December Music News

IMPORTANT DATES

• Vista Heights Math Night - Thursday, December 12, 6:00pm-7:30pm
• Try out some math games and concepts with your child, enjoy some snacks, and join in with some carolling too!

• Winter Assembly - Thursday, December 19, 9:30am-10:30am
• Gymnasium will be open starting at 9:20am for parents

It has certainly been a busy time for the students practicing their Winter Assembly performances on Thursday, December 19, 2019, from 9:30am to 10:30am.

We hope you can come join us!

In November we had an exciting musical afternoon with the Grey Cup Committee visiting the school with the First Nations Princess, Stampede Queen and Princesses, Charley the Horse, Stampede clowns, and the Grey Cup band. We got to dance a line dance, listen to live country music, watch a First Nations jingle dance, and learn a little about the Grey Cup football team. Our school even received a small donation from the fundraising portion of the Grey Cup Committee!

Kindergarten has been practicing steady rhythm and beat to various Christmas tunes, and we've also been learning proper technique for playing various types of non-pitched percussion instruments.

Grade 1 and 2 has been working on a creative movement piece, learning to pair specific movements and facial expressions with each section. They get to emote happiness, wonder, anger, and fear, all in one dance! We have also been discussing the term form. The form for our song is similar to going up and down a hill. It starts as sections A, B, C, D, and then "back down" through C, B, A.

Grade 3 and 4 have been mastering a melody on the xylophones. Do you recognize it? They are practicing the accompaniment bass line as well as the melody for the upper register instruments. 

We have also been practicing a partner song for the assembly. It requires a student singing their own melody while another group sings a separate counterpoint melody. It is a skill that one needs to continually work on to perfect!

Grades 5 and 6 are learning the importance of showmanship. Not only do we have to push past some embarrassment for "the show to go on", but we also have to polish our performance so mistakes don't detract from the mood of the piece. We also continue to practice singing in rounds and working on a variety of instruments and rhythms at correct tempo for our Liberian folksong on percussive instruments. Playing in an ensemble means every student needs to know when and what to play!

Carolling last week of school

Starting Monday Dec 16, Vista Heights students will get to engage in a little carolling every day. Parents, you are invited to our carolling time on Thursday Dec 19 at 9:30am!

Calgary Food Bank Drive

During December, in the spirit of generosity our Student Wellness Action Team (SWAT) is asking Vista Heights School to donate nonperishable food items to support those who need our assistance. 

Please bring your items to the drop boxes by the office. We are hoping to fill 

3 large boxes or more. Thank you! 

The Calgary Food Bank Wishlist: 

(more details HERE)

CANNED FOOD

VEGETABLES: Carrots, Peas, Green Beans, Mixed Vegetables, Tomatoes

FRUIT: Peaches, Pears, Pineapple, Mixed fruit, Oranges

PROTEIN: Ham, turkey, chicken, salmon, tuna, beans

SOUPS

GRAINS

• Pasta
• Macaroni & Cheese
• Rice
• Cereal

OTHER ITEMS

• Pasta Sauce
• Juice
• Peanut Butter

Xylophones and more!

Kindergarten worked on playing two-note chords and repeated borduns while singing a different melody. It takes quite a bit of coordination to do this, and we certainly will be practicing this skill!

Grade 1& 2 matched rhythm patterns to different candy names by clapping out the syllables and experimenting how long each syllable was held for.
Can you guess which rhythm pattern matches the following candy?

Grade 3-6s continued working hard on ukulele songs using chords C, F, G7, and Am. It's hard work moving from one chord to the next in a smooth continuous motion! Next week on Thursday we'll be testing on a simple song. 

Finally, our Grade 3/4s are practicing a special piece for their Remembrance Day Assembly on Friday, November 8, at 11am. Parents who would like to attend are invited to arrive at 10:50am.

Yours in Music,

Mrs. Lim

In need of help!

Important Message from School Council

We need your help!

We are holding our casino on Friday October 18 and Saturday October 19 at Pure Casino.  We have run low on volunteers for the Vista Heights School Enhancement Society casino night. We are in desperate need of volunteers in order to hold our casino.  Casino Funds are used for a variety of things for our school which have included building our school playground, field trips, Artists in Residence.

Would you, your spouse, family or close friends be able to help out? 

The shifts are as follows:

Chip runner or Cashier: October 18 and or 19th 10:00am-6:00pm (day shift)

Chip runner or Cashier October 18 and or 19th 6:00p-2:00am (Evening shift)

Count room: October 18 and or 19th 11:00pm-3:00am (closing shift)

Last time this fundraiser brought in over $65,000! 

Please contact Justin Murray at justinm188@gmail.com if you are able to help out!

Thank you!

October Musical Highlights

Kindergarten students are working on singing with accurate pitch. They do this by singing specific tones repeatedly. But how do we get them singing the same line over and over again without tiring? We put it in a game. Kindergarten has been playing "Doggie, Doggie", "I Like Turkey", "Snail Snail", and our latest and greatest game, "5 Little Pumpkins".

We act out the song and then stand and bow to appreciative applause by our Kindergarten audience who is sitting politely with their (fake) popcorn and beverage. Of course, we continue to get our brains working and our selves ready for learning by starting each class with a Brain Dance, always accompanied by the most calming music of various genres.

Grade 1 & 2s have been practicing their sixteenth note rhythms in games and practice claps. Our most difficult game involves ear training: we listen to the spoken/clapped rhythm and try to recreate it using popsicle sticks!

Grade 1&2s also work on critical listening, analyzing the tempo and dynamics of a mystery piece, then illustrating what scene they imagine when they listen to the music.
Most young ears are highly intuitive when it comes to guessing what the scene should be!

Grade 3 & 4 are not only practicing a performance piece for the Remembrance Day Assembly coming up in November, but they are also perfecting ukulele mastery and reading tab diagrams. We have already swept through four different chords and incorporated them into various songs! We also have learnt a fun and spooky song about Trolls. It's full of staccato (separated, bouncy) and sforzando (marked, strong) notes, and it's also full of delicious vocabulary!

Grade 5 & 6s have continued their ukulele journey this year on harder strumming pieces. Each class we try to play a different, slightly harder song, and of course we continue to work on our island strum in order to play the first half of "Lava" from the Pixar short film. We also are singing a spooky song called "The Ghost Ship", and we're starting a Liberian piece on the xylophones, drums, maracas, and agogo bell. Hopefully we can synchronize our beats to play a lovely piece together!

Ukulele Chord Chart - by Musicplayonline

As requested, oft-used chords in modern pop songs. Once you have the basics, you can play almost every song!

Someone to Lava

Grade 5 and 6 students are learning three chords to strum with their "island strum", and they can practice with their own ukes or watch at home to familiarize themselves with the chord progressions and melody on a video playalong HERE.

Students can also view an extension of our learning here; it is a video of Cynthia Lin teaching the song on ukulele.

Parent - Teacher Conferences are Sept 19-20

Did you know Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up soon? They are on Sept 19-20, 2019 (Thursday and Friday).

For instructions on booking a conference, click here.

The Music room and myself are free for visits on September 19, Thursday evening. On Friday the Music room will be closed. If you should like to visit and chat about your child's Music learning, I am also available via email (colim@cbe.ab.ca), where you can write or we can set up a separate time for your visit.

First few weeks at school

LEARNING HIGHLIGHTS:

Kindergarten has been busy! They are learning routines and expectations for learning in the Music room. Students are asked to echo musical phrases in singing and body percussion. They are also singing "Zoom zoom zoom" and "Welcome to Music". Feel free to ask your child if they remember the lyrics!

Grades 1 & 2 have already jumped into their regular learning. They are testing this week for playing the C major scale on the xylophones with correct technique and steady rhythm. Students who want to push themselves are invited to sing AND play at the same time! Of course, we continue with our regular set of songs in the form of games to work on accurate pitch in singing.

Grades 3 & 4 started the year singing canons (or rounds) in a variety of genres. We've got slower, sentimental melodies as well as happy, silly songs. After only 3 days, students were singing their line confidently and trying very hard to hold onto their melody while a separate group sang something different simultaneously!

Grades 5 & 6 jumped into singing canons as well, and they are starting ukulele (pronounced OOH-KOO-LAY-LAY) strumming (for our beginners) and plucking arpeggios (for our level II players).  We will be singing and playing to the song "In the Land of Oz" on a D minor chord.

Grades 1-6 have also worked on musical theory, learning to draw a musical staff and read/write different types of notes and rhythms.

Overall, a good start to our school year!

Hand Chimes Club begins Wednesday September 18

Grade 5/6 students who are interested in playing hand chimes are invited to join our first rehearsal on Wednesday September 18 at lunch hour.

Practices run every Wednesday lunch hour until our December assembly, when we will perform our pieces.

Students who would like to join must attend all practices and be ready to work hard!

Back to School 2019

School begins on Tuesday, September 3, 2019.

Looking forward to meeting all our fresh (and rested) faces!

Mrs. Lim