Monkeys, Polar Bears – and Building Community!
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| Click HERE to watch The Royal March of the Lions. |
This month, our Kindergarten students have transformed into
the most musical monkeys I have ever
Singing and moving, they have searched the jungle for percussion
instruments, testing and exploring each one.
Then, when they found a good one, they celebrated by dancing and playing
their instrument around the circle while their peers enjoyed their
performance. Students have also enjoyed
acting out the famous piece, The Royal
March of the Lions (by Camille Saint-Saens). We marched and roared and even captured our
prey as we listened to the music, before discussing the instruments that were
used to create this wonderful soundscape.
If you’d like to experience the magic at home, please click the link to the right to watch the video.
seen! |
| The Djembe, a West African drum |
Grade Three classes have spent the last few weeks exploring
rhythm from many different perspectives.
Students have once again picked up the West African drums, called
djembes, which they first encountered in our One World Drum Residency in the
fall. After a quick review of the
techniques they learned in September, students have learned several new rhythmic
patterns and have now begun to mix and matc As well, they have been
practicing their musical literacy skills, composing, reading and performing
rhythmic notation in increasingly complex pieces. Students have even begun improvising (making
up music in the moment) using the notes they have learned!
h them to perform pieces in multiple
parts.
Grade One students were excited to share their “Community
Song” at their Celebration of Learning this month! Each class wrote a different part of our
piece, composing the lyrics of the verses, the words of the poems and the
actions that emphasized their ideas.
Students also learned how to accompany their song on the xylophone and
the wooden spoons, carefully playing as a team with the musicians around them
and using effective technique so that the instruments would sing as beautifully
as possible. It was exciting to watch them put their new understanding to
music, but even more wonderful to hear their confident and exuberant
performance. It was true demonstration
of how powerful and positive we can be when we work as a community towards a common goal.
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| The Viola and the Piano. |
Grade Two students also had a chance to learn music through
the lens of their inquiry around polar
After several passionate discussions, each class composed a short poem
around what was important about these creatures and their habitat. They then performed this text on the
xylophone, overlapping the words until they were playing in three parts at the
same time! After this very challenging
work, the students were treated to a performance by two parents in our community,
Mr. Park and Ms. Cheon, who have both trained and worked as professional
musicians. The students very much enjoyed
hearing music played on the viola and the piano, as well as a song sung by Ms.
Cheon. After the performance, one
student commented, “The music was beautiful!
It made my heart so big!”
And finally, students from all grades have been enthralled by the contemporary violinist Lindsey Stirling, who was recommended by one of our very own students! Not only is she a talented dancer and a wonderful musician, but she has a knack for creating fascinating videos. Click on one of the links below to watch her in action!
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| Click HERE to watch Something Wild. |
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| Click HERE to watch Shadows. |
