Monday, April 11, 2016

SAVE the DATES & 4th Quarter Music Project SomeWHERE in Time

 SAVE the DATES:
Our Music@SPARK ensembles are deep in preparation for these upcoming events: 
  • BAND: Music@SPARK Band concert May 9 (the May 5 date had to be changed)  and Grady Cluster Honor Band at MES May 12
  • ORCHESTRA: Grady Cluster String Fling May 5 and Music@SPARK and Mary Lin's Orchestra Concert May 11
  • CHORUS & AC: Music@SPARK Chorus and AC concert Somewhere in Time May 17--call time 4:30, concert time 6pm




Hi! It's time to start working on the 4th Quarter Music Project!


During the 1970s and 80s there was a fad of putting classical music to a disco beat. The Royal Philharmonic from London and Walter Murphy from the US were popular artists who did this.  The biggest hit from this style was called "A Fifth of Beethoven" (video below).

 The project is called SomeWHERE in TIME, and the students need to include a Place, a Time, and Something musical (covering 2 GPS).

The options are wide open—the students can choose any music/musician/singer/performer/show/movie they’re interested in and make a time and place connection. They may be in groups of up to 4 kids from their grade level.  Their topic should be something they are interested in and want to learn more about. The only limitation is if the song has lyrics, they must be school-appropriate (not even beeped out words).

I have listed options on the project sheet, but kids are not required to choose from that list if they have their own ideas of how to complete the project; however, if they do not choose from the list they must get approval from me no later than April 22.

Also, please note Rating our Projects and the Reflection on the back must be completed!

Examples (real project ideas from kids):
  •  A third grade girl loves Justin Bieber—she’s going to sing and dance to a song of his (covering 2 GPS) and find out where and when he was born and some other biographical info. She plans to make a poster with the info and lyrics.
  • A fifth grader is very interested in the Medieval era, so he’s going to study music from that era, learn & perform a song (maybe on recorder) and dress up like he is in that time period in Europe.
  • A fourth grader is interested in what music might sound like in 2050 on Earth...
  •  Some fifth grade kids have started their own music business writing songs that help kids memorize academic facts. They are re-writing lyrics to popular songs & singing them (they may make a video), and their business manager will write up how she is advertising their company. The time and place are Atlanta, GA at SPARK in 2016


 I hope this project will spark some creativity and give kids a chance to explore their own interests while connecting to Music!  

Deadlines (students may turn in projects any time between now and the dates listed. No late projects will be accepted):

Tuesday, May 10: Naman & Thurman 
Wednesday, May 11: Butler & Southcombe
Thursday, May 12: Badger/Lockwood, English/Lockwood, Mckie & Redel
Friday, May 13: Latimore/Lockwood, Neal/Lockwood, Hall, & Riggins




Friday, April 1, 2016

Music in (around, near, and far from) our Schools Month

See the Talk Up APS blog post!


SPARK’s Music in (around, near, and far from) our Schools Month
By Brianne Turgeon, Music/Chorus teacher at Springdale Park Elementary

“Music In Our Schools Month® or “MIOSM®” is the National Association for Music Education’s annual celebration during March which engages music educators, students, and communities from around the country in promoting the benefits of high quality music education programs in schools.” 
As the Music and Chorus teacher at Springdale Park Elementary, I take the task of promoting Music Education very seriously. My personal goal as SPARK’s Music teacher is to make music an integral part of our school’s fabric that includes the students & teachers, our parents, the local community, and our community at large.
Throughout the month of March the students at Springdale Park have been extremely busy and involved in raising awareness of the deep importance that our school community places on Music. Students on every grade level have had opportunities to perform and create music, as well as be audience members for some amazing musical performances!
Here’s what we have been up to, just in March!

Scroll down and explore the blog to see what we've been up to all year!


Representing SPARK: March 3 Large Group Performance Evaluation at Mays High School sponsored by the Georgia Music Educators’ Association—Advanced Chorus sang “The Journey”, based on Dvorak’s New World Symphony Largo theme and “Two Bartok Songs”. These selections were chosen because of the repertoire Fourth and Fifth Graders saw the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra play on their ASO field trips. AC earned a Superior rating in sight-singing (reading/singing music at sight) at LGPE!

Applying Music Skills: March 1-4 Write, Read, Sing, Play  Students in Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grades completed their Second Quarter Music Project, for which they applied their Music class skills and knowledge.

       

Performing for a school event: March 11 Singing the National Anthem at the 5th Grade Basketball Challenge




Attending a concert in the community: March 16 Kindergarten and First Graders attend Music for a Purpose at the Atlanta Symphony



        
Photos courtesy of Ms. Corrie Madlem, first grade teacher





Performing at an Arts Fundraiser for our School: March 17 SPARK Arts Night Art Show Solo/Group performances







  
Representing SPARK in our community with one of our sister schools: March 19 Gazoyks Family Show at the Plaza Theatre




Singing and Acting in a play within our Grady Cluster: March 24-26 several SPARK students were Newsboys in the Grady High School production of Gypsy



March 29-April 1 
March Music Madness: Kahoot Music Vocabulary Showdown ( some 2015 winners pictured)





 Our Music@SPARK ensembles are also deep in preparation for these upcoming events:
·         Music@SPARK Band concert May 5  and Grady Cluster Honor Band at MES May 12
·         Grady Cluster String Fling May 5 and Music@SPARK and Mary Lin’s Orchestra Concert May 11
·         Music@SPARK Chorus and AC concert Somewhere in Time May 17