How Do We Judge The Quality Of Our Performances?

This is the Essential Question!!  As part of the National Core Arts Standards, it is important for students to respond to understanding and evaluating how the arts convey meaning.  One way to evaluate our work is to view the performance video during a follow-up music class.  While viewing, students have paper and either colored pencils or crayons in hand.  Students apply personal and expressive preferences in the evaluation of music, starting in Kindergarten through Second Grade. Below are three short YouTube videos showing the result of students work.  These videos are separated by grade level.  It is interesting to note that Kindergarten students show more through colorful drawing, whereas First and Second Grade students do a combination of both drawing and writing.

A Two Night Success!!

Great job, Porters Point School students!  Our performances of "Squirm!" by John Jacobson and John Higgins last week were superb.  The two below videos are about the preparations (and are not the actual performances).

Half our school performed Wednesday:

 

And the other half of our school performed Thursday:

What To Wear To The Musical

I have received a lot of questions from parents wondering what their child is supposed to wear to our musical "Squirm!"  To be honest, the answer is "clothes"!  Regular school clothes.  Nothing fancy is required.  Students may choose to wear a color that is included in their headpiece they made in Art Class.  Now that may be confusing because students are not necessarily wearing THE headpiece they made in Art Class.  By dress rehearsal, all students should know what their headpiece is and if they want to wear something that goes along with those colors, that is fine.  I am asking all students to PLEASE WEAR SNEAKERS!!!!  Also, no bulky layers as the stage lights get hot...

"Squirm!" Parent Notice #2 Sent Home last Friday

Just to keep everyone updated on progress, Parent Notice #2 was sent home last Friday, January 29, 2016.  Students are beginning to get very excited about this performance!

So far, speaking parts have been distributed and those students have now had their first after-school rehearsal last week.  There will be one more rehearsal this week:

Wednesday 2/10/16 Performing Classes:  Weds. Feb. 3, 2016 -- from right after school until 4:00 pm in the PPS Music Room

Thursday 2/11/16 Performing Classes:  Thurs. Feb. 4, 2016 -- from right after school until 4:00 pm in the PPS Music Room

This week, we will add other parts to our performance, including movement and props helpers.  Having other jobs to do during performances helps keep students focused and is another way for students to participate in this whole school experience.  Regardless of whether students do any extra parts, the music is the most important part of a musical, and that is one part ALL students have!

Speaking Parts Have Been Distributed

For our whole-school musical "Squirm" to be performed in February, all the speaking parts were distributed last Friday, January 22, 2016. I am happy to announce that if students expressed an interest in a speaking part, I was able to cast them for a part! However, if students requested a specific part and were not willing to accept a different part, it is possible they did not receive a part. I explain to students that if there is one main part, then only one person will get that part.  So if 8 students requested that part, 7 students would not get that part.  But if they were willing to take another part, then I would try to cast them for an alternate part.  We do not do auditions!!  I firmly believe that anyone who wants to do a part can do it...

So that is how we do speaking parts.  But there are other parts which will be given out in the coming days.  Those parts are for "movement" and also "props helpers".  I like to wait on that a bit and my hope is that many more students will be interested in this, especially if they were not interested in speaking parts.  

Our Whole School Musical is in February

It's that time of year when Porters Point School students prepare for their whole-school musical.  This year we will be doing "Squirm!" by John Jacobson and John Higgins.  These two men really know how to write an age-appropriate (and fun) mini musical!  We have done several musicals written by them, including "How Does Your Garden Grow?", "Three of a Kind", "Hats", and "The Cheese Stands Alone", just to name a few.

During music classes, the story and songs have been introduced to students.  We draw on past experiences of performing in a different space from our own building -- Colchester High School.  We are fortunate to have that space, otherwise our school is just too small to take on a project like this.  Students practice and practice at our home school, then take a bus to the High School for a dress rehearsal.  The same evening as the dress rehearsal is when we perform for parents, friends and the community.  It really is an event not to miss!

Click on this link for Squirm-PPSParent Notice #1.

Please stay tuned for more details and look for notes going home with your children from the "Porters Point Music Department".