22 November, 2022
CHRISTMAS CONCERT: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 6:30pm!
HOMEWORK OVER THANKSGIVING BREAK: Sing EVERY SONG EVERY DAY during Thanksgiving Break!
Superstar Singers may sing each song more than once per day, but the minimum requirement is to sing your part to EVERY SONG on the concert EVERY DAY during break!
Click Below to Practice Choir Music at Home!
K-1-2 Christmas Concert At-Home Practice Resources
3-4-5 Christmas Concert At-Home Practice Resources
6-7-8-9 Christmas Concert At-Home Practice Resources
These documents contains links to text, music, and lots of recordings!
We are now rehearsing our Christmas Concert Repertoire in all choir and music classes! Please use our At-Home Practice Resources document to help your child practice at home! Our students have a lot of songs to learn and words to memorize. Please help them practice at home! Thank you!
Please find attached our 2022-23 Choir Performance and Events Schedule.
CHOIR UNIFORM for Grades 6-7-8-9: We will be ordering Black Polo Tops for Choir for our performances this year (not for this Sunday – on October 9th students will wear School Uniforms to sing in church). Shirts are mandatory, $25 each, payable through the school’s online payment system. I will send a Google Form for you to order your child’s correct size in the coming days. Grades 6-7-8-9 will wear the choir polos for all choir performances, concerts, and Choir Festival. Students will wear the black polo tops with nice black dress pants, black socks, and black shoes.
The Lower and Upper School Choirs (Grades 3-4-5 and 6-7-8-9, respectively) are developing beautifully. Everyone has Christmas Music and we are working hard to learn everything!
Our K-1-2 objectives remain the same as they have since the start of school – feeling and expressing steady beat, learning to sing on pitch and in tune in our healthy, high head voices, and beginning music literacy concepts. Those concepts will remain with us throughout the year, with varied activities to learn and practice our developing musical skills. We are now using our Christmas Music to help teach and develop all of these skills!
Powerschool
Once in Royal David's City: All words to verses 4, 5, 6.
O Come All Ye Faithful: All words to ALL VERSES, including the Latin verse.
Other Christmas music: use the text sheets that were sent home and the links to recordings on the "Christmas Music At-Home Practice Resources" document that is attached here to practice your child's Christmas music with them!
Kindergarteners continue music games and activities that teach and re-enforce concepts of Steady Beat and Singing Voice.
STEADY BEAT: We continue movement-mirroring activities where students tap, pat, march, and clap to the steady beat of several songs. Help at home by tapping or clapping the steady beat when you hear music and encouraging your Kindergartner to join you.
HEAD VOICE / SINGING VOICE: Singing voice, also called "head voice," is a high voice that you feel resonating in your head rather than in your chest. We practice making all kinds of silly sounds in choir so that we get used to using this higher-pitched voice. We make yawn/sigh sounds from high in our ranges, siren sounds, and say "Hellooo!" in a very high sing-songy kind of voice. I have noticed some improvement in our students' ability and willingness to experiment with this developing skill. Please continue helping at home by singing up high in your own "head voice" (for men: falsetto range), and encouraging children to do the same.
Once in Royal David's City: All words to verses 4, 5, 6.
O Come All Ye Faithful: All words to ALL VERSES, including the Latin verse.
Other Christmas music: use the text sheets that were sent home and the links to recordings on the "Christmas Music At-Home Practice Resources" document that is attached here to practice your child's Christmas music with them!
We continue to work on steady beat and finding our singing voices! Keep up the good work at home by encouraging students to demonstrate the steady beat by clapping, tapping, or patting when they hear music. Continue to have them sing in their high, healthy head voices. Ask them to show you the handsigns for do, re, mi, sol, and la, and sing the patterns they are showing.
Once in Royal David's City: All words to verses 4, 5, 6.
O Come All Ye Faithful: All words to ALL VERSES, including the Latin verse.
Other Christmas music: use the text sheets that were sent home and the links to recordings on the "Christmas Music At-Home Practice Resources" document that is attached here to practice your child's Christmas music with them!
2nd Graders are working to sing with tall, open mouths to make their most beautiful warm, round singing sounds. Encourage them to practice singing in front of a mirror - they should have an open, tall mouth with lots of space between their back teeth, and a relaxed face free of tension in the forehead - it shouldn't look like they are in pain when they sing. Their face should be relaxed and pleasant, with mouth open tall!
I am surprised at the number of 2nd Graders who are still working to sing in tune and on pitch in head voice. We will continue to work at this essential skill, practicing both our group- and independent-singing skills. Please encourage lots of strong singing with a tall, round, open mouth at home, in high head-voice range. Your child's speaking voice is not their singing voice.
CHRISTMAS MUSIC!! Use the "Christmas Music At-Home Practice Resources" document that is attached here to empower your child to practice their Christmas music at home! You can print music, text sheets, and sing along with recordings!
What an amazing class of fantastic singers! Also a LARGE class - 42 students total - which is FABULOUS! However, students need to be very disciplined in this class so that we can be most productive. Please remind students not to talk to neighbors, to be attentive, and to work hard in choir! They sound beautiful already and I am excited about their potential this school year as an ensemble!
Please see the GRADING POLICY for Choir for Grades 3-9. Participation is the key to success! Grades are up to date in PowerSchool as of Tuesday, Sept. 6.
Be sure you have put our CONCERT DATES on your family calendar! (Dec 15 and Jun 1)
CHRISTMAS MUSIC!! Use the "Christmas Music At-Home Practice Resources" document that is attached here to empower your child to practice their Christmas music at home! You can print music, text sheets, and sing along with recordings!
Be sure to put our PERFORMANCE DATES on your family calendar! (See schedule linked on this webpage.)
