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".