HAPPENINGS the Lower Campus @ S E PTE M BER 20 16
ART ROOM News
The month of September was all about making marks, embracing new ideas and ways of thinking and setting positive, openminded intentions for the year ahead in art. Two books entitled The Dot and Beautiful Oops offered us perspective in loosening up and getting out of our own The Dot Students in PreK and K explored various takes on “the dot” inspired way during the creative by the Peter Reynolds book of the same name. process!
Beautiful OOPS What can you do with paint spills, splats and drips or scraps and bits of torn paper? Turn them into something new of course. Students in grades K-5 were challenged to look at their marks with fresh lenses. Above is an example of a student who breathed life into a splatter of paint...literally and visually! Bird’s the Word! In preparation for the class bird name reveal presentations, students also used Art Room time to prepare costumes and sets. At right: the Snowy Owls (PreK) prepare costumes & a scaled up Mountain Bluebird(gr. 3/4) donning a carefully mixed and accurate color scheme.
Think Outside the Bag One fine day, the Purple Gallinules (gr 4/5) were met with an array of strategically folded and crumpled brown bags filled with various items inside. Their goal: to transform a bag, using all of the items inside, into a work of art that no longer resembled a paper bag. Take the bagness out of the bag...and so they did.
Artists, Animals, Musicians...The Albatrosses (gr 1/2) partook in an artistic “experience� which included painting to various “Carnival of the Animals� pieces, moving to the animal beats with feathers, strings, brushes and hands.
What’s Up in the MUSIC ROOM? It has been a great start to the school year in Music at the Sparhawk lower campus! Here is a bit from each class on what’s been happening... The Snowy Owls (Pre K) & Hummingbirds (K) have enjoyed learning lots of new songs with actions, including 'Goldilocks', 'Looby Loo', 'This Old Man', 'The Princess', '1,2,3,4,5, Once I caught a fish alive', 'London Bridge' and the Scarf Song, as well as the extra part from the British version of 'Ring around the Rosies'. They have lovely singing voices! We have also learned fun, 'finger play' rhymes such as 'There's a Big Eyed Owl', ''Build a House up Very Tall' and 'Here is the Church'. Ask them to sing and show you some of these! The children have also kept a steady beat with wooden sticks, egg shakers and drums, and have been playing rhythm games. The Albatrosses (gr1/2) have also had fun singing the action song, 'The Princess', as well as Woody Guthrie's 'Put your finger in the air' in which they created some of their own actions and rhymes. We have sung some wonderful rounds, and have been working on basic notation and rhythmic patterns, as well as learning how to conduct in 2, 3 and 4. The children have enjoyed learning how to waltz to be able to feel the difference between a marching rhythm in 2 or 4, and a waltz-like rhythm in 3. Ask them to show you! We have also learned about Jazz Scatting improv, and sung the wonderful  'Animal Fair' song with actions. I have started to introduce them to the idea of music/sounds/ rhythms in everyday life, such as the 'Stomp' troop of percussionists perform. The Mountain Bluebirds (gr 3/4) & Purple Gallinules (gr 4/5) have been excelling with our 'Stomp' project! With their own instruments, crafted from household or recycling bin items or from bits in the Tinker Lab, they will be performing their own short, rhythmic compositions to their classes next week. This week we have been working on notating them on staff paper. The Mountain Bluebirds also enjoyed learning 'The Animal Fair' while the Purple Gallinules have sung 'Get Here' by Oleta Adams, as the lyrics are related to the 'On the Move' theme for the year. In the latter, the students accompanied their singing with metallophones and a rain stick for added atmospheric effect!Â
Friday Choir In Choir (Chorus) practice, everyone has been learning fun, new vocal warm ups, as well as reviewing the Solfege scale (Do, Re, Mi). We have discussed good singing posture, diction/ articulation and projection in singing, and the importance of elongating vowels. I'd like to keep the songs we are learning a surprise for you at the Winter Concert in January! đ&#x;˜€Â
P.S. We love working with your children!
Lucy & Cat(herine)