Wow!

Thank you to all of the families who came out to the IHES Music Program last night! I could never have dreamt that there would be such an enormous turn-out. I apologize to the families who were unable to see their children on stage. I do, despite some of the logistical situations, think the students had a wonderful time sharing their music with the audience. I am thrilled that so many students participated in the event!
I wish you all Happy Holidays and peace in the New Year!

Arrival Time for December 15 Holiday Program

Though the program begins at 6:30, students should arrive at 6:00 for attendance and last minute preparations to make sure the program runs smoothly. Parents and families may enjoy bake sales and gift basket raffles during the time before the program and immediately afterward. DVD orders for video of the program will also be taken before and after the program. A DVD of the performance will be $10.

Students will wait backstage in one of the DCMS classrooms until their time to perform. In order to maintain consistency and respect all grade level performances, please stay for the entire program which will last approximately 1 hour. Students will return backstage and stay until the program is complete. If you would like to volunteer to help backstage and chaperone students in the classrooms with teachers, please e-mail me. Many helping hands are needed!

Help is needed in these areas:
-Chaperoning back stage
-Decorating the stage
-Hanging backdrop designed by Ms. Santucci

Please e-mail if you can help!
-Transportation of instruments to and from IHES to DCMS

Kindermusik Classes in Rock Hill and Fort Mill

Kindermusik is a great way to aid in a child's development through music. My twin boys, Bailey and Carter, have been going to classes since they were 3 months old. Their smiles and laughter are evidence of their love of Kindermusik. There are classes for newborns through elementary school age children. Visit the following web-site for class times and locations: www.OurMusicTime.com
You may also enjoy a free preview class through December 18. For additional information visit the above mentioned web-site.

More Holiday Program Information

What to wear for the Holiday Program: Students should wear green and/or red clothing, or a Holiday sweater, etc. There is no uniform required for the program; just look festive! :)

Directions to Dutchman Creek Middle School:

-Turn left out of IHES onto Twin Lakes Road
-At the stop light, turn left onto Mt. Gallant Road.
- Continue down Mt. Gallant Road for a few mile, and DCMS will be on your left.

There will be limited parking in the front of the school. Extra parking may be found by turning left at the stop light between Mt. Gallant Elementary School and the York County Museum. After turning left, there will be an entrance to DCMS on the right. Turn into that entrance, and continue around to extra parking lots.

Please feel free to post a comment to the blog with additional questions, or e-mail me at aodom@rock-hill.k12.sc.us

Practice Tracks for Recorder Music

This link will take you to the folder for all of the Recorder music. These will help you practice our group's songs as well as practice for solo parts.

http://www.box.net/shared/l5gknxyxtl

December 15 Information

Who: All IHES Students
What: Holiday Program
When: Tuesday, December 15 at 6:30PM
Where: Dutchman Creek Middle School Auditorium
Why: To dazzle the audience with our musical progress this semester and celebrate the season!

*A small paper was sent home earlier this week about the Holiday Program. It is important that you sign and return the paper, or e-mail Mrs. Odom, only if your child is UNABLE to attend the program.
aodom@rock-hill.k12.sc.us

* Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade will host a bake sale in the atrium of Dutchman Creek Middle School before and after the program to earn money for classroom supplies. Nothing will be sold during the program, so everyone can be in the audience. If you can help with baking and/or selling items for these bake sales, contact your child's classroom teacher.

*Please e-mail Mrs. Odom if you are able to help with the logistics of the program (ie. transporting equipmentand instruments to/from DCMS, hand out programs, help backstage with helping students on and off stage (we'll make sure you are in the auditorium to see your child perform!), or in any other way). This is a huge event for IHES, so this must be a school community effort to be a success!

*Try and take a few moments to ask your child about the songs they are learning for the program. They may even give you a preview. :) Excitement is spreading, so they will probably be eager to show you their work in progress.

Thank you for your support and for sharing your children with me each week!

Week of November 9 in Music

Kindergarten: Students are working in groups to create 4 beat rhythm patterns using quarter notes and rests. We are also discussing long and short sounds created by our classroom percussion instruments.

1st Grade: Our theme for the week is Squirrels! Students have learned "Chase the Squirrel" and "Hop Old Squirrel" with instruments and movements. Also, students are beginning to read "Ta" and "Ti-Ti" notation.

2nd Grade: Students are identifying and labeling the half rest in rhythm exercises. Students are also extending the instrumental part for "All 'Round the Brickyard", which was learned last week. Students are also singing notated patterns on sol-la-mi.

3rd Grade: Students are singing and playing Orff instruments for the song "Great Big House", which introduced the high "do" on the solfege scale. Also, students are learning the traditional song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" in honor of Veteran's Day.

4th Grade: Students have moved past "Hot Cross Buns" onto a song named "Waltz" that also reinforces the fingerings for G, A, and B (do-re-mi)

5th Grade: Students are learning a piece named "Boomfallera" and "Waltz". Next week we will add two new notes to our recorder playing.

*Next week we will begin work on our music for the December 15 program at Dutchman Creek Auditorium.

November is Here!!

I can't believe the first nine weeks (almost 10) of school has come and gone! I am so pleased with the progress of the students during their music classes!
Here's what we have been learning:

Kindergarten: We have added the quarter rest to our rhythms and are practicing creating our own 4 beat rhythm patterns. We are continuing to work on matching pitch as we work on sol-mi melodies some of which have fun music games to accompany them.

1st Grade: We are creating rhythms with quarter notes and quarter rests. Many of the songs we are learning are accompanied by our barred Orff instruments (xylophones, metallophones, and glockenspiels). We are also discussing and experiencing the difference between beat and rhythm.

2nd Grade: Second graders are learning songs with sol-mi-la. They are learning to read the pitches on the musical staff and identify them when they are learning a new song. We are working on not only feeling the beat of the music but also the half note pulse which occurs every 2 beats. Students played a game this week to help experience the half note pulse: "Bounce high, bounce low" requires the students to sing and bounce a ball to a classmate every two beats. We've all had fun with that game!

3rd Grade: Third graders are reading more complex rhythms including quarter notes and rests, half notes and rests, whole notes and rests, and eighth notes. They are learning to experience the quarter note pulse as well as the half and whole note pulses of a song. This concept was demonstrated in the Native American song, "The Bear Hunting Song". Students learned a barred instrument part for the song "Hill and Gully Rider" in which they kept a steady quarter note pulse every other measure.

4th Grade: I'm sure you know that your children have started recorders! They have learned the notes B, A, G. We are working on playing with appropriate breath and technique (left hand on top, covering the holes of the instrument completely, playing with "warm" air). So far, the students have learned "Hot Cross Buns" and can play it with an accompaniment recording. Encourage your children to practice!

5th Grade: Fifth graders are also engrossed in recorders! They have reviewed the notes and concepts presented during their fourth grade year. They have learned a piece of music, "Boomfallera", which is in 3/4 time and requires them to concentrate on technique as the notes are in a different order than presented in 4th grade. Encourage your children to practice!

Reminder: Our December Music Program will be held on December 15 at 6:30PM in the Dutchman Creek Middle School Auditorium. All students will have a performance that evening!

Holiday Program Venue Change

The Holiday program will still occur on Tuesday, December 15 at 6:30 PM, but the location has changed to the Dutchman Creek Middle School Auditorium. If you are available and willing to help on December 15 with either the transporting of instruments to DCMS or during the night of the program, please e-mail me at aodom@rock-hill.k12.sc.us. We'll need lots of helping hands to make this a merry night to remember!

This Week in Music

Kindergarten: We have added the quarter rest to our rhythms, and students are experiencing the rest in several songs, "I like to Play the Sticks" and "Into the Woods". Since Halloween is on its merry way, we have learned "We are Scary Skeletons", which reinforces pulse of music and locomotor skills.

1st Grade: Students play an imitative game with "In the Hall of the Mountain King", a well-known Halloween/mystery song. The rhyme, "Little Jack Pumpkin Face", is learned with different motions to show the pulse of the music during each phrase. For the song, "What Will you Be?", instruments are used to keep the pulse as each student tells the class and teacher what they will be for Halloween. Students are assessed this week on their ability to indicate whether music moves up or down when they hear it.

2nd Grade: The dynamics, piano and forte, are introduced in a spoken piece called "Three Little Muffins. Students are also using a three line staff to accurately place the pitches for mi, so, and la as used in their songs thus far this year. The song, "Must Be Halloween", allows students to determine the rhythm of the song when they hear it.

3rd-5th Grades: Students learn a hand game called "Double Double Ice Cream", a popular playground song/game. In pairs, students receive a felt five line staff and felt notes. They place the notes for do, re, mi, so, la on the correct line or space when the teacher calls them out. The half and whole rests are reviewed this week. The concept of Major and minor keys are introduced and students asked to brainstorm adjectives to describe a song in Major and minor keys. The book, Shake Dem Halloween Bones, is introduced, and students are taught a tune to accompany the chorus of the book. Third graders will add an instrumental part to the tune next week. Fourth and fifth graders will begin recorders next week.

Recorders!

Fourth and fifth grade students will begin recorders the week of Oct 26! Some extra recorders were ordered and will be sold on a first come first serve basis.

Holiday Program Date Set!

IHES music and art classes will present a Holiday/Winter Program on Tuesday, December 15 at 6:30 PM on the IHES cafeteria stage. All grade levels will be involved, so this will be a school wide event. Mark your calendars to save the date for this special program!

Acting Classes for Children

Rock Hill Community Theatre offers "Dramatize Your Life", an acting class for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders, on Thursdays 4:30-5:30 starting October 8.
For more information on registration call 324-2578 or go to www.rockhilltheatre.org and click on "tickets".

This Week in Music

Kindergarten- The Kindergartners continue lessons on distinguishing music that has a beat from music that does not have a beat. Using rhythm sticks and scarves, the students demonstrate the ability to acknowledge the difference in music with a beat and that without a beat. This week the students are introduced to "ta". Next week they will practice notating "ta" while listening to a piece of music.

1st Grade- The students learn a song titled "Big Black Cats", and then play a passing game which enforces steady beat with wood blocks. Each student has the opportunity this week to play an ascending and descending scale on the Bass Metallophone to the song "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". Students learn a chant, "The spider kept on working until the job was done" to recite during the story, The Very Busy Spider, by Eric Carle.

2nd Grade- The second graders learn two songs this week: "Poor Little Kitty Cat" and "Jockey". "Poor Little Kitty Cat" reinforces sol-mi melodies using the Glockenspiel. "Jockey" is about a race horse jockey. One student is the "jockey" who walks within a circle of all of the students. The "jockey" selects a "horse" and together they "do-si-do" to the music, and then the game continues with the "horse" as the new "jockey".

3rd, 4th, and 5th Grades- The students in the upper grades are learning songs about Christopher Columbus in honor of Columbus Day. "Three Famous Ships" is a spoken rhyme accompanied by a partner clapping game. "A Famous Man" is a song that includes singing and instrumental parts: Tambourine, Metallophone, and Xylophone.

The 4th and 5th graders will recorder lessons by the end of the month.

Family Event at Winthrop Saturday, October 3

The Return

Saturday, October 03, 2009

8:00 PM

Tillman Auditorium

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The Return, recognized as one of the premier Beatles tribute bands in America, currently contains the youngest lineup of superb musicians paying tribute to the legendary group. They are considered by many critics to be the most realistic cast paying tribute to the "Fab Four." So realistic, in fact, that The Return, gaining national recognition, was invited to appear on the ABC network television show Good Morning America.

For More Information

www.thereturnonline.com

Student Price: $5
Non-Student Price: $10

FREE with DSU Fall Pass or FREE for family members visiting WU students during Family Weekend !!!

Fall Passes ( only $ 10 w/ WU id and $ 20 w/o) are sold at the Dinkins Info Desk anytime Dinkins is open.

Individual tickets for DSU events such as THE RETURN go on sale at 7:30pm in lobby outside of Tillman Auditorium.

Tickets are general admission .

This Week in Music

Kindergarten: The Kindergarten students are learning to classify different sounds into those that have a beat (ie. clock ticking) and those that don't have a beat (ie. the wind). They will bring home a piece of paper where they drew to music with a beat and music without a beat.

1st Grade: The songs for 1st grade this week are centered around spiders! We are learning a song about two spider friends named Fang and Twang as well as a spoken piece about spiders called "Legs and All". Ask your child about using the puppets to sing their name in class.

2nd Grade: The 2nd graders are learning a song called "Down in the Valley". The song pairs with a game in which the students pass a bean bag to the half note pulse of the song. Whoever holds the bean bag at the end of the song is "out" and the game continues. The song and game prepare our study of the half note in the weeks to come.

3rd, 4th, and 5th: The upper grades are learning a song named "Mukava" which means "marvelous". The song pairs with a partner clapping game. We practice the game at a slow tempo, and then the students have time to work with their partners to coordinate singing and clapping at the actual, quicker tempo of the song. Their "assignment" is to practice the game with their partner this week. I look forward to seeing the "Mukava" experts.

Recorder Orders for 4th and 5th Grade

The Recorder order deadline has been extended to next Tuesday, September 29. Fourth and fifth grades both need to order recorders. Below is the letter sent home or via e-mail to 4th grade parents. The 5th grade letter was in a previous post.

Dear Parents,
As part of our 4th grade music curriculum at India Hook Elementary School, we will soon be learning to play the soprano recorder in music class. We will begin the recorder unit mid October. If your child does not already have a recorder, purchasing a recorder is fairly inexpensive.
To make it more convenient and economical, I will be happy to order the recorders for you. I will be ordering a recorder that comes with a storage case, cleaning rod, and fingering chart. There are two choices of style that you may order: The Angel One-Piece Recorder (black with a cream colored mouth piece) for $3.00 or the Canto Translucent recorder (purple, yellow, green, red, or blue) for $3.50. The price includes tax and shipping. The recorders may be viewed on this web-site: www.MusicK8.com.
Please consider buying two recorders so that your child may leave one recorder in the classroom and one at home for practicing.
Please see the recorder information below. Please read all the options carefully. To help with the order, please return the form below in an envelope with the payment (checks to IHES or exact change) to your child’s classroom teacher by Tuesday, September 29. It is important to have all orders by this date to ensure that our recorders arrive by October.
After we begin instruction on recorders, please encourage your child to practice! We will begin learning a variety of songs in the coming months. The children are responsible for bringing their recorders to music class each week (unless you have bought an extra recorder to leave in the music classroom).
Thank you for your support of music at India Hook Elementary School!
Musically Yours,
Mrs. Odom
Music Educator


Name:_______________________________ Classroom Teacher:___________________

Parent/Guardian Signature:__________________________________________________

I would like to order the following recorder(s) (Please indicate quantity):

_____Angel One-Piece Soprano Recorder $3.00 each

_____Canto Translucent Recorder $3.50 each

Circle color for Canto Translucent Recorder only: purple green yellow red blue

Total # of recorders:________ Total Amount Enclosed:__________

(Remember to make checks payable to IHES or enclose exact change.)

______ Check here if your child already has a recorder, or you will furnish one by October 13.

Music This Week

This week in music:

Kindergarten- The Kindergarten students will continue work on maintaining a steady beat. They will also move stylistically to depict loud and soft sounds. My favorite activity this week involves them drawing during music and freezing when the music stops, then resuming their drawing as the music begins. Spend some time this week with your child this week being silent and listening to the sounds all around.

First Grade- First graders are continuing work responding to the sung question: "Sing Me your Name". I'm already amazed at the wonderful voices of our first graders! We are learning the tune to the rhyme, "Do you Know the Muffin Man?" and using a chart showing muffins that represent the steady beat of the song. We are using two puppets named Fang and Twang to demonstrate an echo quality of a song called "Fang and Twang". The children seem to enjoy moving the puppets' mouths at the appropriate time for the echoes.

Second Grade- Second graders have learned a singing game: "Draw a Bucket of Water". We've all had so much fun laughing and singing while playing the game! Another main activity of the week is the speech activity with instruments "2, 4, 6, 8". The children are learning the rhyme and the ostinato (a short repeated pattern), and then transferring them to the xylophones, metallophones, and glockenspiels.

Third, Fourth, Fifth Grades- Generally these students learn the same concepts at different difficulty levels. In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, these students have learned the dance, "La Raspa" this week. We've expanded our work with body percussion: stamp, pat, clap, and snap to the creation stage. Students have created a rhythmic ostinato (short repeated pattern) to accompany various rhymes. In addition, students are learning a song, "Remember Me" which includes a melody and ostinato. The students divide into two groups to sing the song in two part harmony. They are doing well as they learn to maintain their part while another is sung simultaneously.

Be sure to ask your children to share their music experiences this week!

5th Grade Recorder Orders

The following is the letter e-mailed to you or sent home with your student:

Dear Parents,

As part of our 5^th grade music curriculum at India Hook Elementary School, we will soon be learning to play the soprano recorder in music class. We will begin the recorder unit mid October. If your child does not already have a recorder, purchasing a recorder is fairly inexpensive.

To make it more convenient and economical, I will be happy to order the recorders for you. I will be ordering a recorder that comes with a storage case, cleaning rod, and fingering chart. There are two choices of style that you may order: The Angel One-Piece Recorder (black with a cream colored mouth piece) for $3.00 or the Canto Translucent recorder (purple, yellow, green, red, or blue) for $3.50. The price includes tax and shipping. The recorders may be viewed on this web-site: www.MusicK8.com.

Please consider buying two recorders so that your child may leave one recorder in the classroom and one at home for practicing.

Please see the recorder information below. Please read all the options carefully. To help with the order, please return the form below in an envelope with the payment (checks to IHES or exact change) to your child’s classroom teacher by Thursday, September 23. It is important to have all orders by this date to ensure that our recorders arrive by October.

After we begin instruction on recorders, please encourage your child to practice! We will begin learning a variety of songs in the coming months, which will be showcased in our December concert. Also, I wrote and received a Rock Hill Foundation Grant which allows us to use a recorder method called Recorder Karate. The students will love as they earn “belts” for mastering skills on the recorder. We will begin the Recorder Karate in January after the December holiday break. The children are responsible for bringing their recorders to music class each week (unless you have bought an extra recorder to leave in the music classroom).

Thank you for your support of music at India Hook Elementary School!

Musically Yours,

Mrs. Odom

Music Educator

Name:_______________________________ Classroom Teacher:___________________

Parent/Guardian Signature:__________________________________________________

I would like to order the following recorder(s) (Please indicate quantity):

_____Angel One-Piece Soprano Recorder $3.00 each

_____Canto Translucent Recorder $3.50 each

Circle color for Canto Translucent Recorder only: purple green yellow red blue

Total # of recorders:________ Total Amount Enclosed:__________

(Remember to make checks payable to IHES or enclose exact change.)

______ Check here if your child already has a recorder, or you will furnish one by October 5.

Open House Tonight

Hi Parents and Students! You probably found your way to the IHES blog after attending Open House tonight. I will post music updates about what students are learning in music class as well as information about performances by our students. Thanks for visiting! I hope you'll be back to see the blog updates throughout the year!

Instruments, Movement, and Singing, Oh My!

The students seem to be very engaged in the Orff based lessons each week! Orff pedagogy focuses on including Movement, singing/chanting, and instrument playing during each class. To allow free movement, the instruments are around the music room's perimeter; and there are no chairs for the students in the classroom. Students have a numbered music dot to sit on during music which creates a circle. I've already had several students ask about the whereabouts of the chairs. I simply respond that it allows us more room to move and create music. They seem to be adapting to our new music set-up and understand the reason for the chairs' "retirement".

What did you do in music this week?

Parents, be sure to ask you children about their music classes. I am already amazed at how quickly the students are learning new music concepts and skills! I love to see their smiles when making music, and hear their exclamations of excitement when they complete a challenging task. Have them share their experiences with you.

Awesome First Day!

Yesterday was a wonderful start to the year in music! I am implementing a new curriculum called Game Plan by Jeff Kriske and Randy DeLelles, who are tremendous music educators. A description of the curriculum can be viewed on their publishing web-site: www.kid-sounds.com.
The curriculum is based on the Orff method/philosophy of teaching; this summer I became certified in Orff Level I. Each lesson contains: speaking, singing, movement, and the playing of instruments. Students should expect to be very active in making music! All of the instruments are around the perimeter of the classroom. The center of the classroom contains no chairs to allow students to move freely through the space for the movement activities.
I am truly excited about the possibilities for the year! Encourage your children to tell you about their musical experiences each week!

National Music Standards

All subject areas including special areas have a set of standards to focus the teaching of certain skills. Standards help define a goal for student learning. The national music standards are as follows:

1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments.
4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
5. Reading and notating music.
6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
7. Evaluating music and music performances.
8. Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

Organizing the Classroom Instruments

Today's workday at school was spent organizing and arranging all of the instruments, so they are easily accessible for students. I also placed an order for additional instruments, which hopefully will arrive next week. Here's a peek at some of the instruments at IHES:




Tambourines, Cabasa, Bongo Drums




Metallophones Xylophones Glockenspiels



Sleigh bells, Vibraslap, Finger Cymbals, and Chimes

Welcome to IHES Music!

Welcome to the IHES Music blog! I am looking forward to a fabulous 2009-2010 school year! I am Mrs. Odom, the music teacher, at IHES. I attended Furman University for my undergraduate degree in Music Education, and I completed my master's degree in Choral Conducting in May 2008. My main instrument is the voice; singing is one of my absolute favorite activities!
I am a native of Rock Hill. My husband is also a teacher in RHSD3 at DCMS. We have 8 month old twin sons named Bailey and Carter, who keep us very busy!
I will use this blog to update the IHES parents and families about the musical happenings at IHES. I'll see all of the Pirate Students next week!