Another new year

Hi! Is anyone still reading my blog from University Schools? If you are, I miss you all!

I am enjoying my new job at Park Hill Elementary in Denver, but I also truly miss the students, families, and staff from University. You are all amazing. I hope that 2014 is finding you well and that the changes that have taken place at University have been exciting and fun ones. You are always welcome to leave me comments on any posts if you are reading, and I will get an email notifying me of your comment- I will respond, too! :)

Hope all is well, and keep making music!

Ms. Buckley

Summer time

Hey all,

Anyone still reading out there? I'm back in Minnesota for the summer working on my Masters in Music Education at St. Thomas University. LOTS of homework, reading, and practicing, but I'm loving it.

I have met with the new music teacher for University Schools and I think you will have a fabulous year starting in the fall. I am missing all the students from University and am thinking of my fond memories often.

Please keep practicing, listening, singing, dancing, and enjoying music this summer. Feel free and welcome to leave me comments on any posts- I'd love to read what you are all up to and how life is going. :)

Spring concert and end of the year

I was just sitting at my desk and I realized I hadn't yet written a post about the AMAZING spring concerts! I was so pleased with the performance of all students. The kindergarteners impressed me with their very good concert etiquette and with projecting their voices. The first and second graders were so much fun with "So Cool" and I will always remember that moment. Third and fourth graders brought down the house with their difficult "Annie" piece. Fifth grade sang some impressively difficult songs and rocked some body percussion and tough sign language. Overall, I am so happy with the quality of these performances. Every year I wonder how I will top the year before, but the kids always manage to help me do it. Thank you to students and parents for an amazing experience.

One week left, can you believe it??? It's very sad as I begin to say my goodbyes to the students. I have so enjoyed their varied personalities and styles, and I have been so lucky to share my love of music with them. Thank you, everyone, for your support.

I will leave this blog up and running for students who wish to practice recorder music through this page. I will also update from time to time about how I am doing down in Denver. Students and parents are welcome to read and leave comments. You may have to access the blog directly by going to www.universityschoolsmusic.blogspot.com rather than accessing it through the University Schools website.

Have a great last week!

Less than 1 month!

We have less than one month until our fabulous spring concerts!!!!!! I have sent home two letters of information about this special event, so please ask your child if you have not viewed this information. You may also see the "Concert Info" page- there's a tab you can click on off to the right side of this screen.

K-4: Wednesday, May 8th.
Kindergarten- 6:00pm, arrive at 5:30pm (downstairs lobby)
1st/2nd grade- 6:45pm, arrive at 6:15pm (upstairs lobby)
3rd/4th grade- 7:30pm, arrive at 7:00pm (downstairs lobby)

DVDs will be sold of the K-4 concert for $10. Order forms were sent home this week. This is designed to help raise money for having the concert in the Union Colony Civic Center, which is a beautiful and well-kept facility. The DVD will not include any close ups or editing. It will be one wide shot of the entire performance, K-4.

5th grade: Thursday, May 9th, 7pm. Students must arrive at 6:30pm. There will be no DVD sold of the 5th grade concert, but because this concert is being held at University Schools, recording devices are permitted.

Please contact me if you have any questions. Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you all there!

Concert

Greetings!

The next several weeks will be spent working up concert music for all grade levels. Here's some concert info:

K-4 will perform at the Union Colony Civic Center downtown Greeley on Wednesday, May 8th.
Map to UCCC

Performance times:
Kindergarten 6:00pm (arrive 5:30pm)
1st/2nd grade 6:45pm (arrive 6:15pm)
3rd/4th grade 7:30pm (arrive 7:00pm)

All students must arrive 30 minutes prior to their performance time. Do not be late! Plan some extra time into your schedule for parking and getting tickets at the box office. Tickets are free, but you must obtain a ticket from the box office to enter the performance hall.

No video recording or flash photography is allowed. DVD recordings will be sold for $10. Order forms will be sent home prior to the concert.

5th grade will perform at University Schools on Thursday, May 9th at 7:00pm. Students must arrive at 6:30 and should report to their classroom for attendance.

All students should dress nicely for the concert- please avoid jeans and sneakers if at all possible. Attendance is MANDATORY for all students as this is a school event. I greatly look forward to seeing you all there and sharing wonderful music with you.

Students: find links to videos of songs for the concert below in the section called "Other useful links." Practice, practice! :)

5th graders

5th graders have been learning about the wind instruments of the orchestra- woodwinds and brass.

The main woodwind instruments are: flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, and bassoon.
Listen to them here (saxophone is left out):
Woodwind family

The main brass instruments are: trumpet, french horn, trombone, baritone/euphonium, and tuba.
Listen to them here (baritone/euphonium is left out):
Brass family

Practice identifying the sounds of these instruments because we have a QUIZ coming up! :)

Valentine!

This week we've been having some fun with Valentine's day, among other things.

This week in...

Kindergarten- we played a game called "Messenger" with an envelope that had each student's name inside it. When each name was drawn, that student could choose an instrument and continue the game by playing the steady beat. We also heard the story of how the flute came to be an instrument in Love Flute.

1st/2nd grade- we sang a Valentine song and each student got to come to the board and move their name into the valentine box. We also hid valentines from our music buddies in our hands so that our buddy would have to guess which hand held the valentine. We played some heart rhythms on rhythm sticks.

3rd/4th grade- we did our second self-assessment of our recorder playing on the song "It's Raining." We played the recorder game "We Are Playing in the Forest." Some classes also got to play a Valentine mixer-dance game called "Heel, Toe, On the Line" with bass bars and boomwhackers playing an ostinato accompaniment.

5th grade- we had tons of fun with the poem "The Queen of Hearts." We practiced saying the poem in different ways: sad, surprised, gossipy, Bat Man, scared, cheer leader, French, British, pirate, thug, etc. In groups, students had to practice saying the poem all the same way and at the same time. We then added instruments to this experience and enjoyed a hilarious performance from each group. We also continued learning about the woodwind family of instruments.

Happy long weekend! PRACTICE! :)