Weekly Review 12/10 - 12/14

Happy Friday!

Before we get to the weekly review, we want to congratulate the fourth and fifth grade students on a fabulous performance at their winter concert! We are so proud of all of your hard work!

The first graders have been preparing for their own performance, which will be next Wednesday for the parents of first grade students. We will take you on a musical journey from September through December so you can learn a little bit more about what the first graders do in class. We hope to see you there!

The second graders finished watching the Nutcracker Ballet, performed by the New York City Ballet. The students were interested to learn about the strength and athleticism that dancing requires - especially for pointe!

The third grade students reviewed the parts of the staff as well as the line and space notes.  Then they played a fun staff games to reinforce what they have learned. The game is played on the floor staff, and it's called, "On Your Mark, Get Set, Notate!" They can't wait to start learning the recorder in February!

The fourth and fifth grade students watched their performance from Wednesday evening for self-assessment purposes. Here are a few photos from orchestra in the evening, and chorus during the morning's show!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Weekly Review 12/3-12/7

We have been really busy getting ready for our 4th and 5th Grade Winter Concert and our 1st grade Winter Showcase. Here is what we did in music this week:

First grade students are really excited to show you all what they have been learning in music this year. They are busy rehearsing for their first music performance. It will be on Wednesday, Dec. 19th @ 1:30pm.  A letter should have gone home last week. They 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 the part of the song that we "remember" because the music and lyrics gets repeated at least more than once. We also learned a fun song called My Red Sled for our showcase.

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. The students learned that in a ballet, the story is conveyed through dance and movement instead of through spoken words.  The only voice you hear is the narrator, who occasionally speaks to give extra details about the story.

The third graders have started their music notation unit to help prepare them for the recorder.  First, they learned about the staff, and then we added the treble clef, time signature, bar lines, double bar line, repeat sign , and labeled the measures.  The students did a wonderful job drawing and labeling these musical items. Here are some pictures:

We also learned a fun song to help the students remember the names of the line and space notes on the music staff.  Feel free to ask your child to sing it to you.

Our fourth and fifth grade students are working really hard for their concert on Wednesday, Dec. 12th at 6:00pm.  The students are really excited ! We have one more rehearsal left on Tuesday and then it is showtime!! You all should have a received a letter or a text from Remind Me. If you have not, here is the letter that we sent home:

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The music department at Memorial presents:

Once Upon a Winter

Wednesday, Dec. 12th, 2018

6:00 p.m.

Your child has been working very hard towards this concert and we hope you and your family can be there to support them. Feel free to email or call us if you have any questions.

• Concert Attire:  
• Morning- Students may wear regular school clothes in the daytime- but please no t-shirts with logos or words.
• Evening- Solid white tops (no large, visible logos) with black bottoms and dark shoes. Students may also wear colorful festive winter accessories.

Note:  This is a performance, so all students should look nice.  We do not want jeans, sweatpants, or sports gear. Thank you!

• Call Times:

• Band students will report to the music room at 5:40 p.m.
• String students will report to the lesson room at 5:40 p.m.
• Chorus students who do not play an instrument will report to the kindergarten wing at 5:50 p.m.

• Please note: ALL 4th and 5th graders must attend the Winter Concert. The students have been working so hard since September to prepare for this performance, and we need all of their wonderful voices and instrumental skills in our ensembles!  (Please contact us in advance if you have a conflict with attendance)

* We look forward to seeing you there! *

Sincerely,

Mr. Napierkowski, Mrs. Niu, and Mrs. Rzasa

Have a wonderful weekend and we hope to see many of you at our Winter Concert on Wednesday evening at 6pm!

Weekly Review 10/29-11/2

We can't believe it is already November. Here is what we did in music this week......


In first grade, students added three percussions instrument to the song,"Thump, Thump, Thump."  A hand drum was played during the crescendo on the words, "Thump, Thump, Thump," a triangle was played on a quarter rest, and egg shakers were played on the spooky words, "Who's There?" Every student got a chance to play all three instruments.   We also learned a song and played a game called, "Flap and Fly." Bats are nocturnal, mammals meaning that they sleep in the daytime and are awake at night.  Bats were asleep while the lights were on, then a student (the Sun) turned off the lights so the bats could dance and sing!  When the sun came up, the lights were turned back on and the bats fell asleep. Here is Mrs. Burnham's class performing, "Thump, Thump, Thump!"

The second graders had so much fun playing "A Funny Little Lady" that we played it again this week.  We read a book, "Old Wind," and used various percussion instruments to create sound effects.  Here are the performances:





In third grade, the students repeated their "Funeral March of a Marionette" activity from last week and played a game called, "Pass the Broomstick" that reinforces steady beat. The song is in minor to prepare for this, they sang a minor scale. Rhythm sticks were given to each student to represent broomsticks. Then they learned how to pass a rhythm stick along to the steady beat.  On the last beat of the song, whoever had one more more sticks were out.

Fourth graders have finished preparing for the Veteran's Day Assembly.  The assembly is this Thursday, November 8th at 1:30 p.m.  Due to space limitations, ONLY the parents of fourth graders may attend.  As a reminder, if you would like your child to be dismissed with you, they must send in a note that day. The front office is VERY strict about this policy. Thank you in advance!

The fifth graders really enjoyed a unique listening activity this week.  They followed a listening map for "Danse Macabre" by Camille Saint-Saens.   It's based off of a poem by Henri Cazalis and features a violin soloist.  Mrs. Rzasa played some of the themes on my violin so they could find them as we listened to the song.

Have a wonderful LONG weekend with your children!