Updates for March 28th

It's time for an update, to make sure that we're all on the same page with everything at school, in all classes, bands, choirs, etc. Here we go!

- All band practice charts for March are due BEFORE the Easter break. Please have them to me, with your minutes totalled at the top and a parent or guardian signature, by Wednesday, April 4th @ 3:30pm

- We have been joined by several of our Japanese students in senior music classes. In Senior Choir we have been working on the Japanese children's folk song, Hotaru Koi. I would like to look at Seasons of Love shortly in Senior Choir... stay tuned (no pun intended).

- Jazz Choir is working on Can You Feel the Love Tonight from The Lion King, in 4-part SSAA a cappella. It will be beautiful! And, for something completely different, get ready for a toe-tappin', knee slappin' good time with our newest piece, The Pop Bottle Hoedown. Yeehaw!

- IP 20/30 is submitting our Work2Live and SaskEnvironment video contest submissions before the Easter break. We will be putting them onto a DVD (using the iDVD program) next class so that we can mail them with the release forms, etc. before their respective deadlines (April 20th for Work2Live and April 29th for SaskEnvironment).

- IP 10 will be beginning a new project today.... the long-awaited MUSIC VIDEO! This will be a major project and will take several classes to complete. Given the time allotted to this assignment, it will also be worth a substantial portion of this term's grade. It's also going to be a lot of fun - and of course, there will be a "movie night" at the end of it all!

- Computers 9I are compiling the video footage for their news broadcast, which is due on Monday, April 23rd. We have had many class periods to plan, film, and edit this project, so no extensions will be permitted (unless extenuating circumstances require one, in which case, see me to make a plan).

- We have been doing some African drumming in Music classes this week. Rivier students have got rhythm! Our theory classes will turn into African drumming classes as we get closer to the end of the school year. That being said, those that have theory to do will need to use that time to complete all assignments and quizzes before the final June report card. Stay tuned for an African drumming ensemble sign-up sheet for the final concert!

- Rivier is in charge of putting together a choir for the Celebration of Life mass on Friday, April 20th (evening). I will be there to sing and play the piano, and I need as many of you with me as possible. It is a great opportunity to represent our school and our music program, and our talents are always so appreciated by everyone. There will also be a pizza party for all singers who are involved in this mass..... added bonus! I will be posting a sign-up sheet on my homeroom door asap.

- We (the IP 20/30 class and I) are looking for yearbook photos from ALL grade levels. We want candid shots of you and your friends and classmates, either on the outside school grounds or in the classroom, hallways at lunch, etc. If you want to be represented in the yearbook, please submit photos to us asap! We will do our best to represent everyone, but it is difficult to do without the help of the student body.

- Computers 8M is almost finished the photo editing unit. Soon it will be time to develop our photo editing e-portfolio by compiling our best work into an iMovie presentation, complete with titles, transitions, and background audio. When this assignment is complete we will be having a "movie night" class where we can see each other's work (maybe we'll even watch the iMovies that you made in Grade 7 Computers class that we ran out of time to watch!).

- Just a reminder that Parent-Teacher Interviews are tonight (Wednesday) from 4-7pm and tomorrow (Thursday) from 4-6pm. There are no interviews on Friday!

- Choral/Vocal Jazz 30 - there has been talk about doing a Grade 12 number for the final concert. At this point it is looking like "For Good" from Wicked. I may have a lead on an SSA version so that we can get a bit of extra harmony in there vs. the duet music that I have currently. We will work out a time to get together and learn it. It shouldn't take long at all.

- I will not be here on Friday, so Mrs. Moon is subbing for me. Choral 10/20/30, she will be teaching the music for Celebration of Life with you during your 3rd period rehearsal. Please consider signing up for the mass. I know it is a Friday evening which is a lot to ask, but your leadership and talents are so appreciated. (Plus, free pizza!) :o)

Whew! Lots to think about. I'm glad we are getting things organized. We only have a couple days left until Easter break! Time is really flying by. Before you know it, we'll be tightening up loose ends for our June concert, and then it will be Grad.... YIKES!

I'm thinking about an "Around the World" theme for our final concert. What do you think? So far we have:

- 3 Russian Folk Songs (Russia, of course!) - Senior Choir

- Pop Bottle Hoedown / Can You Feel the Love Tonight (USA) - Jazz Choir

- O'Leary's Ceili Band (Ireland) - Senior Band

- Walkabout (American swing jazz) - Level 3 Band

- Sakura, Sakura (?) (Japanese folk song) - Level 1 Band

- Cha Cha Del Sol (Spanish) - Level 2 Band

- African drums (Africa, of course!) - Various students

- Hotaru Koi (Japanese children's folk song) - Senior Choir

- Seasons of Love (American Broadway) - Senior/Jazz Choir

- The Steppes of Russia (Russian folk) - Senior Band

- The Happy Wanderer/Val-de-ree (USA) - Senior Band

- She's Like the Swallow (Canada) - Chandra, Quinn, Rebecca, Miss Campbell

- Prayer of the Norwegian Child (Norway) - Cassidy and Shea

This could be a lot of fun! Your thoughts? Any song suggestions?

*Edit* - I just thought of some more good ideas. O Canada for band (any level), plus possibly Pokarekare Ana (New Zealand) for any number of voices. It's easy, I've taught it to most of the senior students already (3-4 years ago, mind you), and it's a song near and dear to my heart, as I learned it when I was teaching on my internship in NZ in 2007. Also, when I was interning and singing with the Wellington Youth Choir, I did a really cool arrangement of O Canada with God Defend New Zealand, their national anthem. I arranged them as partner songs, meaning that they're both sung at the same time.... AND it would give us an opportunity to sing in the Maori language! That might be kind of cool for senior choir I'm thinking.

So many ideas! :o)

It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday....

It's exactly one month until Christmas! A few updates coming your way for this Friday:

- As mentioned in class yesterday, today we will be swapping our Level 4 theory class for rehearsal in Period 6. Meet in the auditorium and we'll work through "Coffee Arabian Dances" from "Themes from the Nutcracker" as we haven't looked at it for a while.

- 7(2) theory will meet in the library in Period 4. Girls, bring your instruments so we can work on your trio for the Christmas concert.

- 9(3) will be in the library for theory in Period 5.

- If you don't have all of your practice minutes in for your November chart, you have this weekend to practice for credit. Remember, you need to practice for the equivalent of 60 minutes per week to receive full credit. Practice charts are due by next Friday, Dec. 1st.

- Choir/Jazz Choir - Trade show forms are due today. Please get started on your baking this weekend so that we have enough product to sell at our trade show on the 3rd! Bring in your baking, raffle prizes, chili, etc. early next week and we will be all ready to set up on Friday after school. Thanks for your support and kind attention to our deadlines - it's impossible to organize unless everybody pitches in in a timely fashion! Thanks ladies!

Have a great Friday!

Updates

I am back from the Saskatchewan Music Conference in Regina (thankfully I didn't get storm-stayed like some of my colleagues!), and it was just wonderful! I bought $600 worth of band music for $20, which was the deal of the century, to say the least! Gotta love Long & McQuade blowout sales. Get ready for some sight reading, bands! We've got lots of new material!

Just a reminder for everyone that there has been a change in Parent-Teacher Interview times for tomorrow. Instead of 4-7pm, we will be running interviews from 3:30-6:30. Don't forget to tell your parents!

October practice charts were due on Friday. Congratulations to Band 20, who was the first class to have a 100% record of handing in their charts. Next step: Make sure that all charts have a minimum of 240 minutes per month (60 minutes per week). Music 9(4) and 7(1) came very close as well - good work girls!

For those of you wondering about the cast list for The Sound of Music, here's the scoop: Jan Cash, our director, needs to have the final say in the casting. Sr. Mary and I have it mostly figured out now, after several callback auditions. Jan will need to put the final "seal of approval" on our list, and we will get started on rehearsals immediately after. Stay tuned for a schedule.

I hope everyone had a good weekend, and please drive safely out there.... it's beginning to look a lot like (slippery, snowy, icy) Christmas!

September practice charts due this week

Just a reminder for all band students that your practice charts are due this week. Some of you have already handed yours in - thank you. Please be sure that yours comes in before Friday - do not leave it until the end and then panic when you forget it on the last day. Save yourself some stress and hand it in early! :o)

In other news..... HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TO AVERY AND EMILY!!!! So exciting! Most of you know that I call them the "beans" (my sister and her husband waited until their birth to find out the gender, so I called them 'beans' while she was pregnant and the name stuck). This morning I texted my sister to wish the ladies a "Happy Beanday!" They will be having their "beanday" party on Saturday and I will be sure to take lots of photos to share with you!

Happy Tuesday! :o)

HW updates for Monday, Jan. 31st

Computers 8I/8M: Your first photo edit ("Public Market") is now due, as both classes have had a full period to work on the assignment, plus the first class in which we practiced the selective colouring technique. Just a reminder that you are welcome to experiment with additional photo effects, as long as the final product shows that you have changed the background to black and white, and that you have selectively coloured all of the lettering/clock hands and numbers back on.

Science 7: As we had 7 absences from our class this morning, we used our time to clean our desks and lockers, recycle old papers, tidy up our spaces, and work on homework from our other classes. We have just begun the Particle Theory of Matter, and it made sense to use our time for other projects rather than re-teaching the new concepts when the rest of you return.

IP 20/30: We are in the process of analyzing and editing our preliminary yearbook pages (class photos/individual portrait pages, staff photo page, etc.). We will be continuing with candid pages today. If you have any photos that need to be uploaded, from any grade level, please do so asap so that those pages can start to develop - there are several blank ones at this point.

Band (all levels): Your January practice charts are due by this Friday. Every month I have at least 1 or 2 people panicking on Friday, as they forgot their chart at home. Please hand yours in asap so that you do not have any last-minute panic moments! They can be handed in to me personally or to the basket on my desk starting today. I already have a few, so keep them coming!

Narnia: We are officially 1 week away from our first show! It's definitely "crunch time" but I have faith that we will pull it off. PLEASE memorize your songs if you have not already - we need to focus on our characters rather than our lines, lyrics, harmonies, etc. It's your show - let's present a performance that we are all proud of! :o)

Welcome to Miss Webb!

Today we are welcoming Miss Webb, who is here as a student teacher from the U of S until Friday. Miss Webb will be hanging out with me in Science, Computers, IP 10, Band, Choir, Jazz Choir, and any other school events that may be happening this week. She plays the saxophone and is doing a minor in English (same as me!). We are very happy to have her here this week, and I'm sure that we will make her feel very welcome at Rivier.

Science 7 - today we continued our unit on the earth's crust. We took some notes on plates and three different kinds of boundaries (converging, diverging, and transform).

Vocal Jazz - Today's rehearsal is a blues improv catch-up lesson for the 20s who missed class due to the extended Europe trip. If you are in Vocal Jazz 10 or 30 and you need some extra help, please attend today's rehearsal.

Band - April practice charts are due by Friday. Please hand them in early in the week to avoid any last-minute panic moments!

Level 1 Band - we are in the computer lab for online theory today. Bring your instrument for private practice if you are finished the entire program.

March practice charts

Hi band students! Just a reminder that your March practice charts are due by this Friday. Please don't be late! This is your chance to get the marks you deserve before report cards go out next week.

Level 1 Band

Great rehearsal today girls! Keep practicing your Concert Bb scales, as this scale is the basic foundation of our technical playing. Once we learn Concert Bb we can start learning new notes and more scales! YAY, BAND!

You girls are awesome! :o) (Don't forget to hand in your October practice charts too.)

October practice charts

Just a reminder that your October practice charts are due by this Friday. Hand them in early to avoid the last-minute panic that happened for some of you last month. Remember that for full marks all you need to do is practice for a minimum of 1 hour per week! The baskets to hand in your charts are located on my filing cabinet in 7C and on the table in the auditorium.

September band practice charts

Hi band students! Just a reminder that your September practice charts are due by tomorrow at 3:30pm.

Keep filling out those October practice charts! It's great to hear so many of you practicing in the auditorium when I come in to school in the morning! :o)