Winter Celebration

Thank you to those who attended our Winter Celebration.  We had over 400 people in the audience.  I hope that gave you a small idea as to what our Elementary Music Program looks like!

Festival of Lights

This year, our Winter Celebration is entitled Festival of Lights.  Students from Kindergarten to Grade 4 have been working hard to put this celebration of learning together.  The Grade 3/4 choir will also be performing.  We look forward to seeing you on Thursday, December 14!

The Creative Process

The creative process is at the heart of my music program for two reasons:  (1)  through this process, students take greater ownership of their learning; (2)  during this process, students have to be able to make connection between one concept and another; hence, deepen their understanding. 

The starting point of the creative process for Grade 1 students is language.  By making a connection between monosyllabic words and the concept of "beat", students created their first rhythmic patterns.  Grade 2 students demonstrated their understanding of the natural rhythm of the English language and the musical language by re-writing the words for a chant entitled Canon for Canada.  Grade 3 and 4 students created some basic patterns by using a variety of note values.  They will be using these as basic building blocks to create musical phrases and larger musical structures.