Dear Grade 3 Family,

We have completed our recording project and students were engaged and worked hard to provide a recording of a song of their choice. Students worked hard, practiced their chosen songs with their group and demonstrated good work ethic, a good sense of rhythm and dedication to being able to sing their lyrics clearly.

I am attaching the recordings below for you to listen to at home and share with your proud children.

We have began working on our next unit, where we will be creating a lip dub music video to a Jewish song.

Grade 3A will be working on the song “One in a million” By Mordechai Shapiro.

Grade 3B will be working on the song “Friends” by Mordechai Shapiro.

You can find videos for both songs on Youtube!

Have a. wonderful February break!

Moreh David Kogut

Ella, Jared

Ethan, Isadora

Hannah, Evie

Leile, Evie

Lev, Jacob

Markus, Mason, Ari

Aliza, Naomi, Sari

Eva, Amelia

Alona

Lev, Josh

Jake, Jonah

Ilana

Ollie, Zach

Before the break, we began our Grade 4 recording project. Each student got into a small group, chose any song they liked (after my approval) and used the tune of that song to sing the words to Adon Olam.

Students were very engaged in the project as they felt ownership over their work and had pride in the tunes that they chose. Each song was then recorded behind the karaoke music of their song choice.

It is of note that the Grade 4A class, which is scheduled on Friday afternoon, has not had very much music time over the past few months, due to our Early Friday schedule, PD days, school assemblies and parent conferences. I missed several Classes with them before the winter break and since the winter break, I have only had one single Friday class with them. The 4a class has not completed their recordings and I’m now debating whether to move on, when I resume with them after the February break.

The 4B class all completed their projects, demonstrating a good pronunciation of Hebrew, a good sense of rhythm and a good work ethic, as they had to work out how to fit the Adon Olam words into their chosen songs.

I am including their recorded tracks below for you to enjoy.

We have now moved on to our next unit, where we are rewriting the lyrics to one song that the class chose – Fast Car by Luke Combs – and making it about Purim, which we will record and share around the time of the Holiday.

When that unit is complete, I will be teaching them how to play the ukulele. Keep an eye on the blog for updates and to best support your child for that next unit.

Have a wonderful February break!

Moreh David Kogut

Hahlia, Hallie, Rachel

Delilah, Callie

Lev, Levi, Tzvi

Zev, Nate

 

Hello Grade 5 families,

As you have no doubt noticed, we are working on the ukulele again this year. This is a follow up to our Grade 4 ukulele unit, as it got cut short last year with several missed classes. We have done a review and are now picking up where we left off.

At the end of our unit, there will be an assessment which has been outlined to the students, including a well developed rubric to let them know their exact requirements. They will each need to strum to one song of their choice, having been given four choices. I will be listening for clear notes, smooth transitions and staying on rhythm. I will also be evaluating their understanding of ukulele tabs, as they will need to demonstrate  that they know how to read and interpret them.

Each student has been given their own ukulele for the duration of the unit. They have been instructed to bring them home and to practice every week (apologies for your home noise level). Each instrument is numbered and I expect that they will take care of their ukuleles and return them to me in good condition when our unit is complete in March.

Please help me in reminding your child to bring their ukulele back to school on the day of their music class. Grade 5A has music on Wednesday mornings and Grade 5B on Monday afternoons. I have extra instruments in class if anyone forgets, but it is easier to have your own.

Upon completion of this unit, we will then learn to play the recorder (apologies again for your home noise level).

Our final unit of the year will be to learn Torah Trope, as many students will be entering Bar/Bat mitzvah age shortly, and this will give them a step up for when they begin to learn.

Enjoy your February break!

Moreh David Kogut

Hello Grade 4 Families,

Here is an update of what we have been up to in Grade 4 Music so far this year.

We began our year with some simple fun with music, by learning two new songs, in order to sing all together with the rest of the school at our first assembly. We learned the Beatles’ “ObLaDi ObLaDa” as well as the Hebrew song “Acheinu”. We spoke about the meaning of the songs, which relate to family and people we care about. The Grade 4 class was also tasked with creating their own verse for “ObLaDi ObLaDa” that relates to something positive at OJCS. Here is an example of one verse from one of our students.

“In the morning we get to OJCS

Ms. Jenn greets us all with a warm smile

The teachers are so happy to see us in class

With lessons and games every day is worth our while.”

We sang the songs together with the entire school at our first Rosh Chodesh assembly, which we have each month. These assemblies are a great opportunity to demonstrate our “RUACH” and togetherness.

For our newest project, students are working in small groups and choosing any song they like to use its tune for Adon Olam. We were inspired by several fun Adon Olam tunes that we heard online and now we will be recording our own. Each group submitted 3 choices of songs and I helped them to select the most appropriate one. After practicing, each group will record their song and it will be posted right here on this blog upon completion.

On top of that, we have been learning a new song from Birkat Hamazon. Students sing the first part of Birkat Hamazon daily after eating lunch. There are many more parts to Birkat Hamazon, including several other fun and catchy songs. Grade 4, along with Grade 3 & 5 have been learning to sing the final paragraph “Migdol Yeshu’ot Malkot…” as well as some fun hand motions that go along with it. When we have completed learning, we will all gather together and sing it as a school at our next Rosh Chodesh assembly.

Thanks for reading!

Moreh David Kogut

Hello Grade 3 Families,

Here is an update of what we have been up to in Grade 3 Music so far this year.

We began our year with some simple fun with music, by learning two new songs, in order to sing all together with the rest of the school at our first assembly. We learned the Beatles’ “ObLaDi ObLaDa” as well as the Hebrew song “Acheinu”. We spoke about the meaning of the songs, which relate to family and people we care about. We sang the songs together with the entire school at our first Rosh Chodesh assembly, which we have each month. These assemblies are a great opportunity to demonstrate our “RUACH” and togetherness.

Since the end of the Jewish Holidays, now that we have had more consistency in school we have begun our newest project, which gives the students more independence and control over their learning. We are now doing a karaoke project! Each student has grouped together with one or two others, where they have chosen a song to learn and to record. Each group gave me three song choices and I selected the most appropriate one for each group. They have been practicing in class and will soon record their song with the real background music from a professional microphone and real recording set-up. These songs will be posted right here on the blog when they are complete.

On top of that, we have been learning a new song from Birkat Hamazon. Students sing the first part of Birkat Hamazon daily after eating lunch. There are many more parts to Birkat Hamazon, including several other fun and catchy songs. Grade 3, along with Grade 4 & 5 have been learning to sing the final paragraph “Migdol Yeshu’ot Malkot…” as well as some fun hand motions that go along with it. When we have completed learning, we will all gather together and sing it as a school at our next Rosh Chodesh assembly.

When this unit is finished, we will begin learning some songs for Chanukah and understand their meanings and how they relate to the miracles of the holiday.

Thanks for reading,

Moreh David Kogut

Hello Grade 2 families,

Here is an update of what we have been up to in Grade 2 Music so far this year.

We began our year with some simple fun with music, by learning two new songs, in order to sing all together with the rest of the school at our first assembly. We learned the Beatles’ “ObLaDi ObLaDa” as well as the Hebrew song “Acheinu”. We spoke about the meaning of the songs, which relate to family and people we care about. We sang the songs together with the entire school at our first Rosh Chodesh assembly, which we have each month. These assemblies are a great opportunity to demonstrate our “RUACH” and togetherness.

Since the Jewish holidays have ended, we have focused on understanding rhythm in songs. Students were able to clap along to syllables in a song and learned to count how many syllables are in each line of a short song that we practiced together.

In our newest unit that we just began, we started to learn about musical notes and rests and practiced understanding the difference between whole notes, half notes, quarter notes and eighth notes. We will continue learning this for another couple of weeks, before beginning to learn Chanukah songs as well as their meanings and how they relate to the miracles of the holiday.

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with your children and I look forward to a year of fun and learning ahead.

 

Moreh David Kogut

Hello Grade 1 families,

Grade 1 music has been fun and educational this year and the students have really been involved and participating well!

We began our year slowly, as there were many interruptions due to the Jewish holidays in September and October. We had spent much of our time throughout the first part of the year, preparing for our first all-school assembly, where the whole school gathered and sang songs together, among other exciting events that occur every month at our Rosh Chodesh assembly. We learned to sing the classic Beatles song “ObLaDi ObLaDa” as well as the Jewish song “Acheinu”, which grade 1 was able to fully participate in singing along with the rest of the school.

Now that we have had more consistent school time, we have begun our next units which involve learning rhythm as well as high and low, fast and slow sounds.

We learned to clap along with the syllables of a song and students finished a worksheet where we sang together and they indicated how many syllables were in each short line of the song. Next, we learned to recognize high and low sounds, as well as fast and slow sounds. We did this by listening to the sounds of several different instruments, which I was able to bring to class, so we can identify if they are high or low sounding.

Students have been learning well and very engaged and we look forward to our next units in a couple of weeks, where we will begin to learn Chanukah songs as well as understanding their relation to the miracles of the holiday.

Thanks for reading,

 

Moreh David Kogut