Thanksgiving is just around the corner!

Hello!

This week was kind of crazy with all of that snow! It definitely put a wrench in my musical plans for this week. Since we rotate on a four day special schedule, a snow day pushes everything back a day. Between the snow day and the two-hour delay, I had a discussion with the other music department members and Mr. Kaczmark and decided that it would be beneficial for us to postpone Montgomery's Holiday Concert until Monday, 12/10, which was our "snow date."

I know this may inconvenience some, as this is a very busy time of year. However, pushing the concert date back will allow our newly chosen soloists and readers more time to become comfortable with their speaking and singing parts, and will give us more time to rehearse together on the stage. The more prepared we are, the less nervous and stressed we all feel.

Here's what else is going on in music class leading up to Thanksgiving break!

Kindergarten continues to learn some fun Thanksgiving songs and work on finding a steady beat. We are also getting out our jingle bells this week! Did you know that Jingle Bells was originally written as a Thanksgiving song? We're going to learn all about it!

1st Grade is still preparing for our concert, but not without some breaks to celebrate Thanksgiving! We are also reviewing the notes we learned at the beginning of the year: quarter notes, eighth notes, and rests. First graders have quickly become experts on singing a scale, too!

2nd Grade is starting to learn more about form, or how a song is put together. We have been looking for patterns in our songs and started one of my favorites this week- "A Mud Puddle Jumped On Me!" We will also start learning about the Nutcracker soon!

3rd Grade soloists and readers have been chosen! It was extremely difficult to choose from all of the eager students, but I reminded them that if they were not selected this time that they will still have opportunities in 4th and 5th grade to be featured in a concert.

4th Grade is going to briefly work on some fun, familiar folk songs before we start learning about the child prodigy W.A. Mozart and play around with some holiday music!

5th Grade put up some stiff competition for solos this year, and made it very hard for me to choose just six soloists for each school. What a great problem to have! We have so many talented students, and it takes a lot of courage just for the students to try out! I can't wait for all of the fifth graders to show off their talents again after their stellar concerts last spring!

This week, since November is coming to a close, we will also be wrapping up our November Performer of the Month, Michael Jackson. Here are our four facts for our fact contest:
- Born in Indiana
- Member of the Jackson 5
- Singer, songwriter, dancer
- Thriller

This is my favorite time of year! I can't wait to share more updates with you as we go!
-Mrs. Zimmerman