Music Notes from Mrs. Westholder
Dear CICS Jackson Students and Parents,
Room 119 is the music room at CICS Jackson, and is located to the
north of the office on the first floor, just past the learning center.
Please contact me to stop by for a visit!
During Quarters 1 and 2​
, students practiced procedures in the music
room and when transitioning in the halls from Music to Recess or
Lunch, from Recess or Lunch to Music, and from Music to dismissal.
Students continue SWAG behavior and are “​
SWAGALICIOUS​
” showing ​
SWAG​
-​
S​
afety First,
W​
ork Respectfully, ​
A​
ct Responsibly, and ​
G​
ive Compassion -- to each other, teachers, and staff. I
will contact you for any students needing improvement in this area. Students showing SWAG
receive SWAG Bucks from me. ​
Safety First ​
is the current focus for our entire school. Ask your
child if they received a pink SWAG buck! The goal: Keep hands, feet, and other objects to
themselves. We Rock! at Jackson. All students are learning the SWAG chant, too!
Quarter 2:​
For all K - 5 grade classes, I began choosing ​
Students of the Week​
, a weekly
acknowledgement of students’ efforts to be respectful, responsible, compassionate, and safe
students in music. Keep an eye out for awards that may come home with your kids!
K-3 Music Notes
Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades continue to focus on labeling ​
singing voice​
and ​
speaking
voice​
, and ​
moving through space​
while listening to music (students stop when music stops).
Kindergarten and 1st grade students are learning that pitch can be high, low, or stay the same.
We continue to warm-up with the “​
Hello Everybody” ​
and “​
The Days of the Week” ​
songs and
have added our “​
SWAG Chant”; “Follow the Leader” ​
helps students transition and keep a steady
beat with their feet​
,​
and​
“All on Board the Happy Train” ​
helps students learn about pitch and
form in musical pieces. Kindergarten and first grade vocabulary words include: ​
introduce,
steady beat, singing voice, speaking voice, shouting voice, whispering voice, verse, refrain, up,
down, and pitch.
Second grade students studied dynamics and applied their knowledge when performing songs
for the Holiday Program in December. Dynamics is the word used to describe the loudness or
softness of musical sound. During November and December, we added to our Word Wall in the
music room. Our music words for the month of November and December were: ​
verse, refrain,
Mrs. JeannēWestholder
Music Teacher • CICS Jackson
jwestholder@distinctiveschools.org​
•​
815.316.0093
Music Notes from Mrs. Westholder
piano, forte, sleigh bells, interlude, rap​
. Our new words are: ​
introduction, a cappella, dynamics,
mezzo forte, and mezzo piano. ​
We will continue to practice previous words.
Third grade students are busy keeping a steady beat, too. We are expanding our efforts
towards passing rhythm sticks while playing singing games and playing steady beats with games
such as “​
Who Stole the Cookie From the Cookie Jar?”
4-5 Music Notes
4th and 5th grade students continue to create and perform rhythm patterns in 4/4 time (beats
are organized in groups of four). We stretch their concentration by extending the number of
beats they must echo or lead to groups of eight.
In the fall, 4th grade students, studied the brass family of orchestral instruments. We will
continue to learn about various instruments during 3rd and 4th quarters. One student in Mrs.
Gray’s class shared his trumpet with his classmates. What a treat to see a trumpet up close!
Students practiced audience behavior and asked terrific questions. We completed a bubble
map describing the trumpet. We look forward to seeing more instruments of the orchestra up
close and personal!
4th and 5th grade students are learning three songs with ​
harmony ​
called “​
Changamano”,
“Cherry Blossoms”, and “Yonder Come Day.” ​
Students will focus on ​
musical form​
for the next
six weeks: students will learn about verses, refrains, interludes, bridges, and various endings.
Students will also focus on ​
pitch movement​
and begin to read simple melodies.
Middle School Electives
We have almost completed the first two quarters of music ​
vocals ​
electives. Students learned to
cooperate in a large group by performing various singing activities and games, learning Curwen
hand signs and Solfege syllables to help describe ​
pitch, ​
performed Justin Bieber’s contemporary
version of “​
Santa Claus is Coming to Town” ​
to the thrill of everyone​
,​
and they are currently
learning about ​
dynamics.
Music Websites with Clip Art for Kids
Musical Clip Art​
•​
More Musical Clip Art
Mrs. JeannēWestholder
Music Teacher • CICS Jackson
jwestholder@distinctiveschools.org​
•​
815.316.0093