Hello Odessa Wildcats!

I am so excited to be here at Odessa Elementary full time this year. We have so much planned for a year full of musical fun!

Our 4th and 5th graders have been invited to represent our school at this year’s September 11th Memorial Event held at Sim’s Park.
These students have been practicing several songs in class, including Yankee Doodle Dandy by the American composer George M. Cohan. If your child is in fourth or fifth grade, be sure to sign the permission slip and return it to school so we know whether or not your child will be attending this solemn event. We hope to see everyone at the park on Wednesday, September 11 at 7:00pm.

We have also scheduled our concert dates for the grade level concerts and the Chorus and Orff groups. Please go to the Performances tab for more information.

I would first like to add how proud I am of the awesome First Grade Concert and Winter Concert for the Chorus and Orff performers. They really looked and sounded like top notch groups! When viewing other school’s concerts on YouTube, I am proud to say that our students really rock!

As we wind down from the Holidays and begin a new year, we now set our eyes on the month of March.
Across the Nation many schools put on concerts or special programs in their music departments in celebration of Music in Our Schools Month. Our second, third, fourth, and fifth graders are busy preparing for their big night on Friday, March 1, 2013. We will have a combined 2nd and 3rd grade performance followed by a combined 4th and 5th grade performance at the Center for the Arts at River Ridge High School. This will be the first time we at Odessa will be using their large stage and theater style seats. We are also thrilled to be using their state of the art sound and light system!
http://rrhs.pasco.k12.fl.us/site/theater/CFA_Welcome.html

Check your child’s back pack for the permission slip to participate in this exciting concert. Please check off the appropriate box and sign it and have your child return it to either Mrs. Grimsley of myself. Attached to the information/permission slip is the lyrics to all their songs. They should be practicing every day. Fourth and fifth graders also have songs that need to be practiced on their recorders. They should be spending at least 10 minutes a day on these songs!

My days and schools have changed slightly from last year. I am an Odessa Wildcat on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, but I end my week at Trinity Elementary on Fridays. It is good to call both schools home!

We started the school year with lots of review as I introduced the newbies (kindergarteners) to the beat of the music. Everyone should be able to tap their toes to the music or pick up a frying pan and wooden spoon as they play to the beat!

We jumped right in with Patriotic music and had all the students playing hands on with our wonderful Orff instruments and recorders. Quite a few students earned RWB belts for their recorders for playing America. Please click this link to learn more about Carl Orff…. http://www.orff.de/en.html

The fourth and fifth graders are in full swing playing their recorders and will be earning their Recorder Karate belts as they perform songs of graduating difficulty. My avatar is a picture of some hot cross buns. This is the first song students must play to earn their white belt!!

The third graders are finishing up their performances of Don Gato! Ask your child what a BALLAD is and which character they got be. It was a great time for all. We have some really promising actors and actresses!!

Second grade is learning about the different parts of the music staff and how notes can be placed on lines and spaces. We are playing simple rhythms on un-pitched percussion instruments and keeping a steady beat on pitched instruments. Can they tell you the difference between the two types? Ask them!

Kindergarten and first grade continue to explore through a lot of dance, movement, and playing on instruments too! They had a wonderful time singing about autumn leaves falling and letting ‘real’ leaves fall from their fingers. Next they played in a train style where the first person in a short line of 4 or 5 students move to the end of the train to let the next person play. They had a ball of fun with Halloween’s Coming using a steady beat accompaniment and each child got to perform a ‘solo’!!! This week we started 5 Fat Turkeys and added a hide and seek game that goes along with the song.  Soon K, 1, 2, and 3 will be singing Over the River and through the Woods while they gallop like fast horses!!

Hello Pasco County music students!  I’m glad you found me and hope you enjoy this ‘connection’. If you weren’t aware, I am at Odessa Elementary on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.  I also teach at Oakstead on Wednesdays!

Please visit the different pages to find information on what we’re doing in class, Chorus, or Orff Ensemble.