November: Franz Joseph Haydn

Our November Composer of the Month is:

Joseph Haydn

Haydn was born into a poor family. He began as a choirboy in Vienna at age 8 and survived poverty by teaching music lessons. Haydn's luck changed when a wealthy family hired him as a music director. For over 30 years, he filled their palace with music composing and conducting weekly concerts. He wrote over 60 string quartets and completed over 100 symphonies earning him the well deserved title of "Father of the Symphony!"

He is recognized by his music's cheerful, humorous, kind, and devout style.

Some of his more familiar compositions are: The Creation, "Surprise" and "Paris" Symphonies, and The Seven Last Words of Christ. 


Symphony No. 94, "Surprise" Symphony. 

The Creation. No. 4 - Und Gott machte das Firmament

Music K-8 Art Contest!

Plank Road Publishing has announced their 23rd annual contest:

Draw a Cover for Music K-8 Magazine!

Top prize is $250

The winning entry will be printed on the cover of the May/June 2015 issue of Music K-8!

See Mrs. Caughlan for entry sheets! All entries are due by January 16, 2015. 

October: Johannes Brahms

Our October Composer of the Month is:

Johannes Brahms

You might recognize his very famous Brahms Lullaby or Hungarian Dances.

Brahms is one of the may famous German composers. He learned to play cello, horn, and piano as a young boy and conducted his first concert at only 14.

Brahm's premier of his first piano concerto was a complete disaster. Thee audience hissed and booed him. Years later, Brahms gained success and great fame writing the famous pieces still listened to today.

To listen to some of Brahm's music, click on the videos below


Brahms Lullaby:

Hungarian Dances No. 5:

Hello there!

"Hello there, how are you? It's so good to see you! We'll sing and be happy that we're all here together again."

Welcome to the blog! GSA students K-2 sing this song as our welcome song every day. Our 1st and 2nd grade students have really improved with our class warm-up. I'm very excited about the musical talent we have this year! The students have really grown!

This year has been full of activity! I've been meaning to post to the blog since the first day of school, but we've been so busy! Our K-2 students spent all of September preparing for two performances, learning over 5 songs in just a few short weeks. Our 1st performance was for the GSA Grand Event, and our second was for a local festival known as Linfest. Oh, did I mention the performances were all in a period of about two days!?!?!?

The kids put on a wonderful performance for our Grant Event. I could not be more impressed and proud of them. Their performance was exceptional and I'm glad they were able to showcase their amazing talents for our grandparents and friends.

Our second performance for Linfest was a terrific way to give back to our local community. Over 130 students from our school volunteered their time on a Saturday to come out and sing for the festival. I was completely blown away by the support of the parents and staff who came out for the performance, and that so many students chose to attend. I could have never imagined so many students would come for the performance! If you're not familiar with GSA, this is a great testament to the kind, supportive, and gracious families and students we have here.

Now that the busy time is over, I hope to make more regular posts to the blog. I'm going to back myself into a corner here and say there will be a big new entry coming to the "student" section of the website. OK, now that I've said that I have to make it happen right????

Happy 2nd Quarter everyone!

Teacher Appreciation Week

This week is teacher appreciation week. What a wonderful week it has been! 

Students made appreciation notes in computer class for all the staff at GSA! It was great to get notes from all my students and especially from 4th grade students who I had in music last year! 

 When I came into school today, I had even more lovely notes taped to my door! I truly appreciate the cards and notes from everyone. I feel so loved this week! 

I believe 100% percent that the students at GSA are the sweetest ones around! I have saved every note, drawing, picture, and card I have received from students all year, and keep them in our "Sugar Notes" binder. As you can see, it's getting rather full!









My favorite gifts of all, however, have to be my egg shakers. Students periodically bring me an "Easter egg" they have filled with change, rice, sugar, beads, marbles, etc to add to our egg shaker collection! They like playing with these home made egg shakers better than playing with our real ones!

Thank you so much to all my students and their families for their wonderful gifts during this wonderful week!

Because We're Mapping!

Two weeks ago, Mrs. Feeney and I had the idea to make a school video to get GSA pumped for the MAP test. If you haven't already seen it, check it out here!

I must say that I am very proud of this project. It was truly a team effort. Mrs. Bryant wrote parody lyrics for Pharrell Williams' hit "Happy", and taught her version to her students. Mrs. Bryant kindly gave Mrs. Feeney the lyrics and the idea to use this song for our MAP video! Thank you Mrs. Bryant!  Mrs. Feeney and I then recorded teachers and staff members dancing, lip syncing, and showing off the week of the MAP test. Mrs. Feeney edited the video while I recorded my voice for the video's audio. Feeney did a great job!  She is very talented and was able to do her voice audio recording in only one take! (I might have needed about 12 for my vocal part...)

I feel very lucky here at GSA in having two music teachers and in having a fun and crazy staff! This was truly a collaborative effort. I feel very fortunate to have such a talented and awesome team here at GSA! Thank you to everyone who participated in our video, enjoy, and ROCK THE MAP!!!

Summer Camps Continued!

Wow! I can't believe May is already here and summer is right around the corner!  Mrs. Feeney has posted a few more summer camps to her class webpage. If you are still looking for summer opportunities, please visit her page if you are interested in a Strings Summer Camp.

Mrs. C

Piano Recital

Piano club not only met for the last time this past Monday, but they also went out with a bang at the GSA Art Fair! What a fantastic event! Thank you so much Ms. Cashel for inviting us to perform at the art fair. It was a wonderful evening to celebrate all of the Arts in schools. Beginning and Intermediate Piano students did an awesome job with their piano recital. I could not be more proud of each of them. Every student practiced, worked hard, and did their very best! Great job!

Thank you to the parents for coming to the recital and supporting the music and art program. Your caring and support is deeply felt and appreciated. Thank you also to the parents who helped set up chairs, and who helped carry the piano up the stairs and into the gym! We are so lucky to have you! I hope that all of my students have a wonderful summer. Keep playing and practicing!

Love from Mrs. Caughlan

Lemondrops and Gumdrops

If all the raindrops, were lemon drops and gumdrops, oh what a rain that would be!

This week, Kindergarten friends have been learning about meteorology! During our rain unit, we learned the classic song "If all the Raindrops" and talked about what kind of candy we would like it to rain. Friends were asked to pick one type of weather, and two candies or desserts that they wish their weather would bring and draw them on umbrellas! They look great! What fantastic musicians and artists!

We learned to sing this song this week. Ask your child to sing it to you!

If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops, Oh, what a rain that would be.
Standing outside with my mouth open wide.
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.
If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops, Oh, what a rain that would be!

This Week's Friday Video

Happy Friday!

K-2 Students enjoyed learning about China and Chinese instruments this month. Please enjoy our Friday video from this week featuring music from "Kung Fu Panda" by The Piano Guys.

When Testing- Choir Club

Choir club should memorize these lyrics for our upcoming MAP assembly performance. Movements/dance suggestions and ideas are due to me this Friday. Our current movements and blocking are provided below the lyrics. I can't give you all of it due to copyright laws, but here is a recording for most of the song.

When Testing

spoken: I know some hints. I know some hints.
I know some hints to take a test.
I know some hints. I know some hints.
And they will help me do my best. (Emma: Listen up!)

When testing, I will always read the directions,
read the directions well.
When testing, I will always budget my time
so I'm done when I hear that bell. ( Molly/Kristina: Pencils down!)

I will read the whole question and all of the answers I could choose from.
I will check my work carefully, keeping my focus till I'm all done testing.
When testing.

I know some hints. I know some hints.
I know some hints to take a test.
I know some hints. I know some hints.
And they will help me do my best. (Alex: Listen up!)

When testing, I will always read the directions,
read the directions well.
When testing, I will always budget my time
so I'm done when I hear that bell. ( All: Pencils down!)

I will read the whole question and all of the answers I could choose from.
I will check my work carefully, keeping my focus till I'm all done testing.
When testing.

Testing.
When testing.

Testing.

Moves:
I know some hints. Clap Clap (Right)
I know some hints. Clap Clap (Left)
I know some hints to take a test. Line switch. "Y" arms.
I know some hints. Clap Clap (Right)
I know some hints. Clap Clap (Left)
And they will help me do my best (Muscles) Emma listen up!!

When testing, I will always read the directions, Reading motions. Kristina walks with book
read the directions well.
When testing, I will always budget my time Wristwatch motion. Ashley walks checking time
so I'm done when I hear that bell. Molly with Cowbell  ( Molly/Kristina: Pencils down!)


Work on ideas for this section, and for what to do at the very end.
I will read the whole question and all of the answers I could choose from.
I will check my work carefully, keeping my focus till I'm all done testing.
When testing.

End
Testing.
When testing.

Testing.

Music Lesson

"If it was easy, everyone would do it"- Jonathan Roche. 

Music can be very hard work. I teach my students all the time that the only way to get better at anything is through practice, effort, and hard work. Thankfully, our pianos stay in the same place. The piano recital is almost a week away. Keep up the hard work! This is for anyone who plays piano or is currently "carrying" something heavy...  :)

"I really should have studied flute

Harmonica, or chimes.

A Clarinet is nice and light.

A fiddle would be fine.

But I had to take piano,

And my teacher is a brute.

He lives up seven flights of stairs.

(I wish I played the flute.)

-Shel Silverstein

Summer Camps

Looking for something fun to do this summer? The St. Louis area offers tons of great summer camps all about music! I have provided information for several of those camps below. Many of these programs offer year round lessons and activities as well. Which one works for you???

1.

School of Rock isn't just a movie. It's also a legitimate school for rock music.  "School of Rock offers one and two week camps for kids of all ages and skill levels during the summer, winter and spring breaks." They offer group and private instruction in guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and vocals.

Daily camp activities include:

• Daily Rehearsals 
• Music Workshops
• Live Performances
• Group and Private instruction
• Lots of fun and rock n' roll

School of rock offers private and group lessons for students all year round. You can find more info on the camp as well as setting up a free trial music lesson here:
School of Rock Summer Camp

2.

St. Louis Children's Choir is a group I had the honor and pleasure of being a part of when I was in High School. They follow a belief I feel very strongly in: every child can sing. They believe "children learn more about themselves (and others) through live music making." The choir is currently in it's 36th season. They have been recognized nationally for top quality vocal instruction accepting singers ages 6-18. The Children's Choir has performed with the St. Louis Symphony, The Ambassadors of Harmony, the Bach Society of Saint Louis, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and choruses from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Webster University. The choirs have received national and international recognition travelling on musical tours to Japan, Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Russia. While the St. Louis Children's Choir accepts singers through a short audition, auditions are not necessary for the summer camp.

Summer Camp Information:

• July 7-11, 2014
• Monday -Friday
• 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Age for the camp: children currently in 2nd-5th grade, who will be entering 3rd-6th grade in the fall
• Everyone is welcome and auditions are not necessary for summer camp.
• Students will spend the camp:
• Learning new songs
• Enjoying musical games
• Meeting new friends
• Celebrating with a special Song Sharing for family and friends on July 11th. 

STL Children's Choir Summer Camp

3.

"Encore Academy is a school for performing arts dedicated to having fun while developing skills in singing, acting and dancing." Classes at Encore Academy are available for ages 4 to 13. This year their summer camp is inspired by the movie "Frozen", a movie that all my kids have been talking about!

Summer Camp Information:

• Camp Dates:
• June 16-20
• 9:30 to 2:00
• Students will learn songs from the movie "Frozen" along with other Disney and Broadway Tunes.
• Camp will introduce children to musical theater.
• Students will learn basic acting, singing, and stage movement
• Camp activities include:
• Drama games
• Theatrical and musical coaching
• Performance preparation
• Dressing in costumes for performances
• Daily craft and lunch in the park
• Final performance for family and friends the last day of the camp.

Due to high demand for the camp, they have added a second camp. If this camp is for you, sign up fast!

Camp information can be found here:
Encore Academy Summer Camp

4.

Have a little one at home who likes music? This camp is for children aged birth to 6 years and their caregivers!  Kindermusik is a family camp that lets you and your children play, learn, sing, dance, create and share in the fun of making music together. The deadline for sign-up is May 15, 2014. The camp is given in different locations as well for your convenience. 

More information for the camp can be found on the Webster University website:

Kindermusik Summer Camp

Take the Tour

I hope that you've been able to stop by our music room! If you haven't had the chance yet, here is a little peek into the room where we make music every day! Enjoy. 

3rd Quarter Music Awards

Wow! I say all the time that I have some great students in my classes. Picking students for music awards at our awards assembly was definitely a challenge. If I had it my way, I would have picked at least 10 kids from each class. Below are the music award winners from our assembly.

Great job everyone! Keep it up!

Ms. Cates Class

Addison

Being a great leader and giving %110 every day!

Alyssa

Being a great leader and giving %110 every day!

Most Improved:

Lance

He has become an outgoing participant and is a positive role model!

Ms. Murphy

Ava

Setting a great example and being a great singer!

Kierra

Being a great singer and a leader!

Ian

Being a great singer and active participant!

Most Improved:

Harrison

Being a great singer and participant!

Owen

Being a great participant!

Ms. Williams

Genevieve

Great musicianship!

Ms. Hirner

Memphis

Is always on task and is a great leader!

Mr. Jones

Andrew

Being an active musician!

Most Improved:

Mevlut

He has taken a real interest in music and has become a positive example in the classroom!

Ms. Wensler

Poppi

Being a vocal leader!

Joseph

Joe is an active musician and participant in class!

Most Improved:

Quinten

Being a positive example!

Ms. Wolf

Phoenix

Putting forth her best effort every day!

Landon

Putting forth his best effort every day!

Most Improved:

Bera

He has become a great participant!

Ms. Ziegelmeier

Dominic

Dominic did a great job at our concert, learning a new speaking part only minutes before the concert began! He is very helpful and dedicated!

Ethan

Does a great job in class and is a hard worker!

MAP Assembly

Choir Club will be performing at our MAP assembly on April 25th. Provided below is a link so a short recording of the song for at home practice.

Can't wait for our next performance! 

When Testing

http://www.musick8.com/html/current_tune.php?numbering=95&songorder=7

Piano Recital

Thanks for visiting!

We have officially selected our piano recital pieces! Provided below is information regarding the recital. 

• Piano club will have their recital on Monday, April 28 at 4:00pm in the gymnasium. 
• The program should conclude by 4:30pm.
• Refreshments for the art fair have been graciously provided by Ms. Cashel. We are welcome to them as well. 
• Mrs. Caughlan and your child will select their performance piece together. Each student will perform a different selection.
• As always, music should be practiced at home in order to be fully prepared for the performance. 
• Performers must be present at piano club on Monday April 28th if they wish to perform. I will escort the musicians to the gymnasium following the recital.
• GSA uniform is acceptable for this performance, however if your child would like to dress up for the recital, I encourage them to do so. Performers may bring a change of clothes and change during club time. 
• Following our performance, there will be a second short recital given by Ms. Sarah's piano/violin studio. Many of these performers attend GSA. I strongly encourage my students to attend this recital as well to observe the skills of their peers and see students at more advanced levels to understand how they can grow as a new pianist!

• Please contact me if you have further questions! 

ecaughlan@gsastl.org