Post Oak Penguin Newsletter 9/15/12 "Hello Post Oak Parents!

My name is Monica Sheets and I am the student teacher working with Ms. Singletary in music class this semester. I just thought I would take an opportunity to introduce myself to all of you. Currently I am CMU student studying for a Bachelors of Music Education and I will be working with your students until December 13. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to e-mail me at Monica.sheets@gmail.com. I am very excited to make some wonderful music with your students this semester! Sincerely, Ms. Sheets 10/9/12 Last week in music we did something very special in music class music centers! There were six centers that students rotated around during the hour. We had a melody center where we played xylophones, a reading center, a listening center where we listened to pieces by Beethoven, a rhythm center where we played percussion instruments in an ensemble format, a game center where we played childrens game from Beethovens time, and a dress up center where we created our own characters. We had a lot of fun with centers and there are pictures near Mrs. Bobos and Mrs. Corbins room of the centers and everyones costume. Every month in music we study a composer and this month we are learning about Heitor Villa-Lobos as our way to enrich Hispanic Heritage Month. Heitor Villa-Lobos is a Brazilian composer who was very influenced by Brazilian folk music and became very famous in the early 20th century. Your students will be learning not only about Villa-Lobos life but also about Brazilian culture through pictures and the music we will be studying. Ms. Singletary and Ms. Sheets 10/26/12 This week in music we have been very busy. Kindergarteners are learning about all the different ways we can use our voices, such as whisper, sing, shout, and talk. In first grade, we are now working on individual rhythm sheets and earning some neat stickers as we do one rhythm every week. Second graders have been learning about the different instrument communities in the orchestra. We covered the woodwind instruments last week and this week were learning about percussion. Finally, the third graders are working very hard at learning how to read the lines and spaces of the treble clef. They have done some nice work with identifying notes on the white boards in groups and connecting the notes to the keyboard. Since Halloween is just around the corner we are also having a lot of fun doing different Halloween songs and dances. The students love to explore different styles of music with some dancing pumpkins! Sincerely, Ms. Singletary and Ms. Sheets

11/5/12 Hello Post Oak Parents! In music these past two weeks we have been very engaging. We had centers last week where students got to play boom whackers, make felt stories, explored Latin American Instruments, created movement to music with the Magic Microphone, and explored the keyboard with floor pianos. We have just finished our unit on Villa-Lobos, our composer for Hispanic month; we learned about Brazilian instruments like the Chocalhos, Raganella, Reco-Reco, and the tambourine. In November our new composer is Edvard Greig, from Norway. We are starting to work on new units this week. Kindergartners are discovering what our favorite music and instruments are to go along with the Yea Me! unit, as well as nursery rhymes. 1st Grade is talking about story structure and different ways we can tell stories; such as using drama, music, and dance.rade is learning music about Lansing 2nd grade is learning music about Lansing Michigan and the early Native Americans along with the rap of the five themes of geography. 3rd grade is discovering the music of the Native American tribes of Michigan and their traditions. The 2nd and 3rd grades are reviewing The Great Mountain a play that we will be watching at the Wharton Center next week. We have been talking about the courage it takes to help a friend and overcome our fears. Just a quick note to Kindergarten and First Grade parents: On December 13, we have our International Concert for the Kindergarten and First grades. We have started practicing our songs for the performance and we hope to see all students and families at Pattengill on Decemeber 13! Sincerely, Ms. Singletary and Ms. Sheets

11/28/12 We have been hard at work with music these last two weeks! Our composer this month is Edvard Grieg and weve learned how to play Into the Hall of the Mountain King on percussion instruments and have seen a short video on the story of Peer Gynt, a play that Edvard Grieg wrote the music to accompany the performance. Our 3rd graders have been learning about Native Americans and their music as well as learning about melodic direction. The 2nd graders are learning about geography and different geography songs, using different rhythms and percussion instruments. They have also been hard at work learning about the different instrument communities in the orchestra. The 1st graders have been working really hard on the music for their upcoming performance and identifying the story form of Peer Gynt. In kindergarten weve been working on developing our singing voices and naming our favorite type of music and our favorite musical instrument as part of their Yea Me! IB unit. Kindergarten and 1st grade parents please be aware that our International Performance has moved from Dec. 13 to Dec. 17 at 6:30 in the Pattengill Auditorium. -Ms. Singletary and Ms. Sheets

12/11/12 Happy holidays Post Oak Parents! We have done a lot in music in the last week. Last week was our music center where we composed our own boom whacker melodies with color coded notes and composed our own percussion pieces with instrument note cards, created our own rhythms, identified instruments and instrument sounds, listened to music from Edvard Griegs Peer Gynt suite and read books on holidays celebrated around the world. We had a lot of fun exploring the different aspects of music last week. This week all of our students will be learning different holiday songs from around the world. We have songs about Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, Ramadan, and Los Pasados. 3rd graders will continue learning about Native American music as well as some Christmas Carols. 2nd graders will continue to work on their geography rap as well as some fun holiday songs. 1st grade is working very hard putting all of their performance music together and will start working on portraying the song Wade in The Water with their bodies as they sing the song. Kindergarten will also be working on their performance music as well as identifying shapes with the song Can you name the shape I hold?\ A special note from Ms. Sheets: December 14 will be my last day here at Post Oak. I just want to say it has been a pleasure being a part of the Post Oak community this semester and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with your students. Thank you all for such an awesome student teaching experience! Happy Holidays! -Ms. Singletary and Ms. Sheets