We are one day away from our first concert here at Archway Arete and are very excited to share your students accomplishments with you in this special way.

We have been working to make this evening as seamless as possible from the moment you arrive on campus. We will have you dropping your student off before your park but it will be different than normal morning traffic. We will have staff ready to help unload your students and escort them safely to their classrooms on the Western side of the building, but unlike morning traffic, you will be unloading your student before you make the circle around the football field. You may then proceed to finding a parking spot on campus once your student is dropped off. You will have to come back through the main doors on the Western side of the Archway building to get over to the gym. We will have staff available to assist as needed. please plan to drop off your student between 5:00 and 5:15. I anticipate many students will have grandparents and other extended family coming for the performance, if possible, please carpool in order to cut down on the number of vehicles.

Thank you so much, I can't wait to see your students all dressed up ready to sing!

December Concert info.

Your students are working hard and we are all looking forward to sharing their work with you in the upcoming winter concert. If you have not already, please mark your calendars for Dec. 2nd. Your students performance begins at 5:30 P.M. Please have your students in their classrooms by 5:00 as they will need time to warm up and line up before the concert begins, this will also give you time to find your seats in the gym. 

Concerts are very exciting for the students, they get a chance to dress up and sing the pieces they have been working on all semester. Students will not be wearing their regular Arete uniform, but should be wearing concert black and white. For the boys this will be black pants and shoes with a white button down shirt and hair neatly combed. Girls should wear black skirts, black tights, and black shoes with a white top. Hair should be neatly combed back and any bows should be small so as not to distract the individual, or the students standing behind.

Your students have been asking so many questions about this event in class I've had to ask them to stop so I could continue their lessons on eighth notes. I know they are getting very excited about the performance. It is required that the students attend the concert, participation is incorporated into their grade, but I hope they participate because they enjoy it, not because it is mandatory. 

If you have any questions, please e-mail me at ebolzman@archwayarete.org

For some of my students, this is the first week back in music class after break and our focus this quarter is preparing for the concert in December. I'm working on singing technique and memorizing lyrics with the students and am excited about sharing their work with all of you. 

Students are reviewing theory we learned last quarter but also exploring how to recognize 8th notes and how they relate to all the other notes we have learned up to this point (quarter, half, whole)

First Graders will be listening to "Autum" from Vivaldi's Four Seasons

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TdgK5nSfuP0

Kindergarten will be listening to various selections of Edvard Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite"

1st Quarter Conferences

Please follow this link to sign up for K-1 music conferences

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0c4eafad2ca3fd0-1stquarter

I have introduced the sudents to Boomwhackers these last few weeks, which are tuned plastic tubes, and they are enjoying making music with them! Students are learning respect for my instruments as well as how big instruments make low sounds while small instruments make high souns. The Kindergarteners are coninuing to learn about how the instruments can sound like different animals while the 1st graders are learning about Baroque music and instruments. This week 1st grade is begining a study of Vivaldi's four Seasons! Both Kindergarten and 1st grade are learning to recognize musical nots and distinguish the differences between whole, half, and quarter notes.

music update

Tomowrrow we begin our third week of music classes, delving deeper into instruction. These last two weeks have been spent teaching students how to conduct themselves in music class, and the expectations for listening to music. Students have been learning to distinguish between high notes and low notes, reenforcing the concept by sining sirens while moving their hands up and down with the pitch.

In Kindergarten we have continued to listen to the "Carnival of the Animals" and talked about how some music is fast and some is slow. We modeled this idea by singing a song at a moderate tempo, then singing the song again very slowly, after which, of course, we sped up really fast. This led into a discussion of beats where I intorduced students to the quarter note which gets on beat. Next week we will learn about half notes getting two beats!

In First Grade, my theory lesson was pushed back to this week because of the half days so your studens will learn about half and quarter notes together discussing the differences, visually and aurally between the two (aurally being one gets one beat, the other gets two beats). We were able to finish our unit on Peter and the Wolf listening to the themes of Peter, the Little bird, the duck, Grandpa, the Wolf, and the hunters. Students discussed differences they heard between each chracter, and how the music portrayed the characters. some students described the little bird as being 'light' in sound while the duck was 'low' or 'deep'. They learned to describe music as fast or slow. This week students will begin a study of Boroque music beginning with J.S. Bach.

Click here for information on our back to school Social, Friday August 15th!

welcome to Music class!

Dear Kindergarten and 1st grade Parents,

My name is Esther Bolzman, and I will be instructing your child’s music study over the next year. I’m so excited for the opportunity to teach your child about my favorite subject, music! Over the next few months, your child will be exposed to many great pieces of music, and learn about composers such as Bach and Mozart. While learning how to listen to music is important, your child will also learn about performing and what it takes to make music. Students will learn about steady beat, rhythm, and tempo; defining dynamics, and high and low pitches. Students will learn how to aurally distinguish between speaking, whispering, shouting, and singing voices. 

Each month, the students will be learning a different patriotic song. In addition to learning lyrics and melodies, the students will learn about the history connected with some of our country’s most influential songs.

Every student will have a chance to proudly present their progress in the concert at the end of the year. This year, the K-1 concert will be December 2^ndat 5:30 P.M.  This concert will be a celebration of Western traditional music. We ask that all students wear black and white performance attire for the concert. The boys should be wearing black pants and shoes with a white shirt. The girls should wear black pants or shirts with a dressy white top.  I will update the class website with more details as information becomes available.

I will be updating the class website on a weekly basis to keep you updated on what we are learning in class. I do not plan to send practice work home with the students, but may ask you to practice with your student if he/she is struggling with lyrics and time is running short before the concert. Another thing you will be able to find on the class website is a list of the classical music your student will be listening to that week. I will be adding the pieces as we listen and discuss them together. Feel free to listen with your child at home and ask them what they learned about the piece in class. 

Thank you for your involvement in your child’s music education. I look forward to meeting your student and walking with them through the weeks and months as they discover the world of music. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to e-mail me at ebolzman@archwayarete.org and I will get back with you by the end of the next school day. Please visit the class website weekly to keep updated on important information. The link is http://aretemusic.blogspot.com/.

Looking forward to a great year!

Miss Bolzman
K-1 Music teacher
Archway Arete
(480)222-4233