From our Music Educator, Helga Swatzak:

It was nice to meet some of you at the Back to School night last Tuesday. 

We're off to a good start with our music classes this year. I'm very grateful that this year we have two separate classes, K-2 and 3-4, so I can focus each class on age-appropriate music learning.

We always start music class by singing a fun 'Hello Song', exposing the students to foreign cultures by saying 'Hello' in different languages. In this song we turn to and greet each other. We also move our hands up and down on the notes of the refrain according to the direction of the pitches: high or low, skipping or stepping.  I hope to introduce some instruments to go with this song.

In both the K-2 and 3-4 classes, we have started to study 'Carnival of the Animals' by the French composer Camille Saint-Saens. If you'd like to listen at home, here's a link: Click here to listen

So far we have listened to the Introduction, the Lion, the Roosters, the Donkeys and the Turtles. The students are enjoying listening to the various effects made by the orchestra and the piano that emulate the behaviors and sounds that these animals make. 

With the younger students we have been moving around the room pretending to be these animals while the music is being played and the older students have been using their extensive vocabulary to describe what they hear. The narrator on the CD that I picked is the amazing Jewish violinist Itzhak Perlman.

Another regular activity in music class is the 'Word of the Week'. So far we have talked about 'tempo' (speed of music, fast or slow) and 'dynamics' (volume of music, loud or quiet). We try to use these terms during our listening and singing activities to reinforce the concepts. 

Students in the 3-4 class are getting ready to continue recorder studies. They are very excited to get going on this and with their enthusiasm, I know we're going to go very far on this instrument this year! These students are also building a music dictionary in their folders where they are writing down important music vocabulary that we learn through our sessions.

Last week we reviewed the US National Anthem and discussed how important it is to show respect when singing this important song. We also reviewed the Israeli National Anthem and it was great to see how well the students know this. Students in the 3-4 class also shared the school song they have been working on.

During our next few sessions, we will continue to expand our rhythm vocabulary and start learning/reviewing pitch names on the Treble Clef. It is important that students decipher the language and grammar of music so that music notation, like any other language, can be decoded. 

I look forward to my musical journey with your children this year. They are very curious learners and I'm excited to teach them!

                                                                             Helga Swatzak