Ridgeway RAP January 22, 2021
Phone (573)214-3550 ~ Fax (573)214-3551
Unit News
Unit A
Unit B
Unit C
Specialist News
Music with Ms. Meeds
We’ve finally made it out of 2020 and are well on our way into 2021 with anticipation and excitement. Though 2020 was definitely “a real doozy,” to quote one of our kindergartners, your students have and continue to be an incredible source of joy and inspiration.
Unit A is blowing me away with their musical know-how! They have mastered the 4 voices, amazed me with their singing and continue to grasp new concepts quickly. We are turning our focus to comparatives while continuing to explore the ranges of the voice. Fast/slow, high/low, loud/soft are all things you may be hearing about from our lessons. While we are exploring these fun and interactive concepts, we are preparing and practicing many others as well. Steady beat, ta and titi are becoming like a second language in our classes, and your students are doing a wonderful job identifying and performing them. Soon we will add rest as a piece of silence in the mix as well as beginning to look at some solfege.
Unit B has been rocking their material! I have so enjoyed playing games with them on Zoom and now in person. Their creativity is absolutely flourishing, and I love being able to witness their imaginations. Right now we are working on reviewing half notes with the song “Who’s That?” which also has led us to expand our imaginations through the book Window by Marion Arbona. This is a beautiful picture book that can be found on Epic. We have had a lot of fun trying to guess what lies behind each window. Unit B students also will begin looking at meter. They already have experienced a lot of songs in simple meter and will begin to explore the concept of compound meter, opening up a whole new world of repertoire.
Unit C continues to teach me as much as I teach them. They have shown so much strength and resilience this year, and I am truly thankful for their guidance in approaching every day. They have done amazing work discussing spiritual and code songs and the importance of these songs in our nation’s history. They have worked on composition in creating ostinatos and have put those ostinatos to use by working in Garageband to create their very own songs! I am always in awe of their creativity and technological know-how!
Despite the difficulties we have faced this past year, your students continue to be a source of light and immense joy for me. Their jokes and stories make me laugh every day, and I am so thankful for them all.
Sing-cerely,
Ms. Meeds