All classes have now had music.  First and second graders have reviewed reading four beat rhythm patterns.  They have sung a couple of songs and listened to the first movement of Autumn from Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.  This movement is about a great harvest. 

Grades three and four are singing You’re a Grand Old Flag and will be learning another song by the composer George M. Cohan.  Very soon we’ll begin working on a mini-musical called Give Thanks which we’ll perform in November.  Students have done a great job remembering how to read music.

In fifth and sixth grade, we have the most changes.  We’ll begin each lesson with group activities, like singing, and then fifth graders will work on their piano skills while sixth graders learn to play guitar.  We will also continue to use Music Ace, a music theory computer game. 

Instrument rental night is Tuesday at 5:15 at RGS.  You may also complete the rental agreement at www.musicarts.com.  The company rep will bring the instrument to school and leave it with me.  This is a new service, so please be patient if there are any hiccups in the system.  There are also a few instruments which have been donated to the school that we rent for a minimal cost.  Currently a saxophone and a trombone are available.  Contact Mrs. Russell at arussell@rollinsford.k12.nh.us.

We’re off to a great start!

I hope you all enjoyed the sunny summer.  My family and I made some great memories sitting around campfires and enjoying time with dear friends.  My children and I have also been working on a cd of traditional American folk songs which will be distributed to Kindergarten students shortly after the start of school.  While far from a professional recording, we’ve had fun making it and hope it will inspire families to spend some time singing together.

It should be an exciting music year.  We’ve got more band instruments for students to use, but we could always more.  Send ‘em in if you’ve got ‘em and I’ll make sure they are in working order.  I’m introducing some new & exciting things in the general music program as well. 

RGS students will continue to learn to read, write, & think about music.  We’ll sing lots of traditional music and learn to play instruments.  Each year, I’m able to utilize a little more technology along with a more traditional approach and hope that I’m able to reach more and more children each year. 

Can’t wait to see how all my students have grown over the summer!

On June 9th at 6:30, we will have our Spring Showcase.  We will hear Aesop fables and first and second grade students will sing songs that are inspired by the stories. 

RGS Band & Chorus and Beginning Band will also perform.  The entire concert will last just under an hour.

Please have your student at RGS at 6:15. I would appreciate it if did not enter the gym until 6:15 as there is always last minute set up to do.

I hope you can come and enjoy the music your children have worked to prepare, and if you have a band student, I hope you are hearing the music at home when your child practices!

Arthur Tales is over, but it was fantastic.  I am very proud of everyone who participated in our show.  The Arthur Authors did a great job doing something we hadn’t done at RGS before… writing an original show.  While I had my doubts about whether or not we could pull it off, in the end, the cast and crew gave an outstanding performance.

If you see Mrs. Hess, Ms. Reishus, Mr. Hess, Mrs. Leach, or Mrs. Cook, be sure to give them a huge thank you.  We couldn’t have done it without them. 

If you have the entire show on video, please let me know.  There are parents out there who’d love to have a copy.

Thankfully,

Mrs. Russell

ArthurTales opens tonight, April 15th at 7pm.  Encore presentations on April 16th at 7pm and 17th at 3pm.  Adults $5, students $3 and immediate families for $10.

Hope to see you there!

This is production week for our original show, Arthurtales!  Shows are Thursday and Friday at 7pm and Saturday at 3pm.  This is the sixth show sponsored by the Rollinsford Education Foundation.  We couldn’t do it without them or Mr. & Mrs. Hess and Ms. Reishus.  They are fantastic!

Fifth and 6th grade students will be working on music biographies, if they haven’t already written one.  These are short papers written from notes they have taken during general music. 

We are back at work on recorders and keyboards in grades 3 & 4.  We will continue these studies after April vacation.

If you have a 1st or 2nd grader, they either brought home a note reading game last week or will bring it home this week.  Please play this game and have fun learning music with your child.

Have a safe and happy vacation.

We’re in the home stretch of our original show.  Please try to make one of our three shows on April 15 & 16 at 7pm and April 17 at 3pm.  Tell your friends.  There are jokes for all ages.

In grades 1 & 2 students are learning about Aesop tales and singing songs to go along with the fables.  We’ll be performing these songs for you all in May at our spring concert.  Stay tuned for the date.  Students will also be bring home a note name game soon.  I hope your whole family will have a little fun learning to read music.

Third and 4th graders did a great job at their March show.  I was very impressed with how well they were able to perform so soon after vacation.  Way to go kids.  Now we’ve got to get back to learning how to play piano or recorder and working on lots of other music skills.

Fifth and 6th graders continue to work to play piano, improve their theory skills, and now are also writing short biographies on composers.  We focused on Lowell Mason and Zoltan Kodaly during March.  These men were very influential in the development of music education and March is Music in Our Schools Month. 

As many students were not available on Sunday, that rehearsal has been cancelled.  We will instead meet on Tuesday right after school until 4pm and again on Thursday until 4pm. 

My apologies for the schedule change.

See the third graders on Thursday, too!

As fate would have it, there is a basketball tournament the weekend of our production and at least 10 basketball players are involved in our show. 

As the following weeks are holidays or already booked, we’ve pushed our production dates back to April 15, 16 & 17.  Please let me know if this is a problem for your cast member.  I know that for some families it is a blessing and for others it may be a curse.  I am very sorry if this creates any chaos in your family.

The benefit is the kids will have a more relaxed rehearsal schedule and more time to learn lines and songs.  I am very pleased with the progress so far and am also happy to report that the cast has been very respectful of each other and the adults who are working to make a great show.

We’ll have rehearsals on Tuesday and Thursday 2:25-4:00 and Sunday 4-6.  All rehearsals will be on the stage.  All lines must be memorized this week.  Only 18 days to go, folks!  Yikes!