Gator's Got Talent!

The Talent show is less than a month away! Rehearsals for finalists will start next week during and after club time. Students in the talent show should already have a copy of the rehearsal schedule. To keep you excited about the upcoming show, here is a little preview of what is to come in May!!

A Year in Review

As the school year is coming to a close and students are buckling down for MAP testing and transitioning to the next grade and middle school, I thought I would help remind students just how awesome GSA elementary is and all the hard work we have done this year! Here are just a few of our accomplishments.

 -In October GSA impressed the community with a great turn out to Linfest and some great Autumnal songs! Check it out HERE!

 - Check out a happy holidays from Boom-whacker club in December HERE!

- 2nd and 4th grade really made it shine at the winter concert. Sing along HERE!

 And GSA is not stopping there! The talent show is coming up in MAY as well as Kindergarten Graduation, and then we are finally singing at the Cardinals game in July! I am so very proud of my students and look forward to posting many more accomplishments here!

 -Mrs. Caughlan

Summer Camps 2015

It's that time of year again! Last year I wrote a post about some fun music summer camps. I was very pleased in the fall to hear that several students participated in some of these camps! (The "Frozen" camp from last summer was particularly popular).If you're looking for something different this summer, consider enrolling in one of these camps! Many of these programs offer year round activities as well. 

Check it out!!!

1.

A very popular option, 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 37th 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:

• June 29 - July 3, 2015
• 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 3rd. 

Children's Choir 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. Summer Camp Information:

• Camp Dates:
• Ages 4-8
• June 8-12
• 9:30 to 2:00
• Ages 8-13
• June 15-19
• 9:30-2:00
• Students will learn songs from Disney and and Broadway shows including Annie, Frozen, and Into the Woods. 
• Both camps 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.

Camp information can be found here:Encore Academy Summer Camp

4.

"Coca has become the largest multidisciplinary arts institution and one of the most valuable community assets in the St. Louis metropolitan area. We are very proud to have been recognized by the community as "Best Arts Organization" in St. Louis by the Riverfront Times."
Coca has a wide variety of programs to choose from. They offer camps and year long programs as well.
Some programs they offer are:

• Acting, for beginners and adults!
• Tango
• Art
• Ballet
• Broadway
• Hip Hop
• Glassworks
• Improvisation
• Jazz
• Singing
• Salsa
• Tap
• And more!

Coca Camps

5. 

Mozingo Music is a fantastic business that sells and rents instruments and offers private music lessons. Their summer programs are open to students 7-17.  Camps they offer are:

• Alternative Styles Strings (Ages 11-18)
• Kidzrock (4-7)
• Rock University (7-17)
• Percussion (10 and up)
• Pop Vocal (12-18)
• Songwriting (9-14)
• Group Guitar (8-12)
• Group Guitar Jr. (5-7)

Symbaloo

I am very excited about using this new program for my students!

For the past few months, I have been trying to set up my website so that my students have access to online music games and studying materials. This process can be rather complicated and I've had some trouble getting it off the ground.

At our professional development session recently, I discovered a program called "Symbaloo." It is there that all of these materials may be found. If you're not familiar with the program, all you and your student have to do is click on a "tile" and it will take you to the website, game, or resource I have provided.

Symbaloo is a start page tool that allows users to add links in a way that is easy to use. It is accessible on the homepage of my blog.

All tiles will taken students directly to the link they advertise.
Tiles linking to Facebook, or Twitter will take students directly to the GSA Facebook or GSA Twitter page.

New resources and materials will be updated periodically.

Check it out on the home page or below!

Rossini

It has been a crazy few months here at GSA and updates have been few and far between!

We've slowed down a bit during MAP testing, and first grade has started studying the music of Rossini!

Two of his more famous works are the opera "The Barber of Seville", and "William Tell."

• He claimed to have written Barber of Seville in only 12 days!
• Was an amateur chef, and has several dished named after him that are still served today.
• Known for his comic operas.
• Other Notable operas incluce:


• La scala di seta (The Silken Ladder)
• Il Signor Bruschino
• L’italiana in Algeri ( The Italian Girl in Algiers)
• Il Turco in Italia (The Turk in Italy)
• La Cenerentola (Cinderella)
• La gazza ladra (The Thieving Magpie)

William Tell Oveture

Teacher's Gonna Teach!!!!

This year's MAP video has been a HUGE success!! I am so excited by all of the positive feedback we have received. In case you missed it, here is the video for the MAP 2015. We've hit over 6,500 views on Facebook already! Thanks again to the teachers, administration, and most of all the students! Good luck this week!

Enjoy!

Gator Idol is right around the corner! We hope to see you there on May 14th!