Music at Carrie Downie

Welcome back to a wonderful year of Music at Carrie Downie Elementary School.  I hope everyone had a fun and fantastic summer! Now that we are back in school I hope you are ready for the amazing world of music.  We have many activities planned in not only the music classroom, but also in chorus and band setting as well. 

One of our new activites this year is Carrie Downie hosting a clinic with a local folk music group called Simple Gifts.  These three ladies will be coming to Carrie Downie on November 13th, and will give  a small clinic on folk music and several students will learn to play some new and interesting instruments.  That night at 6:30 we will be hosting a concert with the same group at New Castle School, where some of our students will be featured on their new instruments.  After the concert there will be another clinic for anyone who is interested in learning how to play the spoons or learn about some very interesting string instruments that Simple Gifts will be playing.  Yes, the spoons can be a musical instrument, and are very fun to play. I invite everyone at Carrie Downie to attend, and bring some friends. It will be a wonderful fun night of music that everyone will enjoy!

Now down to business in band and chorus-

Permission slips for Chorus and Band were due at the end of August.  No more permission slips will be accepted for either activity.  Chorus has already started, and students are doing a wonderful job learning their music, and coming to class.  Just a reminder that Chorus is a class, and if your student does not show up one day (unless they are absent) it will be considered skipping class and will result in your student being written up. Please remind them of this. 

Band lesson start NEXT WEEK-

Please make sure your student has all the materials they need for their first lesson.  These materials are listed in the “congratulations” packet you should have recieved.  If you are getting an instrument from the school, they will be handed out at your students first lesson.  Please remind your child to attend their lesson, it is a vital part of the band process, and if they do not come to lessons, they will not be in band.  Also, please make sure all forms are turned in by the first lesson.

OUR FIRST CONCERT IS THURSDAY DECEMBER 11 AT NEW CASTLE MIDDLE.  I will be giving out more information about the concert the closer it gets.  I recommend getting your students concert attire as soon as possible, just so there isn’t a scramble to get clothes during the holiday season, when money is tight.  All students must have a white shirt and dark (navy blue or black) bottoms. NO JEANS ARE PERMITTED! Boys should have a collared shirt and a tie.  Girls can wear either pants or a skirt, but please make sure the skirt is ankle length.  I invite you to free your calendar for that night, and come watch your student perform.  They will have worked very hard on their material and I am sure they will want to show it off to you, their parents!

As always if you have any questions please contact me at school, and I will be happy to answer your questions.

Have a Musical Day!!!

Happy New Year!

With the changing of the year comes the changing of the marking period.  This marking period change means 3 things:

1. Report cards are coming soon

2. New faces in the music classroom

3. New Music to be learned

The last marking period or so in Music Class we have been learning the fundamentals of music reading and writing.  This time around we are going to start using these ideas and putting them to good use on instruments!!!  The students will be learning how to play certain instruments, and be able to read music at the same time.  We will be focusing on Orff instruments, meaning small xylophones and hand percussion.  Students will be learning how to play these instruments, and accompany songs that they know, as well as make up their own music to a song.  It is going to be a fun marking period, full of music playing, as well as learning. 

In the Chorus and Band World!

Chorus and Band are now in full swing to prepare for the festivals and for our concerts that are rapidly approaching.  Parents, please make sure your student is practicing at home, and they know that their behavior in the chorus and band practices determines if they can be in the concert.  Also note, the schedule for combined band rehearsal is in progress, and students will need to watch the schedule closely and to remember bring their instruments on the correct days.

As always, if you have questions, please feel free to contact me here at Carrie Downie.  I look forward the to the rest of the year, and I hope your student is as well.

Have a Musical Day!

Thank you for visiting the music edublog.  As you already know, school is in full swing, and so is the music program.  A lot of changes have happened in the program just in the last few weeks.  Band and Chorus have both started, and the students have a new teacher.  It has been a smooth transition, and the students are doing very well. 

As a new teacher to the district, I am trying my very best to get to know everyone, and to to settle in to this environment.  I ask from both the parents and students to have patience with me.  I am doing my best to get everything in order, and to learn all the children and procedures.  So please feel free to email me or call the school if you have any questions.

Have a musical day, everyday!!