Classroom News - October

Note to Parents: All songs noted in this blog with an asterisk * can be found on the website https://www.musick8kids.com/ where you will not only be able to listen them, but you will also have the option to download them for a fee. Go to the SEARCH box, type in the song title, and hit ENTER.



Our 1st Graders are not only singing about pumpkins and ghouls ("*Scarin' Alive" - "*Pumpkin Jack" - "*Monster Day") in the classroom but they are busy preparing songs for their upcoming performance(s) for NDE's Christmas at Ralston (Tues., Dec. 1st & Wed., Dec. 2nd). Our 1st Graders have a lot on their plate, learning music for our school mass(es) + songs for Christmas at Ralston, AND adding in Halloween songs they enthusiastically want to do!

1st Grade - Christmas at Ralston songs include:

1. "*Jolly Old St. Nicholas"
2. "Jingle Bells"
3. "Ring Those Bells"
4. "*Shalom Chaverim"
5. "*Merry Christmas Bells"
6. "The Best Present of All"

2nd, 3rd, and 4th Graders continue on in the month of October singing songs that celebrate Halloween and the month of October:

1. "*Scarin' Alive"
2. "*Pumpkin Jack"
3. "*Vampire Cowboy"
4. "*October Rocktober"
5. "*Rattling Bones"
6. "Skin & Bones"
7. "*Mwa Ha Ha"
   

The students will tell you that I strongly emphasize the importance of our liturgical (religious) music, and that we rehearse the music for all our school masses FIRST during our 30 minute music classes...then we go on to sing what we call our "fun" songs.

The students receive sheet music for all of the Music K-8 songs. From this music, and from our Music Express magazines we use, I am able to teach the students how to "follow the road map" of music. In other words, they are learning to read music so they can follow along with a piece of music when it is handed to them. They are learning basic music theory as it applies to the music we are singing each day.
For example: If we are singing a song that has a glissando in it, as does "*Mwa Ha Ha", I will have the children sing the song and then go back and show them the musical notation that indicates a glissando, we will define what a glissando is, and demonstrate a glissando.

All of our NDE students should already know the following musical terms:

1. musical staff
2. measure
3. bar line
4. treble clef
5. repeat sign
6. d.s. al coda
7. coda

5th Grade students are singing Halloween songs also...but their emphasis right now on the list of songs they need to learn for Christmas at Ralston (Tues., Dec. 1st and Wed., Dec. 2nd). With just 30 minutes to learn songs for our school mass(es), songs for Christmas at Ralston, and any fun Halloween tunes, the 5th grade is VERY busy during music class.
Their Christmas at Ralston playlist:

1. "The Best Present of All"
2. "*Everlasting Fruitcake"
3. "*Jingle Jive"
4. "*A Nice, Nice Christmas"
5. "Ring Those Bells"
6. "*Shalom Chaverim"
7. "*Sing We Now of Christmas"
8. "Some Children See Him"
9. "A Tiny Little Baby"

6th, 7th, and 8th Graders too, have been enjoying Halloween fun singing "The Purple People Eater", "The Monster Mash" and "Ghostbusters" and watching cartoon videos of the same songs.

The 6th grade is busy preparing for our upcoming School Mass, which we will celebrate on Wednesday, November 11th, recognizing our Veterans. They are working on a beautiful song titled "*You Are Our Heroes" for the communion meditation.
They asked me to help them find some songs to go along with their classroom "group" names: Polka Dot Penguins, Aqua Tigers, and Purple People Eaters.

Here's what we came up with:
Purple People Eaters = "The Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley
Polka Dot Penguins = "*Penguin Polka"
Aqua Tigers = "What Kind of Cat Are You?" by Billy Jonas

6th, 7th, and 8th Graders are currently working on two (2) songs from Miley Cyrus: "Party in the U.S.A." and "Hoedown Showdown" (Music Express November 2009 magazine).