Wisconsin
He sees you when you're dancing
He knows when you're running
He knows if you've been tired or fat
So be good for goodness sake!
Oh! You better play baseball
You better not flip
Better not do a backflip
I'm telling you why
Katie is coming to jail!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Third Grade Mad Libs!

Below are the silly songs that Mrs. Ferullo and Mrs. Cyr's class wrote by doing Mad Libs!

(to the tune of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town")


You better grow up
You better not run
Better not walk
I'm telling you why
Jayce  is coming to New York
He's making a Paul
And checking it 5000 times;
Gonna find out who's smelly  and sweet
Ronith is coming to Boston
He sees you when you're skipping
He knows when you're walking
He knows if you've been fat or skinny
So be good for goodness sake!
Oh! You better run into a wall
You better not play tennis
Better not ride our bike
I'm telling you why
Flying  is coming to Chicago
Mrs. Niu  is coming to Tokyo

(to the tune of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer")

Jonathan the blue-nosed cheetah
Had a very large lung
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows

All of the other dogs
Used to laugh and call him "Disney World"
They never let poor Kaho
Join in any bird games

Then one foggy April Fool’s Eve
Santa came to say
Rudolph with your leg so purple
Won't you guide my shark tonight?

Then all the bears loved him
And they shouted out with fear
Nick the pink - elbow wolf
You'll go down in history!

Monday, December 16, 2013

Violin Assignment

For the next few weeks until our next lesson in the new year, I'd like the violinists to work on the new A string notes that we learned in class today.  The assignment is to work on page 10 (pizzicato and with the bow).  Students who are struggling can spend more time on the earlier pages, and any students who feel ready can move on to page 11.

Thank you!!

Mad Libs- Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer- Mrs. Keating's Class

Barrack  the Blue -nosed Cheetah
Had a very fluffy
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it brains

All of the other monkies
Used to laugh and call him police station
They never let poor Noyal
Join in any horse games

Then one foggy Christmas Eve
Santa came to say
Rudolph with your knee so soft
Won't you guide my American Flag tonight?

Then all the hawks loved him
And they shouted out with crazy
Dante the violet arm white tiger
You'll go down in history!

Frosty the Snow Man- Mrs. Keating's Class-


Written by- Collin, Samantha, Cole, Amber, Victoria, Julia, Ali, and Liam

Frosty the Mrs. Niu man
Was a high colorful soul
With a corncob train and a button heart
And two eyes made out of Boston.
Frosty the hog man is a tale, they say,
He was made of bathroom but the children know
How he came to Lexington one day.
There must have been some magic in that
Old socks they found.
For when they placed it on his  nose
He began to  fight around.
Oh, Frosty the   man
Was alive as he could be,
And the shower say he could jumping and  toliet
Just the same as  Ali and me.



Sunday, December 15, 2013

Weekly Review 12/9-12/13

This was my first week back from my maternity leave and it was so nice to get a warm welcome from everyone! I have missed you all! Here is a picture of my son Aiden (2) and Tyler (3 months)



Mrs. Rzasa, Ms. Rohlfing and I want to congratulate all our 4th and 5th graders for a wonderful performance on Wednesday! Your performance has brought us into the holiday spirit!


This week, the first graders learned the musical term verse and refrain with the song, "Jingle Bells." A verse is a section of a song that has the same music but different lyrics. The refrain is most likely the part of the song that we "remember" because the music and lyrics gets repeated at least more than once. Thus in, "Jingle Bells," one verse of the song begins with, "Dashing through the snow" while the refrain begins with, "Jingle bells, Jingle Bells."After learning the first verse and the refrain to this song, we played a game and added wrist bells.

Th second grade students are learning about the famous Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and his famous ballet, "The Nutcracker." As an introduction to this unit, our second graders watched, "The Nutcracker" movie starring Macaulay Caulkin and featuring the New York City Ballet. Next week, we will be dancing to some of the famous suites in the ballet.

The third graders reviewed music notation and learned a fun song to help remember the name of the notes. Ask your child to sing the song for you! The third graders also learned a fun dance during the holiday season called the "Jingle Bell Mixer." 

A BIG CONGRATS to our 4th and 5th Grade Students for a WONDERFUL performance!

Have a fabulous weekend and stay safe!

Monday, December 9, 2013

Violin Assignment

I decided to continue to focus on the D String notes this week, since many students have been having a bit of difficulty with the fingerings.  PLEASE encourage your child to practice, aiming for at least 30 minutes each week.

The assignment for all students is to practice pages 8 and 9 again.  They should do it pizzicato first, and once they are comfortable with the notes they can play with the bow.  If ready, they may start page 10 (although this is optional).



Friday, December 6, 2013

Weekly Review 12/2 - 12/6

I first want to give a nice warm welcome to Mrs. Niu!  Today was her first day back from maternity leave, and everyone was so excited to see her again.  :)

This week, the first graders discussed Hanukkah traditions and learned two new songs.  "Hanukkah is Here" teaches the students about the menorah, dreidel, and a dance called the Hora.  They had a fun time acting out each section as they sang!  They also played a game to go along with the song "On this Night"- eight students pretended to be candles on a menorah, and each verse of the song was about a different candle.

The second grade students learned a few new music vocabulary words this week.  They remembered tempo from last year (the speed of music), and now they can label the tempo of a song as either allegro, andante, or adagio.  In addition, they learned the word ritardando (when the music gradually slows down - frequently found at the end of a song).  They listened to "Freight Train," and used their new vocabulary words to describe the tempo of the piece before doing a fun movement activity!

The third graders have been working towards learning how to read music notation. Yesterday I posted some more information about this, along with some pictures.  You can check it out here!

The fourth and fifth graders would like to invite you to attend their Winter Concert!  All concert information can be found HERE

We hope you have an amazing weekend!


Thursday, December 5, 2013

Music Notation!

The third grade students are starting to learn how to read music notation.  We will be continuing to work on this skill for the next few weeks to prepare for the recorders that the student will start to play in the new year.  It's so exciting!



Monday, December 2, 2013

Violin Schedule for Today

Cyr: 8:30 - 9:00
Kippenberger: 10:30 - 11:00
Ferullo: 11:00 - 11:30
Keating: 12:40 - 1:05

*note:  The Science Show has been scheduled for 10:00 today.  If students in Mrs. Kippenberger's class miss their lesson, they may attend the recess lesson.