End of qtr 1

So we've had our concert--I was really proud of all of the kids! 43 out of 51 6th grade students showed up--wow- that's a great turnout! Thank you to all the parents that punted along with us at the first concert of the year. We didn't get the tarp moved to the MS so the singers had to stand in the bleachers on the opposite side to sing.

The students and I discussed concert etiquette both before and after the concert. The students have worked really hard, it would be nice if everyone in attendance was quiet so they could be heard! There will be some reminders and helpful hints in the next concert program.

Before Halloween everyone started Christmas music! I know its early, but we've got a ton of music to learn. Each class is learning 12 Christmas carols, and 1 combined song that all the choirs will sing together. Then both the MS choirs are working on medley's. The 7/8th grade is working on a medley of "White Christmas" and the 6th grade is working on a medley of popular Christmas music.

OUR CONCERT AND POTATO FEED IS DECEMBER 14, 2009 at 7pm at the HS! Students need to be at the HS at 6:30pm and that's when the potatos will be ready for the parents and audience members to start eating!

The 7/8th grade choir will be accompanying the HS choir to Centralia for some caroling on Friday, December 18. The bus will be leaving from the HS at 5:15pm. We will be returning to the HS by 9:15pm

The students and I will be busy all the way up to the last day before Christmas break! After our concert on Monday (12-14-09) we'll be watching our fall concert and our Christmas concert on dvd. The 7/8th graders will also be starting to pick music for solo and ensemble contest that last week before break.

We might be singing in some holiday assemblies, I'll let the students know when I know when and where.

Need T-shirt Money!

The choir room was a bit quiet last week as the 6th graders were all at Ft. Flagler. The 7/8th gr choir continued to get ready for the concert that is coming up pretty quick!

Out of 65 kids that need to buy a t-shirt, about half have either given me a note or paid for the shirt! I will purchase the shirts and have the students check them out since students are paying in a timely manner. This is the first year that students haven't gotten their money in on time. Maybe there was confusion between the Ft. Flagler t-shirt and the choir t-shirt?! The choir t-shirt is required for all students to wear for performances. At $14 a shirt it seems pretty cost effective. That way your student doesn't come home and say they need a new outfit for each concert!

The other issue is the rest of concert attire--black from the waist down--which means if you wear a skirt you need to have black tights and shoes. If you wear pants, you need to have black socks and shoes. This is to help everyone look uniform! Plus the students look great up on stage in all black!

New Things This Year!

This year has brought tons of changes for the choir/drama departments here in Tenino!  

I start the day at the HS for the first time in 7 years

which means I end at the MS

In between I'm at the elementary school!

Its been a great experience--I'm getting to teach drama to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders!  We've done a name game and made posters about things relating to drama.  In our next class we'll be reading an introduction to drama in play form.

Another new thing this year is that the two HS choirs are now one--which means we have over 20 kids in choir!  All the choirs are getting ready for the first concert, coming up on October 21, 2009 at 7pm at TMS.  Your students and I would love to see you all there!  

The last new thing is that there is no HS fall play this year.  The THS drama class will be putting together a show in class and be traveling to TES and Parkside to perform during the school day!

I'll be writing more about this as it gets closer, but the THS choir will be starting a candle fundraiser in mid-October.  We want to make sure we can afford to go on our trips we have planned this year, so we're starting early!

I'm really excited about all the new things that are happening this year!  Hope to see you all at a performance or two!

The first fall blog!

The choir department of TMS and the choir/drama departments of THS are off and running! 

The MS 7/8th grade choir is a great, boisterous group of kids!  We've started singing and working in groups and everybody's working toward the first concert Oct. 21.  The concert will be at the Middle School.  The sixth grade choir has 49 students signed up and we're working towards being a group.  We've worked on some rhythm in small groups, started singing a welcoming song and the kids just received a song called "My Principal's a Pirate"!  

We've done "clappy duets", where with a partner each student claps a written rhythm, while their partner is clapping another rhythm.  We've worked on note names and note values and we've started to put together singing sections in both classes.  

I have a wonderful HS TA for my 6th grade class, Dachelle Knutter.  She's helpful in reminding students of the classroom rules and has been in my program since she was in 6th grade, so she has a knowledge of music as well.

The music room is a busy place both 7th and 8th periods!