Goin' Buggy!

Congratulations to the 2nd grade students on their wonderful performance of "Goin' Buggy" yesterday! You can view the performances by clicking on the links below:
Goin' Buggy Part 1
Goin' Buggy Part 2

Grade 5 Theme Composition Unit

Students in Grade 5 have been studying themes in music class this month. A theme is a recognizable melody upon which a composition is based. A theme can also be used to characterize a work of music or a character.

In music class, students were placed in groups and asked to compose a theme to represent a different character in the story of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears". Students used recorders, xylophones, and unpitched percussion instruments. They also added sound effects using unpitched percussion instruments, and an introduction and coda. This project was useful for helping students build upon their composition skills, which will be assessed at the end of the month.

This week, students had the opportunity to share their work with the 2nd grade classes. Click on the links below to view their performances:
Mrs. Behun's Class (coming soon)
Mrs. Campbell's Class (coming soon)
Mrs. Gilson's Class (coming soon)
Mrs. Vogel's Class (coming soon)

Mother's Day Tea

Congratulations to the 4th graders on their beautiful and tear-jerking Mother's Day performance! Click on the links below to hear them express how special their mothers are to them through song:
Kind and Generous
Here Comes the Sun
The Best Day
Mom-isms

Glee Club Performance

Glee Club members took to the stage and performed four numbers last week at an after school concert. These kids really know how to "Shake It Off"! Click on the links below to view videos of each dance:

Sgt. Pepper

Let's Hear It for the Boy

Sugar

Shake It Off

CT Elementary Honors Choir Festival

Congratulations to Alexandra D., Claudia H., Bethany Q., and Nora S. who represented Peck Place School at the Connecticut Elementary Honors Choir Festival last Friday at the Hartford Convention Center. The students spent the day working with a conductor and performed seven pieces in an afternoon concert to wrap up their experience.

Hot Cross Buns

It's recorder time in 3rd grade! Students began learning recorder techniques a few weeks ago, and have since learned the notes B, A, and G. Click HERE to listen to a performance of "Hot Cross Buns" played by Mrs. Hubley's class. Students will continue to work on reading music using these three notes, as well as producing a warm tone, by using proper breathing techniques and tonguing.

March is "Music In Our Schools" Month!

Why music? Music helps educate the whole student.

Music education shapes the way our students understand themselves and the world around them. It allows for deep engagement with learning. It nurtures assets and skills that are critical to future success, including creativity, curiosity, determination, and motivation. In other words, music helps develop the student behind the score.

Emotional Awareness: Students learn to express themselves in multiple ways and become more sensitive to the preferences and feelings of others.

Reflective Learning: Students reflect on failures and successes through the creative process, and derive a sense of their own competencies, interests, and challenges.

Process Orientation: Students develop the ability to consistently refine their thinking as part of the creative process, developing an ability to re-evaluate goals and objectives and, if needed, adjust their approach to the objective.

Decision-Making: Through both the creative and reflective learning process, students gain greater capacity to question, interpret, and influence their own lives.

Grit: In a high level performance environment, hard work and dedicated practice predict success far more than innate ability. Music performance offers opportunities to fail. Students learn the value of persistence, and of working hard for an uncertain outcome.

Multiple Ways of Knowing: Music study promotes fluency in knowledge systems beyond the linguistic and mathematical, enabling a deeper and broader understanding of our world and of the human experience.

-Taken from BroaderMinded.com

How can you help? Come support the music and art programs at Peck Place at the annual Party for the Arts on Saturday, March 21st from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. at Studio 8 in Milford. You donation of a $20 ticket and purchase of raffle tickets at the event will go toward the purchase of new xylophones for the music classroom, as well as new resources and materials for the Band, Orchestra, and Art programs. Click HERE for more information. Thank you in advance for your support!

Chipper Chopper Joe

Click HERE to view Ms. Swanson's class performing "Chipper Chopper Joe" on Orff instruments. Orff Schulwerk, or simply the Orff Approach, is one of several developmental approaches used to teach music education to students that is used daily in the Peck Place music classroom. It combines music, movement, drama, and speech into lessons that are similar to the child's world of play. 

In the Orff Approach, students play rhythm patterns first by using kinesthetic movements, before transferring them to instruments. For example, before playing the "chip chop chip chop" pattern on xylophones, students were asked to clap the rhythm while singing the song. 

Another important aspect of this lesson is audiation. Audiation is a key component of the Gordon Music Learning Theory. It takes place when the students hear and comprehend music in their heads. You will see an example of audiation in the video during the "B" section. The students "think" the song in their heads, yet are still able to play their instruments parts accurately and in tempo.

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Folk Dancing!

There is a lot of folk dancing going on during these cold winter months here at Peck Place School! Students in second grade have been working on the "Virginia Reel", a dance that is performed in an "alley" formation. Click HERE to view a performance of the dance by Mrs. Haskos' class. This dance features a step called "cast off" in which partners turn away from each other and walk down the outside of the set, or formation.

Students in fourth grade have been building upon their knowledge of folk dance steps from previous grade levels through square dancing. Square dancing is performed in a "square" formation and requires a much quicker transition between steps, which are given by a "caller". Click HERE to view a performance of "Simple Square" by Mrs. Tickell's class.

Dance and movement are important parts of the general music curriculum. Dance traditions are passed down through generations to celebrate important occasions from diverse cultures. Folk dancing requires rhythmic competence, challenges students to be aware of their bodies physically, and requires them to use their brainpower to keep complicated sequences of movements in their memories.

Grade 6 Reader's Theater

Congratulations to students in Grade 6 on their wonderful Reader's Theater performance on Wednesday afternoon. Through a generous grant from the Jamie A. Hulley Foundation, students had the opportunity to work with Ms. Sarah Guterman for the past two weeks on this project. Each class created a sound carpet incorporating movement, singing, and percussion instruments to complement a work of children’s literature. 

Panther Chorus at Qunnipiac

Congratulations to the Panther Chorus members who braved the icy conditions to sing at the Quinnipiac University Women's Basketball game last Sunday. Their performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was fantastic and I am very proud of their hard work! Click HERE to view the performance.

Holiday Lights!

Thank you to all the parents who came to view our performances this week. I am so proud of all the students at Peck Place School for their amazing singing and their diligence in preparing for the winter concert season. You can check out the 1st and 2nd grade performance of "Holiday Lights" HERE.

Halloween Parade

Thank you to those who came out to see our Halloween Parade! For those of you who missed it, click HERE to view a great video of the 5th and 6th grades doing the Monster Mash. If you have another version that you would like to share, please send it to me so I can put it up on the blog.

Grade 6 - Hambone

Students in Grade 6 have been working on improvisation for the past couple months. Improvisation is the process of creating an immediate musical composition without any preparation. Students learned an Orff arrangement of Hambone, which is based on a style of dance music from West Africa called Juba dance. During the B section, students were given the opportunity to improvise and create their own music. In each class video below, you will see three different students share their improvised work, while the rest of the class accompanies them:

Ms. Laden's Class
Mr. Palluzzi's Class
Mrs. Richard's Class

Music Calendar

For a list of music events and programs, please read the Music Program Letter found HERE.

Music Enrichment Opportunities

Panther Chorus: Students in Grades 5 and 6 are encouraged to sign up for this elective chorus that meets on a weekly basis. For more information, please read the Panther Chorus Sign Up form HERE.

Recorder Club: Students in Grade 4 are encouraged to practice their recorder skills by joining this club that meets once a week. For more information, please read the Recorder Club Sign Up form HERE.

Practice Tips for PARENTS

Click on the link below for a great blog post about tips to successfully help your students practice their instrument at home. It is geared toward piano students, but many of the ideas apply to students studying band or string instruments as well.

It Takes Two Generations...

The Nutcracker

The 1st and 2nd grade students did an amazing job performing The Nutcracker this afternoon. The staff at Peck Place is extremely proud of all their hard work in music class! Click on the link below to check out a video of their performance:

1st and 2nd Grade Students - The Nutcracker

There Are Many Things I Am Thankful For

Second grade students at Peck Place share what they are thankful for! Click on the links below to view each class performance:

Mrs. Gorry's Class
Mrs. Moscato's Class
Mrs. Stevens' Class

Please note that videos are unlisted and are not searchable on YouTube to protect your child's privacy!

Virtual Music Backpack

Please click on the links below for important music news and information:
Music Program Information: Grades 1-2
Music Program Information: Grades 3-6
Recorder Information: Grade 4