Kindergarten Christmas Program

Over Thanksgiving Break, I will be sending home a lyrics sheet with all of the Kindergarten students so that they may practice all of the songs they've learned and can practice singing in front of people! If they lose the lyrics sheets, the words are all under the "Program" tab on here. Parents, if you could go over the words with your children or allow them to sing and dance for you, this would be a fantastic opportunity for your children to share with you what they are learning in music class each day! It would also help get them ready to sing and dance in front of an audience and not just me! I hope you have a fantastic break, and your little ones put on awesome shows for you this week.

Studying Dvorak!

In first and second grade we have begun our study of our Composer of the Month for November, Antonin Dvorak. For their first introduction to the composer, students learned a little bit about him, and had an activity afterward to do!

First grade listened to the second movement of the symphony he wrote while visiting America called "The New World Symphony," and colored a cartoonized picture of Dvorak.
Second grade is working on a word search that includes words from the provided biography of Dvorak, while also listening to the second movement!

We are all having so much fun learning about our new composer and listening to the music he wrote while visiting our country!!

Any images used are used solely to show the activities done within the classroom, with parental permission from signed audio/videography/photography release forms distributed at the beginning of the year. If your child is posted without your permission by mistake, please email me and I will be more than happy to fix my error. Thank you for such wonderful kids!

Composer of the Month: Antonin Dvorak

For the month of November, our first and second graders will be taking a look at the composer Antonin Dvorak. Dvorak was born in the Czech Republic in 1841 and died in 1904. During his life, he was able to make the trip across the Atlantic and visit The United States of America during it's early years as a country! While in America, he discovered African-American and Native American music. This became mixed with his longing for his home country. Together, these sounds meshed into a fresh, inviting sound that has lasted through the ages. The piece he wrote based off of these sounds was called a symphony, or a large musical composition made up of four parts or movements, and was nicknamed "The New World Symphony," after the country he wrote it in. While in class, the students this month will listen to each movement of the piece and do a small activity based on each movement.

Piano Lessons!

I am offering Piano Lessons to any students interested! These will be after school, Tuesday-Friday for 30 minute time slots, offered to any grade level. Students will learn the basics of piano, including music notation reading. This will enhance what they are already learning in music class, as it will improve on their rhythm reading and their sense of steady beat, or the pulse of the music. Depending on the amount that sign up and the parent's own schedules, lessons will either be every week or every other week. Please email me at: mary.bryan@banks.k12.ga.us    if you and your child are interested in having piano lessons at BCPS!

Ms. Bryan

Important Information!

Kindergarten Parents: Take a look under the "Programs" tab. It has the date of the Kindergarten program, and I will be adding song lyrics as we learn new songs so that your children can practice at home if you would be so kind as to help them!

Second Grade Parents: Take a look under the "Community" tab. There is an opportunity for any second grader who wants to try and any parent willing to drive to Athens for your children to participate in Georgia Children's Chorus. Your children would participate in the Prelude chorus, which is made of 2nd-4th graders. Students have to audition, so if you would like me to help them prepare, I would be more than happy to!

All Parents: Take a look under the "Community" tab. On October 22, the University of Georgia Wind Symphony is participating in the Arts' "Saturday Morning Club." They are performing a children's concert where they will teach the children about each instrument in a wind ensemble, and then they will perform a concert. This year's concert is Star Wars! After the concert, children will have an opportunity to try out playing the different instruments, make their own, and many more fun activities! Please consider this opportunity!

Aiken Drum

Our Kindergarteners have sung a song about a man who lives in the moon, and his name is Aiken Drum! But he's no ordinary man, he's made of food! Below are the Aiken Drums created by our Kindergarten classes, made of all their favorite foods!! (Excuse my drawing abilities, it's hard to draw with an expo marker)

Composer of the Month: Danny Elfman!

This month, first and second graders are learning all about the composer Danny Elfman! Danny Elfman is a very famous American composer, most known for his movie and television scores. Elfman is best known for movie soundtracks that he has written, most notable among them being: Spiderman 1, 2, and 3, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ('05), Alice in Wonderland ('10), Alice Through the Looking Glass ('16), Men in Black 1 and 2, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and Frankenweenie. His most notable television score is for the long running TV series The Simpsons. Elfman has written the film score for every sing Tim Burton movie excluding 3; Ed Wood, Sweeny Todd, and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, due to scheduling issues or personal conflicts. I chose this composer as our COTM for October because of his love of the weird, scary, and mysterious, which fits the mood of Halloween perfectly! We began our study of Elfman with excerpts from his film scores for The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. We will not be watching any of these films, simply listening to the musical excerpts chosen to compare his musical stylings to those of our first COTM, John Williams.