CONGRATULATIONS to the children who participated in the 2012 Fine Arts Festival! You had wonderful performances on Saturday for the Chorus, Band and Orchestra! I am proud of your accomplishments as young musicians.
This summer I hope many of your families consider the Summer Music Camps in District #204. I am in charge of the Orff Camp- a one week/2.5 hour a day music experience for children entering 4th and 5th grades. The Orff Camp offers children an opportunity to sing new songs, move to music, create poetry interpretations, drum, dance and play their favorite xylophones, metallophones and glockenspiels. We teach them a simple melody, and the children take it from there! The leaders (me included) teach them to add harmony, rhythm, dance, improvisation, -you name it!
To sign up follow this link to the Summer Music registration and information page. Once you are there, you can click on the information tabs at the left, or directly sign up online on the link that says "Music Register Here." If you have questions, please email me at Mary_Whitney@ipsd.org and I'll answer any questions you have.
I wanted to highlight one more special note today. There is a fairly new organization called ARTSpeaks Naperville. Their mission is to highlight the importance of the fine arts in the lives of everyone, especially in the education of our children. You can find their page on Facebook with multiple links to books, videos, and news articles. Check them out for valuable information of the integration of arts in our lives!
I'm proud of the progress our Fry Foxes have musically made this year. A special thank you to the children who worked hard to perform at the 2012 IMEA conference in January. That was truly a highlight of my career, and I'm so thrilled you were a part of it!
Mrs. Whitney
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Spring into Music
Thanks for checking in to the Music blog for Fry School. This week marks so many things I had to blog all about it...
First, Thank you to so many of our fourth and fifth graders who performed at the Volunteer Appreciation Tea. You all are so talented, and I was glad to offer an opportunity for you to share your piano music with the volunteers.
Most of our general music classes will be playing Mallet Madness for the next two weeks. We'll have a ton of time playing xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels, drums and more! The children love the hands on time, and are able to create some really fabulous music in class with their buddies. We'll include books, singing, and solo time for the kids within these engaging lessons.
The fifth grade classes are working on their final projects for music- a theme and variation project which utilizes all of their past music skills into a final composition.
The Fry Chorus and Fry Orff Ensemble have a concert this week. Tuesday night, April 24th we are performing for our families and friends. The concert begins at 6:30pm. The members of Chorus and Orff should arrive by 6:10 and report to the multipurpose room. Families who arrive at that time can take a seat in the gym before the concert. The children should wear their uniforms- black Fry School chorus shirts, along with tan or khaki colored pants and dark socks and shoes, (preferably not gym shoes.)
Summer Music registration is LIVE! Please visit the Neuqua Valley Music Summer Music tab to be linked to the direct information page. It has all the details you'll need. When you are ready to register your child(ren) then click the "HERE" at the top to select the registration page. You can either print a form, or register directly online. I'm teaching and operating the Orff Camp. It is for elementary students entering grades 4 and 5. We sing, dance, drum, and play a ton of xylophones, metallophones and glockenspiels. It's a blast, and I'd love to have more of our Fry foxes there this summer. You are able to attend in either the mornings at Metea Valley High School or in the afternoons at Neuqua Valley High School. If you need more info than the website provides, just email me and I'll tell you all about it! Mary_Whitney@ipsd.org.
Musically yours,
Mrs. Whitney
First, Thank you to so many of our fourth and fifth graders who performed at the Volunteer Appreciation Tea. You all are so talented, and I was glad to offer an opportunity for you to share your piano music with the volunteers.
Most of our general music classes will be playing Mallet Madness for the next two weeks. We'll have a ton of time playing xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels, drums and more! The children love the hands on time, and are able to create some really fabulous music in class with their buddies. We'll include books, singing, and solo time for the kids within these engaging lessons.
The fifth grade classes are working on their final projects for music- a theme and variation project which utilizes all of their past music skills into a final composition.
The Fry Chorus and Fry Orff Ensemble have a concert this week. Tuesday night, April 24th we are performing for our families and friends. The concert begins at 6:30pm. The members of Chorus and Orff should arrive by 6:10 and report to the multipurpose room. Families who arrive at that time can take a seat in the gym before the concert. The children should wear their uniforms- black Fry School chorus shirts, along with tan or khaki colored pants and dark socks and shoes, (preferably not gym shoes.)
Summer Music registration is LIVE! Please visit the Neuqua Valley Music Summer Music tab to be linked to the direct information page. It has all the details you'll need. When you are ready to register your child(ren) then click the "HERE" at the top to select the registration page. You can either print a form, or register directly online. I'm teaching and operating the Orff Camp. It is for elementary students entering grades 4 and 5. We sing, dance, drum, and play a ton of xylophones, metallophones and glockenspiels. It's a blast, and I'd love to have more of our Fry foxes there this summer. You are able to attend in either the mornings at Metea Valley High School or in the afternoons at Neuqua Valley High School. If you need more info than the website provides, just email me and I'll tell you all about it! Mary_Whitney@ipsd.org.
Musically yours,
Mrs. Whitney
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
A Valentine's Day Musical Update
February is a great month for music! We just finished a wonderful fourth grade program where the children amazed their parents by singing, dancing and playing instruments. The 4th graders reported that their favorite part was inviting their families out to dance at the end of the night. Great job 4th graders!
Our kindergarteners at Fry are singing all sorts of songs and learning about different instruments. The glockenspiel was played first and now we are moving on to the xylophone and metallophone.
First graders are spending some of my favorite curriculum time right now. They are studying music from Camille Saint-Saens, a French composer, entitled Carnival of the Animals. It is a collection of 14 pieces that are short and inspired by different animals. They can identify all of the songs, and have been taking turns acting like the animals. Ask your first grader what animal they have been at Music!
The second grade classes all sang "Heel, toe, on the line, Will you be my Valentine?" today. We've been studying rhythm as the "musical measurement of time." They are getting better at not only reading but also writing the rhythms. They will take an assessment soon to evaluated their ability to read a rhythm.
The third and fourth graders are now HOT into the Recorder Karate method of learning to read music. Please follow these guidelines at home...play with soft air, use the left hand at the top, and follow the notes as they are written on the paper. Remember to send their recorders to school on their Music days, so they can fully participate in class.
The fifth graders are working on their final rhythm assessment of their elementary school career! They've been naming notes and reading rhythms for two weeks. Their assessment testing consists of reading two examples from the review paper sent home with them last week.
I hope this brings you up to speed on the Music Room.
Have a wonderful month, Mrs. Whitney
Our kindergarteners at Fry are singing all sorts of songs and learning about different instruments. The glockenspiel was played first and now we are moving on to the xylophone and metallophone.
First graders are spending some of my favorite curriculum time right now. They are studying music from Camille Saint-Saens, a French composer, entitled Carnival of the Animals. It is a collection of 14 pieces that are short and inspired by different animals. They can identify all of the songs, and have been taking turns acting like the animals. Ask your first grader what animal they have been at Music!
The second grade classes all sang "Heel, toe, on the line, Will you be my Valentine?" today. We've been studying rhythm as the "musical measurement of time." They are getting better at not only reading but also writing the rhythms. They will take an assessment soon to evaluated their ability to read a rhythm.
The third and fourth graders are now HOT into the Recorder Karate method of learning to read music. Please follow these guidelines at home...play with soft air, use the left hand at the top, and follow the notes as they are written on the paper. Remember to send their recorders to school on their Music days, so they can fully participate in class.
The fifth graders are working on their final rhythm assessment of their elementary school career! They've been naming notes and reading rhythms for two weeks. Their assessment testing consists of reading two examples from the review paper sent home with them last week.
I hope this brings you up to speed on the Music Room.
Have a wonderful month, Mrs. Whitney
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Fry Chorus and 5th grade Orff Ensemble Concert
Tonight's the night for entertainment! The 4th and 5th grade Chorus and the 5th Grade Orff Ensemble are performing their songs for a crowd of hundreds. They are so excited to share what they have learned.
The Orff Ensemble will be playing first. There is a song they wrote that they will begin playing as they enter. Then we will perform two classic Orff pieces, one a canon from Orff's volumes entitled "Music for Children," and one is an AB melodic song simply entitled "Dance." The final song is an instrumental jam called "Mufasa's March" with full xylophone, metallophone, and glockenspiel melodic lines, and a huge percussion group with it.
The Fry Chorus is going to wow the audience with songs from around the world including Russia, England, Italy and the United States. Nine, ten and eleven year-olds singing in Italian? Why not... The Chorus has made progress learning to sing with their head voice, and are learning more about singing in parts. "Frosty the Snowman," and "Minka" are just a few of the treats we have in store for you.
We hope you'll join us for this magical night of music.
The Orff Ensemble will be playing first. There is a song they wrote that they will begin playing as they enter. Then we will perform two classic Orff pieces, one a canon from Orff's volumes entitled "Music for Children," and one is an AB melodic song simply entitled "Dance." The final song is an instrumental jam called "Mufasa's March" with full xylophone, metallophone, and glockenspiel melodic lines, and a huge percussion group with it.
The Fry Chorus is going to wow the audience with songs from around the world including Russia, England, Italy and the United States. Nine, ten and eleven year-olds singing in Italian? Why not... The Chorus has made progress learning to sing with their head voice, and are learning more about singing in parts. "Frosty the Snowman," and "Minka" are just a few of the treats we have in store for you.
We hope you'll join us for this magical night of music.
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