DelaneySchool: There are signs!

Dear Delaney Families,

The snow is slowly giving way to mud, but the temperatures are better so we are encouraged! The students have been learning many new things this week in their classrooms. Grade 3 students took their MCAS test in English Language Arts and Spring assessments with Star and Fountas and Pinnell have been ongoing. Here are some of the week’s highlights…

Positive Referrals: The following students demonstrated Core Values throughout Delaney in the past 2 weeks:

Dental Program for Grades K and 1

Our grade 3 students showed tremendous stamina and effort during their ELA MCAS this week and we are proud of them.

Here is what we learned during March…

This month’s composer…..Sergei Prokofiev

Kindergarten: In music this month we learned about stories in music. We began with a story called, Mortimor. Students were introduced to the sounds of the scale while the characters walked up and down the stairs during the story. We reinforced singing our scale ladders while playing many movement activities. We noticed how the pitches ascended and descended just like climbing up and down a ladder. We also learned a new game called “Scale Ladders”. The students paired up with a partner and whoever completed their scale ladder first, won the game. Then we listened to the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by Paul Dukas. In this story, there are no words. The music tells the story. We listened for changes in the music; specifically the speed, volume, instruments and mood. All these changes helped to tell the story. The students enjoyed this lesson a lot! We ended the month with the famous children’s story called, “Peter and the Wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev. This story is a great introduction to the instruments of the orchestra. During the second week, we created a puppet show together using props and had a lot of fun acting out the story.

This month’s composer….. Sergei Prokofiev

First Grade: We began the month with a fun new game called, “Mailbox Rhythms”. This important lesson worked on listening skills, recall, and identification of the written notation. All of these important skills were wrapped up in a super fun game with flashcards of animals holding a rhythm, very cool red mailboxes and drums! Learning disguised as fun as I like to call it. The students loved this activity so much that we played it again the following week. We took turns playing the drum and identifying what we heard. It was great team work! We ended the second half of the month with a famous story called, “Peter and the Wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev. Prokofiev was a Russian composer who loved to write musical stories for children. In this musical fairy tale, each character is represented by an instrument of the orchestra. We learned about each instrument and listened for its sound. The following week, we reviewed what happened in the story and completed a worksheet that asked what happened in the beginning, middle and end of the story. We brainstormed together the sequence of the story and each child could draw their own pictures to retell the beginning, middle and end of “Peter and the Wolf”. Finally, we created a “Peter and the Wolf” puppet show. The class was divided into three groups and simultaneously performed their own puppet show in mini groups while listening to this musical story. The children absolutely loved this activity!! Everyone had to cooperate to put on a fabulous show. It was a lot of fun to create this show with them and they were so proud of their performance. Budding actors and actresses in the making =)

This month’s composer….. Sergei Prokofiev

Second Grade: We began the month with a fun new game called, “Mailbox Rhythms”. The game was set up just like the first graders, but the second graders had more complicated rhythms. In addition, each student composed two rhythmic flashcards to add to our game. They really liked composing their own rhythms for the class to try! We took turns playing the drum and identifying what we heard. I was impressed with the children’s self-control and drumming abilities! When you give a whole class various drums….you never know how that will play out! This important lesson worked on listening skills, recall, and identification of the written notation of what was heard. In addition, second graders had to correctly perform the rhythm on the flash card in order for their team mates to correctly identify it. A lot of precision and team work was necessary. We also got to use the very cool red mailboxes as props. The students loved this activity so much that we played it again the following week. We ended the month with our composer of the month, Sergei Prokofiev. Prokofiev was born in the Ukraine. We learned how he loved to write musical stories and would match instruments to a particular character. In the story “Peter and the Wolf”, Prokofiev used the instruments to add drama to the story and create a picture of what each character was doing and feeling by its sound. We learned about the following instruments; violin, flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, french horn, drums and cymbals. We had to match the correct characters to the correct instruments. Finally we made a “Peter and the Wolf” puzzle which was a lot of fun. The students brought these home, so hopefully they can show their puzzles. We learned a lot this month!

Third Grade: Recorder Karate is going very well! The students have been very excited and working hard to achieve their belts! I have been very impressed by their determination and motivation. We continue to build on our note reading skills and always reviewing the sayings for the lines and spaces. We are also practicing musicianship skills and playing together as a group. This month most children have earned their green and purple belts. Our next song is, “When the Saints Go Marching In”. It is the blue belt. This song is very difficult and I tell the children not to be disappointed if it takes them two or three weeks to earn it! The tempo (speed of the beat) is rather fast. They will also need to learn two new notes, C and hi D. Both are tricky to play without squeaking. After the blue belt, we only have three belts left (red, brown and black). I keep reminding the children to take their time and we have the rest of the year to learn these songs. Also, I have Mrs. Wagstaff about doing a very short (30 min) and relaxed recorder concert for the students. Everyone seems excited about the idea. This will take place during the school day and will be just for the students. Sorry Moms and Dads! My thought is to have the third graders perform for the current second graders to inspire them for recorder class next year. This is Delaney School’s first recorder concert, so wish us luck! I believe it will take place during the second or third week of June. It is still in the early planning phase. We had a great month!

Mother Son event on Friday April 10th, 7-8:30 pm

Thank you for the mixed bags orders!

Adam Moon wins Dancing with the Stars!!

Nurses Corner:

Please send a set of dry clothing with your children until the mud season ends! The health office is very short on clothing.

Your school nurses are excited to present to your children a very special assembly about food allergies in April.

These food allergy awareness assemblies are made possible by the generous support of our own PTO!

We are very grateful for their support.

When: April 14^th- Delaney School

April 15^th- Roderick School

Presenter:

Kyle Dine- An educator and musician who performs at schools across North America raising food allergy awareness. Kyle Dine has grown up managing his own allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, seafood, and mustard. His songs empower, support, and educate children of all ages.

We are very excited to host Kyle Dine and hope your child enjoys his musical performance. Our hope is to raise food allergy awareness in our schools promoting a healthy and safe learning environment.

To learn more about Kyle, please visit his website at www.kyledine.com