Physical Education News FALL INTO THE Arts Ritchie Park Elementary October 2014 Welcome to the arts at Ritchie Park! Read on to see what exciting things are going on in Art, Music, Physical Education, Ins trumental Music, and Media. The creative arts are the measure and reflection of our civilization. They offer many children an opportunity to see life with a larger perspective...the moral values we treasure are reflected in the beauty and truth that is emotionally transmitted through the arts.. The arts say something about us to future generations. -Ann P. Kahn, Former President of The National PTA Sneaker Check Award In P.E., classes are able to earn a Sneaker Check Award at the end of each marking period. This is how it works: If every student comes to P.E. prepared by wearing sneakers, they earn a sticker for their class for that week. This is posted on a chart in the gym. At the end of each marking period, whichever class earns the most stickers will receive a certificate to hang up in their classroom. This helps to make moving easier and safer for everyone. Thanks for your help. Here is the P.E. schedule to assist you: Kindergarten Jenkins (Monday), Colav ito (Tuesday), Heald (Wednesday), Clements (Friday) First Grade Lee (Monday), Tsakos (Wednesday), Snedeker (Thursday), Hill (Friday) Second Grade Gray (Monday), Friedland (Tuesday), Oliv a (Thursday), Porter (Friday) Third Grade Deutsch (Monday), McCoskey (Tuesday), Schuck (Thursday), Cate (Friday) Fourth Grade Speaks (Monday), Gramzinski (Tuesday), McInroy (Wednesday), Carbonaro (Thursday) Fifth Grade New-Schneider (Tuesday), Petullo (Wednesday), Nelson (Thursday), Neuringer (Friday) Currently in Physical Education all classes are learning about muscles, bones, and other health and fitness-related components. -Kindergarten, First, and Second graders are working on a movement unit; focusing on personal space, locomotor skills, levels, pathways, directions, and speeds. Being able to travel safely throughout general space. -Third, Fourth, and Fifth graders are currently working on a basketball skills unit focusing on dribbling, passing, and shooting. They will also work on a soccer skills unit during this marking period. Ms. Svejda Physical Education
MUSIC NOTES Choral/General Music Music Instruction Kindergarten: Kindergartners are identifying the steady beat through singing games, song books, and listening examples. They are finding different ways to use their voices (i.e. sing, speak, whisper, shout). They are also contrasting musical concepts like fast/ slow and long/short. First Grade: First graders are working on high and low vocal registers, aurally identifying musical cues, and defining musical form (same and different sections). Second Grade: Second graders are working on vocal intonation (pitch), contrasting musical phrasing, and the instruments of the orchestra. Third Grade: Third graders are decoding rhythms that include rests, layering ostinatos (repeated patterns) to accompany songs, arranging simple pieces, and defining cumulative musical form. They are also beginning recorder instruction which will focus on breathing techniques and proper fingering. Fourth Grade: Fourth graders are layering melodic ostinatos against contrasting parts, performing songs & dances of various cultures and languages, and decoding sixteenth note rhythms. Fifth Grade: Fifth graders are adding chordal accompaniments to songs, discussing the historical significance of African-American spirituals, and decoding/notating solfege (do, re, mi) patterns. Ritchie Park Chorus The Ritchie Park chorus began three weeks ago and will continue to meet every Wednesday morning from 9:05 to 9:50am. It is open to all 4th and 5th grade students. We are expanding our musicianship by learning about tempo, rhythm, tonality, genre, pitch, and phrasing. The students sing in 2 and 3 part harmony which encourages creative thinking, problem solving, and brain development. Looking Ahead: Cluster Concert 11/25 Richard Montgomery High School Winter Concert 1/22 Ritchie Park Gym Spring Concert 5/28 Ritchie Park Gym Mystery composer Each quarter I select two composers to focus on in music class. The identity of the composer is a mystery but students will get a new clue every week to help them figure out the answer. At the end of four weeks I send home a Mystery Composer paper listing the clues. Each student who figures out the name of the composer, writes it down, and returns it by the following music class will receive a small prize. We will also discuss the composer during music class and listen to her/his music. The composers are from a variety of musical genres and time periods. Our first mystery composer sheet is headed home soon. Look for it and see if you can solve the mystery! -Mrs. Davis
KANDINSKY LINES From the ART ROOM! MATISSE SHAPES PAINTING Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. Edgar Degas *Please send a smock to school with your child s name on it. The smocks will be kept in the homeroom classes. We are very careful but we do work with a wide range of materials, some of which are messy! In lieu of a smock, wearing clothing on Art day which can get dirty would be a good idea. I ve included an Art schedule so that you know when your child will have Art. Monday: McCoskey, McInroy, Hill, Heald, Friedland. Tuesday: Neuringer, Carbonaro, Deutsch, Oliva, Clements. Wednesday: Speaks, Snedeker, Nelson, Colavito. Thursday: Cate, New-Schneider, Tsakos, Gramzinski, Porter. Friday: Schuck, Petullo, Lee, Gray, Jenkins. Kindergarten: Lines! We read Harold and the Purple Crayon and looked at lines in artwork by Kandinsky and Van Gogh. This inspired the students to create lines! Lines can be curvy, straight, zig-zag, curly, thick and thin! Lines can also show direction and movement. The Kindergarten students created original line compositions. We also learned about how to make secondary colors from primary colors! The students filled their line drawings with paint that they mixed themselves! First Grade: The First grade students have been studying the work of Henry Matisse and his use of organic and geometric shapes. The students filled their artist canvas with cool or warm colors. Then they cut out one of-a-kind organic shapes. The students talked about how to place their shapes onto their canvases, to make an interesting composition. The shapes were dipped in water, placed carefully onto the canvas and the canvas was placed in the sun. The sun created beautiful Matisse prints! Second Grade: The Second grade students have been learning about the work of artists Anna Dillon and Jean Metzinger! They have discovered how basic shapes can be used to make almost anything. The students created landscapes by putting simple shapes together to create trees, mountains, etc. They have also been learning about warm and cool colors. They used oil pastel and paint to add color to their landscapes. LANDSCAPE PRINTMAKING MOLAS Third Grade: The Third grade students have been using the elements and principles of design, to create beautiful nature prints. They learned that in printmaking,an image is transferred from one surface to another. We used real leaves to transfer the leaf image from one surface to another. The students also l earned how artists use compositional concepts to plan their designs (prints). Fourth Grade: The Fourth grade students have been learning about the art of the Mola. The Mola is a traditional art form of the Kuna people. The Mola is a colorful textile, which is created by layering fabric. The students designed Molas using the elements of art and design principles to create a unified artwork. Fifth Grade: The Fifth grade students have been learning about composition, theme, and expressing human experiences through their artwork. We have been studying the work of artist Jacob Lawrence who created beautiful collages, illustrating everyday life. We focused on the human form by doing some gesture drawings, where the students attempted to capture a movement which expressed a feeling.the students used collage techniques to create settings for the figures. More News from the Art Room Art Portfolios: In Art this year, your child will be creating a portfolio (or collection), of all of his/her artwork. The portfolio will stay at school until we have our art show in May; this provides an opportunity for your child s best work to be showcased at the gallery. The portfolio will go home after the school-wide art show. When it arrives home, please look at the work with your child and discuss what they have learned. You will find written explanations attached to each piece describing the concepts, objectives, elements of art, art history, cultural influences, self-expression, connections to other academic areas, etc. Your child is proud of what he/she has done and it is a pleasure to share their work with you. Please remember to visit the school throughout the year to see the art displays which are up around the building. JACOB LAWRENCE COLLAGE Annual Art Show: The annual art show takes place on The Arts and Science Fair night in May. Every child, K-5 will have ONE piece of art on display in the show. In order to best showcase the wide variety of artwork completed throughout the year, some students may have an additional piece displayed. I hope that you will attend this wonderful evening and take a walk through the amazing work of our Ritchie Park artists.
From the Media Center CHANGES IN THE MEDIA CENTER! Your media staff has changed this year, and we are so happy for the chance to introduce ourselves and provide some information about the media center program for this year. Dyana Vincent: Hi! I am the new media specialist at Ritchie Park and I am so excited to be here! I have been a media specialist for 5 years in other counties in Maryland and I am really enjoying working with the RP students, staff, and parents. Tracey Threefoot: I am originally from New Orleans, LA, and I graduated from American University. I have been a Media Assistant for 8 years in Montgomery County. I love being at Ritchie Park and working with the students and staff. My hobbies are biking, making cupcakes and cards. I try to bike to school several times a week Schedule: Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade have media every week, including a lesson and book exchange. 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade will be mostly* operating on a flexible schedule teachers will sign up for a media time for a lesson, research, and/or book exchange as needed. Parents, please encourage your kids to find time during the morning or afternoon to exchange books whenever they need to! Book Checkout Guidelines: Books are due two weeks from the day they are checked out for grades 1-5. They can be returned or renewed at any time, and there is a two book maximum. Kindergarten students check out one book for a period of one week. Parents can help with this by reminding students that every Media Center book checked out by students has a due date stamped on the sticker on the back of the book. *There is one class per grade 3-5 that has a fixed schedule as noted below. Here is the K-2 Classes by day of the week: Monday Jenkins, Gray, Oliva Tuesday Snedeker, Hickox-Heald, Porter, Cate* Wednesday Hill, Jenkins, Neuringer* Thursday Lee, Colavito, McInroy* Friday Tsakos, Friedland
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC Musical Greetings from Mr. Stultz! Fall is here again, and by the time you read this, Instrumental Music classes should be well underway. All assessments in Instrumental Music this year will fall under one of the following measurement topics: 1 - Performing on an instrument This includes the fundamentals of playing a particular instrument, such as position of hands, proper breathing, embouchure (position of mouth on a wind instrument), techniques specific to an instrument (such as articulating notes on a wind instrument, bowing on a string instrument, etc.). It also includes basics such as how to assemble and maintain an instrument, and playing songs learned by rote. 2 - Reading and notating music. This topic is specific to reading notation in terms of pitch, rhythm, expressive markings, etc. Students should be able to independently play tunes from written music. Students who rely on writing the names of notes on their music are NOT meeting this objective. Simply being able to play a song that has been practiced is not necessarily an indicator that a student can read notation. Students will go further and enjoy playing music more if they can read music on their own. ABOUT PRACTICE... Just about everyone knows the old joke about the tourist asking the New York City police officer How do you get to Carnegie Hall? His answer: Practice, practice, practice. How do you give a great Winter Concert at Ritchie Park Elementary School? Practice, practice, practice.