November news

Music classes enjoyed watching a video of Dem Bones for Halloween week and sang and danced to the song Dry Bones.

There were other fun halloween music that was enjoyed last week.

Now, we are looking at learning our Christmas program songs a little at a time. We are excited about the theme of Around the World it's Christmas. Auditions have taken place for the speaking roles that 6-8 graders may audition for. 

Mark your calendar for Dec. 18 at 7:00pm (also at 9:00am) for the All School Christmas Program.

Each class has enjoyed taking turns being the 'musician of the week' and sharing music interests.  

The 4th graders played a recorder song at PRIDE and did a great job with God is So Good.

The 3rd graders sang a song at their Family Mass- Michael Row the Boat Ashore.

The choir for grades 5-6 and some past members in 7-8 grade have been rehearsing and will sing at Barnes & Noble on Nov. 13 at 3:30.

They will also sing for the All School Mass on Nov. 19. The next day, Nov. 20 the choir will take a field trip to Northwestern College to watch a youth choir.

Keep Calm and Sing On~

Jean

Jean Olson

Music Teacher PreK-4 &  Hi-C Choir Director

j.olson@highlandcatholic.org

Musician of the week

Music classes are off to a great start.

I am starting something new this year with each class.

One student is the 'musician of the week' for their class.
That student is able to share a song with the class that they like from home (school appropriate) or they can pick a fun song from my list to have the class listen to or dance to.
The musician of the week also is able to play an instrument or sing for the class or share a musical talent. They do not have to share something, but it is encouraged.
Also, the selected student would start any games or activities or be my helper.

I started each class with selecting a student with the first name that starts with 'M' for music. We will proceed down the alphabet all the way back to M, which will take most of the year.

I look forward to hearing what each student has to share with their classmates.

Jean Olson

Music Teacher PreK-4 &  Hi-C Choir Director

j.olson@highlandcatholic.org

Back to school is music to my ears!

I am excited to return to Highland Catholic this year as the music teacher for grades K-4 and choir. I also enjoy sharing music with the M,W,F Preschool students. Preparing the Mass music is another thing I really look forward to.

I will see each class twice a week for 30 minutes. The choir meets 3-4 times a month on Thursday mornings from 8:10-8:55. The Hi-C Choir sings at most of the All School Masses, has a Spring Choir Concert as well as other special events.

The music classes follow a curriculum called 'Game Plan' and it is a wonderful program. It includes singing, movement, instrument playing and games. Game Plan uses solfege (do, re, mi... with hand signals) to help learn to read music and sing in pitch. The 4th grade students learn to play the soprano recorder and parents usually hear their share of "Hot Cross Buns" at the start of the school year.

I look forward to seeing the students return to school and music class.

Mrs. Olson

Music Teacher PreK-4 &  Hi-C Choir Director

j.olson@highlandcatholic.org

March Music

The winter months have included fun music for the classes.

We have been discovering how interesting some instruments are from around the world. Some students have brought in really neat instruments to share with their classmates. We had a digerido, a conch shell,
a couple of hand held harps and an accordion.  I brought in some hand made whistles and drum from Mexico. Mrs. Schmidt's daughter gave us a unique wood block from Guatemala too.

We shared music of Patriotic themes to honor the Winter Olympics and President's Day.

All classes sang the Star Spangled Banner with pride. We looked at some of the words like: dawn, twilight, ramparts, gallantly and perilous to understand their meanings. I was impressed to see how many students know all of the lyrics.

We shared songs for Valentine's Day in all classes and will soon be sharing Irish songs for St. Patrick's Day.

Macnamara's Band is a great one to get out the instruments and have fun.

Our Game Plan Music Curriculum provides each class with different lesson plans for each day and the students enjoy the music and activities. They are learning hand signals for the notes and getting really good at reading rhythms.

The 4th graders are playing 'Old Macdonald' on their recorders.

We had a beautiful Ash Wednesday Mass to enter the Lenten Season. The choir sang a song called 'Sign Us With Ashes' and 'Dona Nobis Pacem' which means Grant Us Peace.
Our next All School Mass is on Wednesday, April 9th at noon.

Jean Olson

Music Teacher PreK-4 &  Hi-C Choir Director

j.olson@highlandcatholic.org

Happy New Year

The month of January is the perfect time to be singing songs about snow and winter fun.

We also learned about Spirituals and sang a few songs about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Some of the 3rd &4th graders shared their Thanksgiving Songs. ( Due to the Christmas Program and vacation, we are just getting to sharing them)

They also learned how to play a musical version of Yatzee on the interactive Smartboard. It is a great way to get to know the value of notes.

4th graders are playing several songs now on their recorders. They can even play with some accompaniment. The most recent song is Ode to Joy.

The Hi-C choir will be singing at the All School Mass on Wed. Jan. 29 at 12:00pm.

Happy New Year families from Mrs. Olson

Jean Olson

Music Teacher PreK-4 &  Hi-C Choir Director

j.olson@highlandcatholic.org