Congratulations and Happy Holidays!

Hello all,

With everything that has been going on these last couple of weeks, I am only now getting around to posting about our fabulous concerts!
What an AMAZING job all of the students did! I was so proud of them for all of their hard work and I think they performed wonderfully. The afternoon concert was great and the students really warmed up to having an audience. For the evening show, the students all remembered to sing "loud and proud" (as I constantly remind them :) ) and it was just fantastic! I think we really rocked it out!
Fun was had by all and we even managed to raise $350 for our Christmas baskets!

This was my very first time organizing a school concert and I was blown away by the effort that the students put in and the support I received from parents, fellow teachers and staff members. It was a real team effort and I thank everyone for helping us out and coming to have some fun with us.

Although I can't really post any pictures that were taken at the show, I did manage to make an audio recording of most of it. I will post the link on Dropbox (which I hope is working out well for you...haven't gotten much feedback about it...although I now realize that you have to download the free version of it) and you can relive the wonderful show all throughout your holiday season! :)

Click here for the sound files from the concert

Before the holidays, most of the classes had a chance to watch one of my favourite movies, The Wizard of Oz. As some of the children had already seen the movie, we had fun singing along to many of the popular songs. The kindergarten groups had fun watching the movie Happy Feet, about a penguin who loves to dance. There was lots of great music that got the students wanting to get their own happy feet moving. We danced around with our classroom mascot for the season: a singing and dancing stuffed penguin we like to call "Lil' G" because he sings a mean, modified version of "Fly Like a G6" about slipping, sliding, penguins, blizzards and hot choco.

Thank you all for the thoughtful gifts I received from many of the students this week. I am truly blessed to be working with such an awesome group of children and on such a wonderful team!
I hope you all have a very happy holiday season and a merry Christmas! See you in 2014!

More updates! More songs!

Hi everyone!

I attempted to record the songs for the concert and uploaded them again. I know some were missing or not working. It seems that you do need to install dropbox for this to work, but it's free so hopefully you can/will upload it. I apologize for the songs I recorded (the ones that say "practice" at the end), as I realized that I chose them to suit the children's vocal range and maybe not my own! Although I'm a soprano, some of them were pretty high for my chest voice. Hopefully the children don't make you play those ones too often! :) When they know the words well enough, they can also practice with the real tracks we will be using for the show.

DRESS CODE: I have asked the students to please dress in a PLAIN WHITE top (no logos) and a DARK BOTTOM (navy or black). If possible, no jeans. Thank you!
One of the boys asked me if he could wear a tie - I think ties are adorable but, obviously not expected. Any plain white top would be great.

PARTICIPATION: All of the children are expected to participate in both concert performances. If your child cannot attend a concert, please let me know through your child.

DATES & TIMES: 
Dec. 9th -We will be having a dress rehearsal next Monday (Dec. 9th). Please try to make sure that your child does not miss this important run-through.
Dec. 10th - Our afternoon concert on the 10th will start at 12:45 (after lunch). We hope to see many of you there!
Dec 11th - For the evening concert on the 11th, students are expected to be at school at 6:30pm and make there way to their classroom. The concert will start at 7.

DONATIONS: We are asking for donations to help with the Christmas basket for St. John Fisher Church for families in need this holiday season. Your generosity will be greatly appreciated.


 ****UPDATED SONG FILES & LYRICS******

Click the group to access the files via dropbox (should work even if you don't have a dropbox account)

Group 1

Mme. Martine

Mme. Mollenthiel

Mme. Stevenson

Group 2

Mme. Monique/ Mme. Cesari

Mme. Royal

Group 3

Mme. Deziel

Mme. Lyne

Group 4

Mme. Sophie

Mme. Bourassa

Glocks Galore!

This week, as many of you have probably heard, I was on crutches due to an ankle injury. Therefore classes were a bit more sedentary than usual. I originally wanted to focus on singing this semester, but I was also itching to get the students playing some instruments! We have played a lot of percussion so far, but nothing with a pitch.

I planned an introduction to our glockenspiels for them and so far we have had a blast learning all about this instrument. We now know that glockenspiels are pitched percussion instruments whose bars are made of metal. Although most of the children thought that they would be playing "xylophones" when I showed them the glockenspiel, we quickly learned that xylophones are made of wood, as opposed to metal. We will soon be experimenting with our xylophones too!
With all grade levels this week, we learned how to hold the mallets, strike the bars of the glockenspiel (no bouncing too high!) and played along with a Robert Munsch story entitled "Mortimer". We practiced playing from low to high and from high to low whenever a character in the story went up or down the stairs. We also sang along with Mortimer when we belted his favourite tune "CLING CLANG RATTLE BING BANG gonna make my noise all day! CLING CLANG RATTLE BING BANG gonna make my noise all day!" (sorry parents!)

Here's an interesting article I came across: Kids Music 101

Rhythm Rotation

Hello again,

This past week the cycle 1 students practiced their rhythm reading skills by participating in a variety of activities. We had fun with different stations, including games such as "Rhythm Rockets" where the students moved clothespins up and down their rocketship game cards to indicate the rhythm being read.














We also took turns reading out different rhythms using "Ti-ti" and "Ta" and forming them with popsicle sticks on our beat mats.

















Another game we played was called Music Monsters and is one that I adapted from an idea shared by another teacher. I thought the students would enjoy playing with characters from the movie Monsters Inc...so they snuck their way into our rhythm reading practice game by being our game pieces. In this one, the students had to roll their dice and remove a monster from the corresponding column on their game mat by reading the rhythm found underneath.

Our final station allowed us to let loose a little a throw beanbags onto mats with rhythm cards on them. In order to score a point, the students had to read out the rhythm they landed on to their teammates. This one seemed to be a hit, as I could definately hear the excitement coming from that part of the room! :)













After having worked on reading simple rhythms for a few weeks now, it was wonderful to see the students able to play the games by themselves and help each other with the skill. I'm proud to see that many of them are able to read these rhythms with ease now.

Musical Magic!

As you may have already heard, we are adding a bit of a twist to our holiday concert in December. We will be singing songs from popular Broadway musicals, as well as songs more appropriate for the season. We will be singing in both English and French and our practicing is really starting to pay off! The students will have already come home this week with the lyrics to their songs for the concert. Some classes may be singing an additional song, but for now I'd like them to prepare the 2 that they have brought home. Some of the lyrics are a bit different from the ones sung on the track (particularly Vive le Vent, as we are doing a bilingual version), so please make sure the children pay attention to the lyrics they have been given. You can find a link to download each of the songs here:


Group 1:
Download lyrics for Group 1
        I Just Can't Wait to be King (from the Lion King)
        Download music with vocal track
        Download instrumental version
        L'Hiver est tout Blanc
        Link to music

Group 2:  
Download lyrics for Group 2
        Supercalifragiliticexpialidocious (from Mary Poppins)
        (we may slow this one down a little bit!)
        Download music with vocal track
        Download instrumental version
        La Neige Tombe
        Link to music

Group 3: 
Download lyrics for Group 3
       Mama Mia
       Download music with vocal track
       Download instrumental version
       Vive le Vent
   Download music with vocal track
       Download instrumental version

Group 4
Download lyrics for Group 4
       It's a Hard-knock Life (from Annie)
       Download music with vocal track
       Download instrumental version
       Bonjour l'Hiver
       Download music with vocal track
       Download instrumental version


I'll post the list of classes in each group next week, although the children should know which songs they have been practicing in class. I hope everything is able to download. Please let me know (through the comments) if there are any issues. It is my first time using this particular download site.
Happy practicing!

What we've been up to

Hi everyone!

For the past few weeks we have been very busy learning all about a few of the basic music concepts. Each week, all of the grades focused on the same concept and explored it in different ways.
We're getting really good at identifying high and low notes! We've been using glockenspiels to play different high or low notes and having fun getting others to guess whether we played a high/low or a low/high pattern. In grades 1 and 2, we sang a 2-note lullaby called "Bye Low Baby Oh" and played a game while we sang. We jumped onto a line for the high notes and off for the low. Our best listeners earned their stars for the day by avoiding being knocked out of the game for 3 rounds in a row!
It was great to see everyone so involved and really grasping the concept!
Check out how we mapped out the melodic contour of Bye Low Baby Oh with bingo chips:

We really have covered a lot so far this term. Songs like the Grand Old Duke of York and Tony Chestnut helped us learn about fast and slow music. The actions for those songs really got us moving!
We've also learned some great music words like "forte" and "piano" (loud and soft)...even "fortissimo" and "pianissimo"....and practiced loud and soft sounds with John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. One of favourite games so far also helped us practice dynamics. We took turns hiding a dragon named Dynamo and helping the dragon hunter find him by clapping louder as they got closer to him.
In kindergarten, we are doing a lot of learning through songs and singing games. The children have been getting ready for Halloween with songs like "Looking for Dracula"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZpf0SIO-sY
Tricky Witch and Monster Walk.

**Stay tuned for more information about our upcoming December concert for grade 1 and 2. I will posting our songs for the children to practice, along with the links. Each class will be singing 2-3 songs together with another group. The children will also be coming home with the modified lyrics this week so please help them to read over and learn the words and encourage them to sing "loud and proud" (as we like to say)!
Thank you for your support!

When do I have music?

The music schedule is as follows:

Kindergarten has music for one 30min block in the 5-day cycle.
Day 3:
Mme. Yolanda
Mme. Adrienne
Day 5:
Mme. Bojanowski & Mme. Ziwani
Mme. Émond
Mme. Diane

Grade 1 has music for one 60min block in the 5-day cycle.
Day 3:
Mme. Martine (grade 1/2)
Day 4:
Mme. Mollenthiel
Mme. Monique
Day 5:
Mme. Stevenson
Mme. Royal

Grade 2 has music for one 60min block in the 5-day cycle.
Day 3:
Mme. Déziel
Mme. Martine (grade 1/2)
Mme. Belzile
Day4:
Mme.Bourassa
Mme. Lyne

Week 2 - Steady Beat

 

Week 2 was spent learning how to identify and keep a steady beat.

We learned that the beat is like the pulse of music!

We used our heartbeats to determine what a steady beat was and played a listening game to separate steady beats from ones that were not (or "crazy beats" as we called them) in everyday sounds. We realized that items such as clocks and windshield wipers make sounds that keep a steady beat.

We could tap along with the sounds on our knees to help us find the steady beat.

We all played a game that reminded us of freeze dance that helped us recognize steady beats and had fun clapping out the beats of some of our favorite songs!

In some grade 1 and 2 classes, we used the rhythm sticks to help us keep a steady beat. The students did a great job following the beat and leading their classmates on the djembe drum.

We may have a few drummers on our hands!

 

Excellent work! 

In the weeks to come, we will be continuing to work on keeping a steady beat and will be diving into the world of rhythm and dynamics! Stay tuned!

Week 1 - Nice to meet you!

Hi everyone!
In our first week, we spent time getting to know the music room and playing some fun rhythm games. The students noticed that some changes have been made in the music room in terms of layout and decoration. Take a look at what the students saw on their first days.

 

 

We also began to decorate our individual name notes to decorate our collaborative music staff in the hallway outside the music room.

 

One popular game this week was "Band Leader". The students took turns being detectives and tried to discover who was leading the group in percussion patterns using our bodies. Those leaders were very sneaky and our detectives were excellent listeners! We also learned what was expected of all us in the music room and what to look forward to when we all work together to make music class enjoyable for everyone.

Here are Miss Ashley's Secrets to Success (as we discuss in class)
*I keep my hands and feet to myself
*I am a good listener  (ears, eyes and body facing speaker)
*I follow the instructions (quickly and quietly)
*I show respect to all  (classmates, teacher and music room equipment)

So far we are all doing a wonderful job of creating a fun and supportive learning environment!
Keep up the great work everyone!

As you can see here, we have begun to fill up our music staff with our name notes!

 

I can't wait until it's complete!

 

 

Let me introduce myself...

Hi everyone!

I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to all of you. I'll be getting to know the students over the course of the school year, but may not have a chance to meet all of the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, family and friends who are curious as to what's happening in our music room this year!

My name is Ashley Dunn...or "Miss Ashley" as the students know me. I am so excited to be teaching music this year at St. John Fisher Jr.! 
This is my first year teaching music and I have lots of fun in store! I have a University degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from Concordia, as well as a minor in Theatre. I also took several Music courses during my time in University and was a member of the Vocal Jazz Ensemble. I have worked with children for 10 years now, at the preschool and elementary level. I have taught French and English and have a special interest in early literacy. Some may recognize me from the local YMCA where I taught swimming and am also an Aquatics Supervisor.

I am a huge advocate for arts education and have been involved with performing arts ever since I was young. Over the years I have developed my passion for singing through choir work, musical productions and performing regularly with a band. My love of music has been enriched by playing the violin and I have also started to learn the guitar! I developed a love for theatre in high school through performing in several musical productions and went on the obtain my DEC in Professional Theatre. Along with being a teacher, I have performed professionally in both stage and film productions in Montreal. I also love to dance; with hip-hop, jazz and swing classes under my belt. It feel it is very important to incorporate movement into the classroom, so we will definitely be dancing in the music room this year! I look forward to a great year with your children and hope to communicate with all of you. 

3 words you can find posted outside the music room are: Sing, Play and Smile...and that's exactly what we'll be up to!

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions! I will be posting my email address shortly.

Welcome!

Hello everyone!

Hope you all had a great summer. Although I enjoyed the summer months, I am happy that it's back-to-school time once again! 

This is my first time setting up a blog and I am very excited that I'll be able to share what the students and I will be doing in music class this year. I won't be posting pictures of the students, but I'll be able to post about what we are exploring in class. I will also be using this page to provide parents with important updates and information regarding different activities throughout the school year.

I hope to be able to post sound files or youtube links to the songs we will be working on in class so that the children can practice singing their hearts out at home. You know what they say, "Practice Makes Perfect!"

This coming week will be the start of music classes and I am excited to meet all of the students. I have been fortunate enough to talk with a few on the first day of school and special thanks to those who came up to me in the schoolyard and made me feel welcome! I look forward to meeting many parents in the upcoming weeks and hope you will visit my blog regularly to keep up-to-date. I truly hope to keep up-to-date with it myself, although it may take some getting used to for me. I believe this will be an exciting and fun way to keep in touch. What a great beginning to the school year so far!