Our music room has been so full of joyful noise! Let's feature our fifth graders in this post!
In honor of Grand Rapids hosting Hamilton: An American Musical in January 2020, our fifth graders have been studying the music in class all month. Check out this tweet:
Our showcase and music room walls are covered with "Hamilton Stars" that our students created during the unit. We have listened to specific songs in the musical and have learned about American history in the context of Lin-Manuel Miranda's lyrics. The music room was definitely "THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS" this month!
Happy Fall!
We are having an amazing time in the music room at Woodbridge so far! Here's a synopsis of what's been going on in the room:
Young Fives and Kindergarten - We just finished our Farm Animals unit and are continuing to work with equipment and props. First Grade - We are working with steady beat and social/musical games. Second Grade - We are working with singing games. Third Grade - We are playing loads of folk song games, from Old Joe Clarke to Joshua. Fourth Grade - Recorders! The kids are beginning to work with these instruments, and we are having a BLAST! Fifth Grade - It's ukulele time in the music room for our fifth graders, and they are doing quite well with chords and technique.
If you have any questions about any activities that we are doing in class, please reach out to me via email! Thank you!
Talent Showcase 2019 Announcement!
This year's roster of featured performers is now published! The list is available here:
Blue Men and Black Light Week 2019 - February 18-22
It's time for the annual Blue Man For a Day event at Woodbridge, including our black light session and marshmallow toss! Please see the letter linked below for updated information about this upcoming event in the music room. You can also keep scrolling down if you'd like to see some photos from last year's event.
The Woodbridge Talent Showcase is Wednesday, May 16 at 6 PM! Students have been practicing all month to put on a great show for us, and we hope you can join us!
Notes: - Performers have been given notices about their responsibilities for their acts. Please ask your student for details, or send Mrs. Boyden an e-mail. - Stage Crew students have been chosen and notified. These students are ready to work and put on a great show! Assignments will be given before Wednesday's show. - ALL Woodbridge students, Young Fives through fifth grade, are invited to perform with their grade levels as "walk-on" performers during the show. The first grade-fifth grade acts were voted on during class, and they feature songs/activities we did during music class this year. These acts are sprinkled throughout the evening, and will be a lot of fun for everyone in attendance!
If you have any questions about the Showcase, please e-mail Mrs. Boyden at [email protected]. See you on Wednesday!
Talent Showcase 2018 Announcement!
The following is text taken from the letter that was sent to students who sent in audition videos:
Talent Showcase 2018 Featured Act Performers (in random order)
Hannah Reier Reagan Page Josiah Muller Ashley and Emma Cramer Gabriella Schultz Lily Huizenga and Amelia Leyrer Evie Postema Giselle Matthews Leah Johnson, Addi Huizenga, Alayna Parks Gracyn Huizenga and Shylee Soukhome Destiny Davis, Kendyll Samora, Liz Victor Makenna Landes Olivia Mannes Jordan Ekster and Seth Miller Oliver Schaap Megan Kamphuis, Kyla Kuiper, Paola Ruiz-Lopez Leland Parks
** The following students need to come and see me ASAP on Monday morning: Hard Knock Life act (Kalmink), A Million Dreams act (Fogg), Valentina E. & Lilyana M., Derek Baxter **
Congratulations to everyone who secured a spot, and many thanks to all who auditioned!
Talent Showcase 2018: May 16!
It is time to prepare a showcase! This year's Woodbridge Talent Showcase will be held on Wednesday May 16 at 6 PM. We'd love to feature some of our awesome Woodbridge talent! We will again have featured performers as well as "walk-on" grade level acts. The grade level acts will be a song or activity done in the music room during the school year, and students will get a chance to vote on what that will be!
If you would like to go through the audition process to be a featured performer at this year's showcase, please visit the link at the bottom of this post for forms and information. This is the same information available to students in paper form in the music room. Please contact me if you have any questions! Good luck and happy preparing!
Important Dates: Grade level acts voted on and chosen (in class, via popular vote) by April 20 Forms and audition videos for featured performers submitted by 11:59 PM Saturday April 28 Featured performers notified by 5 PM Sunday April 29 Stage Crew students (fourth and fifth grade only) apply during the week of April 30-May 4 (exact days TBA) Show personnel (featured acts and stage crew) set by Friday May 4 Talent Showcase: Wednesday May 16 at 6 PM (call time for personnel 5 PM)
We had an amazing Blue Man experience this year! Thank you so much to Mason Boersema for donating highlighters, streamers, and other awesome blacklight items! Here are this year's Honorary Blue Men.
February 2018 - Blue Men and Black Light Time!
Well, Woodbridge students, it's time for our annual Blue Men/Black Light Experience! Please see the letter linked below for information regarding this special music class experience.
Welcome to the Woodbridge Music Room website! We are glad you are here.
Here are some updates about what our students have been working on in our first five weeks of school: * Young Fives and Kindergarten students have been learning how to play simple percussion instruments during our farm song. We are also working on following directions during songs, as well as moving creatively and appropriately during activities. * First grade students are learning about the rhythm syllable TA, as well as singing loads of songs, such as "Apple Tree," "We are Playing in the Forest," and "Muffin Man." * Second graders are playing cooperative folk games, such as "Draw a Bucket of Water." * Third graders are reviewing rhythms from second grade, singing about "Mickey Mouse," and reviewing how to play barred instruments. * Fourth graders are beginning their recorder unit! So many great sounds are happening during sessions already! * Fifth graders are rockin' out on ukulele already. We are working on our tuning ears, reading chord diagrams, and training our fingers to not get too sore. ;-)
We are having a FANTASTIC time with your Woodbridge musicians so far! Check back again for more updates.
It's going to be a wonderful show. :-) SAVE THE DATE: Thursday May 25 at 6 PM! Stage Crew prospects, stay tuned... And may the force be with you!
What a wonderful time we had! Thank you, Woodbridge students, for making our annual "Blue Men for a Day" unit celebration so much FUN! We had a blast playing Blue Man-inspired instruments, dancing and moving in the strobe lights, and creating bright moments with the highlighters. The marshmallow toss was really quite fun as well!
HUGE thanks to the Boersema family for the generous donation of highlighters to the music room this year!
Check out the gallery on the home page if you'd like to see more pictures of this year's event!
It's Blue Men and Black Lights time!
The black lights will be ON in the music room on February 1, 2, and 3. Please see below for a link to a Google document that details this exciting curricular event.
It may not be super cold outside, but we are definitely in November! Check below for an update on what has been going on in the music room so far this year (updated 21 November):
Young Fives students have been working on fingerplays, Cosmic Kids Yoga, following directions in games and songs, and creative movement. First Grade students have played instruments, and learned a handful of circle games. Second Grade students are learning about speech ostinato patterns and rhythm reading. Third Grade students have enjoyed unpitched percussion poems, folk dances, and learning about major and minor songs. Fourth Grade students are playing the recorders and they are doing really well! All classes have their first belts now! Fifth Grade students are focusing on singing in rounds and playing ukuleles.
We're having a wonderful time so far in the music room! Stay tuned for more exciting events to come in the next few weeks: from our older students playing Just Dance 2017 to our all-school carol sing along, we are definitely making the most of music time at Woodbridge!
Happy New (School) Year!
Welcome to a brand new year of music at Woodbridge! I am so glad to be back with your students. :-)
FYI: Fourth grade students will be starting recorder shortly. Be on the lookout for our recorder order forms to go out next week (week of September 19).
Yay! It's the end of May!
Congratulations to all of our students who participated in this year's Talent Showcase. We had an incredible time on both Showcase night and at the Re-Mix assembly during the following school day. Thank you to our Stage Crew, who kept the show rockin' all night long. Cheers!
FYI: Here is an opportunity for our students to make music during the summer months with the Zeeland Rec Elementary Honors Choir. Check out the description here.
Elementary Honors Choir Camp (4th – 6th graders) This camp is for 4th-6th grade boys and girls and is led by Jonathan VanEck (Zeeland High Choirs Director) and Taryn Roels (Zeeland Middle Theater Director). Due to diminished amount of time allotted for general music at the elementary level, it is valuable to have advanced singers perform in a choral setting prior to reaching middle school. This week-long program will provide students the opportunity to enhance their skills and develop the focus required to excel in an ensemble at the secondary level. The week will end with an 11:30am performance on the final day of camp, and there may be participation in other events through the city of Zeeland (details are TBD). To register online, click here (or give us a call at 616-748-3230).
Talent Showcase 2016 News for Performers
PERFORMERS WHO AUDITIONED and ARE ON THE FEATURED LIST:
PERFORMERS WHO ARE PARTICIPATING IN THE WALK-ON GRADE LEVEL PERFORMANCES:
There is no audition necessary for this part; this is for any student who plans to be in the audience at the show on Wednesday May 18 that wants to be a walk-on performer that night. Come to the show on Wednesday night and listen for your grade level to be called up!
Young Fives and Kindergarten students will perform "Mister Sun." First Grade will do "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain." Second and Third grade students will do the folk dance "Sasha!". Fourth Grade students will share the folk dance "Bridge of Athlone." Fifth Grade students will be playing a ukulele song.
STUDENTS WHO ARE IN STAGE CREW: Students will be notified of their selection by Thursday May 12.
The annual Woodbridge Talent Showcase is coming up this year on Wednesday 18 May at 6 pm. This volunteer showcase will show the variety of talents that our super Woodbridge students possess, from piano playing to dancing. Students are required to submit a video audition in order to be considered for a spot in the line-up as a featured performer. Students who are interested in that route should look at this link:
Students who are interested in performing at the Showcase as a "Walk-On" performer will be able to participate in a special grade-level performance during the event. This is a non-auditioned spot and anyone can participate! Stay tuned during the month of April to hear more information about the "Walk-On" opportunity.
As always, contact Mrs. Boyden if you have any questions about ANYTHING! :-)
You can write melodies, teach animals rhythm patterns, and play with sound and color!
Something Fun...
Some of our students have been playing around with "IncrediBob" on this music looping website. Give it a go and try to unlock the secret videos! We have been using "Sunrise" in class.
I hope you all had an amazing holiday break. We are back in it this week and we are already rockin'! Please be aware that we will be starting our Blue Man Group unit shortly, and this experience ends with a "Blue Man for a Day" session in the music room (commonly known as the "black light party"). Stay tuned for more information about that unit experience. While you wait, here is a little taste of Blue Man for you to enjoy. The New York company put a little video together...
It's December!
14 December 2015
I know it doesn't look like a "normal" December right now, but we've still been studying the holidays in the music room! Our students studied traditional Hanukkah dances and games last week in honor of the Festival of Lights, and this week, our students are swinging into the Christmas holiday with traditional songs like "Must Be Santa" and "Sleigh Ride." Our school-wide sing-along is FRIDAY 18 December at 9:45 AM. We will be singing many holiday songs together as a group, as well as feature some of our fourth and fifth grade students.
I hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday break! See you all again in 2016!
Thank YOU!
Happy Thanksgiving Week!
This week is a short one, so I'll keep this message short, too. :-) THANK YOU for sharing your students with me in the music room! We are having a great time together. As always, please contact me at [email protected]if you have any questions or comments.
November News
Week of 16 November 2015:
Well, hello! We are in week 11 of our school year together. Thank you to those families who stopped by the music room to say hello during conferences. :-)
Updates: - We are still waiting for our recorder orders to arrive. - Our first themed JAM Session is this week! See you at noon hour, fourth and fifth graders!
Happy WARM November!
Remember, remember, the month of November!
Week of 2 November 2015:
Welcome to Wonderful Week Nine!
Some reminders: Fourth grade recorder orders and money are due to Mrs. Boyden by Friday 6 November. We will place our orders after the money has been turned in, so turn those orders in!
November is the beginning of the extra JAM Sessions at Woodbridge! JAM stands for "Just Another Music", and it is an opportunity for our fourth and fifth grade students to enjoy an extra music activity during the week. JAM Sessions take place during noon hour on Wednesdays for fourth grade, and noon hour on Thursdays for fifth grade.
* You do not need to pay anything to participate. * Each week, the day's JAM Session topic will be announced via signs in the music room and hallway. Fourth and fifth grade students who want to participate in that day's session can bring in their lunches and make musical memories with others in a casual environment. * Certain JAM Sessions will turn into rehearsals for special events, such as a ukulele ensemble, a recorder group, a choir for an assembly, etc. * Students can participate in JAM Sessions as many times throughout the year as they wish. * The first JAM Session takes place this week (November 4 for fourth grade, November 5 for fifth grade).
Mid-October Update
Week of 19 October 2015:
Hello! Thank you for checking in. I was out sick for most of last week so the kids got to show how AWESOME they could be with a guest teacher. I am happy to report that each guest teacher had praise for our Woodbridge students, and complimented their hard work and flexibility. Yay!
This week will mostly be a catch-up week for us as we get back into our regular curricular activities. Fourth and fifth graders are working on The Star-Spangled Banner, our national anthem. Kindergarten and Young Fives students have completed a farm animal song unit (every animal from the past six weeks had a different percussion instrument sound assigned to it! Fun!).
Here's to everyone staying happy and healthy this week. :-)
October = ROCK-TOBER!
Week of 5 October 2015:
Welcome, October! What's going on?
Fourth graders have learned their first song on the recorder, and it only uses ONE note! Yay! "Queen B" is quickly becoming the song of the week. ;-)
Fifth graders played their first song on ukulele recently, and it only uses ONE chord! We are learning all about different strums and will soon add another chord to our repertoire.
Our K-3 classes are also making loads of music during our times together. We have also been treated to OK GO videos during our video transitions; "White Knuckles" (the dog video) and "I Won't Let You Down" (the umbrella video) have been very popular in the past week.
Thank you for checking in! Have a great day!
See ya, September!
Week of 28 September 2015:
Here we are, Week Four already! What's been happening in the music room?
With our longer class sessions, it is sometimes necessary to build in a few minutes of vocal rest and transition for everyone in the room (myself included). Our younger students have enjoyed watching The Piano Guys on YouTube battle it out in "Cello Wars." Check that out at the end of this post.
Our fourth graders have all earned their recorder mouthpieces and will begin the Recorder Karate assessment process shortly. If you need to order a recorder for your fourth grader, please stay tuned for that information to head home later in October. There will also be information right here on this website at the appropriate time.
The fifth graders are slowly (but surely) getting to know their ukuleles... Ask them about the correct way to pronounce the word "ukulele;" you can also ask them about their finger calluses. We are building stronger musicians every day! ;-)
Have a great week! Feel free to contact me at [email protected] if you have any questions.
Welcome to a fantastic year!
Week of 21 September 2015:
We are currently heading into the third week of school, and I have had a WONDERFUL time getting to know all of our Woodbridge students in their new classes this year. Here are things you can expect to hear about in the coming weeks:
Kindergarten and Young Fives students are working with Music and Motion stories, playing instruments to accompany songs, and working on locomotor skills.
First and Second Grade students are learning songs with games right now, and learning how to work together cooperatively.
Third Grade students are playing simple melodies on barred instruments (like chimes and glockenspiels) and are singing folk songs.
Fourth Grade students are ready to begin RECORDER! We have recently completed "Create a Sentence" activities to try and remember the names of the lines in the treble clef staff. Some great ones include: Every good boy deserves fun; Elephants go ballroom dancing Fridays; and Each girl buys different foods. Our fourth graders are creative!
Fifth Grade students are about to play ukulele for the first time this year. We will learn how to properly hold the instrument, what the different parts of the instrument are called, and how to play the first chord: the C7 chord!
I am so happy to be working with our students this year on various musical activities. We're going to have a fabulous year!
Talent Showcase 2015 Performers : Announcement
This year's line-up of performers has been announced via e-mail to those students who auditioned in the month of April. The students received the following information on Friday evening:
The format of this year’s Talent Showcase has also changed to include performances by grade levels. Therefore, the spots in the show for soloists and small performance groups are in smaller quantity so that we can still have a show that doesn’t run too long (it IS on a school night, of course!). The following performers were chosen based on the strength of their auditions as well as the student’s personal responsibility.
TALENT SHOWCASE 2015 PERFORMERS
Bryna and Brooklyn Arendsen
Caleb Smith
Ava Steggerda-Treacy
Karsten Meyer
Lainey Canan, Makayla Dernberger, Laura Matthews
Jaiden Lee
Angela Maly and Sydney Meeuwsen
Micah Heneveld
Hadassah Sabin
Claire Greshaw, Katie Harrington, Amanda McCleery, Margaret Tesfae, Gillian Skaggs
The students listed above should plan on picking up an information sheet from Mrs. Boyden in the music room next week (starting May 4). These sheets will have specific information for each performer, as well as general information for the show on May 14. Students who are not on the above list are encouraged to seek other performance opportunities with their grade level or apply for a position in the Stage Crew. Please see me during music class next week for information about these opportunities.
Fourth grade recorder groups and fifth grade ukulele ensemble members should start signing up for Talent Showcase spots starting MONDAY, MAY 4. See Mrs. Boyden for details.
Talent Showcase 2015
This year's Talent Showcase will be held on Thursday 14 May at 6 PM. If your student would like to participate in this year's show, he/she can submit an audition video to Mrs. Boyden any time in the month of April. Please see Mrs. Boyden in the music room for the information regarding the show and the auditions. You can also access the information at the following link. As always, please contact Mrs. Boyden if you have any questions. Have fun preparing!
MUSIC IN OUR SCHOOLS MONTH! March is such an awesome month; not only do we celebrate reading in the schools, but it is also Music in Our Schools Month. In honor of that, I'll be sharing some videos of some of our students doing something musical in music class. Our first contribution this month is Mrs. Thompson's class, playing an arrangement of the folk song "Rocky Mountain."
WHAT YOU ARE SEEING: Our "roadmap" for the piece, with lyrics and "special" words highlighted. You'll hear specific instruments being played on those highlighted words. WHAT YOU ARE HEARING: Every student is playing an instrument and (hopefully!) singing with their best voices. The piece begins with a tambourine soloist, and then the fun begins!
** You'll notice that no faces are shown during this recording, in the interest of student privacy and safety. Thank you for your understanding! **
THANK YOU! We had an incredible time in the music room for Blue Man For a Day events. We will add some images soon! We had some successful "Honorary Blue Men" in the building all week, students who were successful in the marshmallow toss activity. We had a great time, and I really appreciate all of your support!
BLUE MAN TIME! We had to push our annual Blue Man For a Day unit to January this year, and the events happen the week of January 12! Check out the official letter here:
Fourth Grade Recorder Karate Fun Our fourth graders have been diligently studying recorder this year, using the Recorder Karate method. For those students who have recorders at home, you can find all of our materials online here:
Clicking on that link should get you to the Dojo, where you can stream audio clips of the songs we use in class. See Mrs. Boyden for music and the password. Happy practicing!
NEW FOR 2014-2015: UKULELES! Thanks to a generous grant from the Zeeland Education Foundation, Woodbridge Elementary was given the opportunity to expand our offerings to our fifth grade musicians in the form of a ukulele experience! Our fifth grade students will learn basic ukulele skills throughout the year, in addition to their regular music curriculum. Stay tuned for more details!