During the month of March, we explored music and dance from around the world. We began our study with Ghana and Western African music then moved to Ireland to look at traditional Irish dancing in honour of St. Patrick's Day. Over the last week we explored music and dance from Italy, specifically opera.
My younger sister, Emily is currently completing a post baccalaureate in opera studies at the University of Manitoba. This week we video called Emily in Winnipeg and she told us about the singing voice and how she learned to sing. She also gave us a mini-singing lesson and told us about why it is important to warm up our voice before we begin singing. We had the opportunity to ask Emily questions about opera (like "how do you learn to sing in other languages?"; "why do the singers wear costumes?"; "how do you make your voice go so high?"). Finally, Emily performed two different Italian arias and delighted the students with her beautiful singing! Here are a couple pictures of our video call sessions:
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Grant Road students were very lucky this week because we welcomed four Regina Pats hockey players. Sam Steel, Adam Brooks, Chase Harrison and Josh Mahura came to the school to read to students in a few classes. In Ms. Selimos' Grade 1/2 class, the players came in to join in our dance of the month. Here are some photos of the students and players having fun! Last night we had the first ever Grant Road Carnival! It was a wonderful evening filled with hot chocolate, crafts, dancing and music. In the gym, we put on a mini-concert with Kindergarten to Grade 2 students and then another mini-band concert featuring Grades 6-8 students. Here are some student reflections from the concert: Best wishes for a restful break and a happy and healthy new year!
This month all classes are preparing for a performance at the Grant Road Winter Carnival. I can't wait to post some videos after our performance on December 20th! We have been talking a lot about "nice" singing voices - when to be LOUD and when to be SOFT. This leads us into our study of dynamics in music - the volume of music! In Ms. Selimos' class, we listened to two different pieces of music - one was FORTE (loud) and the other was PIANO (soft). The students listened to the music and responded through drawing. Here are some examples of their work:
On Tuesday, December 20, we will be participating in a Winter Carnival all the students and staff at Grant Road School. Preparation has started with my classes (Kindergarten - Grade 2), as we get to put on a mini-performance for families in the gym! Ms. Selimos' Grade 1/2 and Mrs. Pankewich's Grade 2 students have started learning a really fun rap song called, "SNIRT!". What happens when you mix snow and dirt together? You get snirt! A few students have been asking about a practice video to work on the song at home. Here it is: The Grade 1 classes have two songs about snowflakes. Here is a video of our "peaceful" snowflake song. We listened to the song and then moved around the room like snowflakes - softly, gently, twirling... One month until the performance! We can't wait to share our singing with you :) This week we shared our Remembrance Day performances with the school. Mrs. Pankewich's Grade 2 students learned the bilingual version of 'O Canada': Mrs. Rempel's Grade 1 class prepared a poem, "Little Poppy", a song called "Sing for Peace" and shared their thoughts on peace: Over the last few weeks, two classes have been working on pieces for our Remembrance Day Ceremony. The ceremony at Grant Road is unique- we pre-record performances and prepare a PowerPoint slide show that each class watches at the same time in their classrooms. The service is led by two MCs who use the intercom to guide the entire school through the slide show.
Below, Mrs. Pankewich's Grade 2 class (left) is preparing to sing a bilingual version of 'O Canada'. We focused on proper singing technique and French pronunciation. Mrs. Rempel's Grade 1 class (right) worked hard to present a poem called, 'Little Poppy' and a song called 'Sing for Peace'. Mrs. Rempel and I collaborated on a Remembrance Day video, and we can't wait to share it with you next week! |
Ms. ReadyArts Ed teacher for Kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2 students at Grant Road School Archives
May 2017
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