Primary: They practiced appropriate audience behavior while watching the PreK students as they practiced for their talent show.

PreK: We practiced for the talent show. They did a fantastic job singing the group songs for the talent show, “This is my Commandment, Zip-a-dee Doo-Da, and This Little Light of Mine.”

Kinder: We learned about dynamics and the different between pitch and volume. We practiced out knowledge of crescendos and decrescendos by playing a game, “Hide Pumba.” Rules of the game: Crescendo as the finder gets closer to Pumba and decrescendo as they get farther away!

1st-8th: Even though our spring musical was fantastic and I couldn’t be prouder of my kiddos, we watch the show with a critical eye. We worked together to critique our work and found ways we could improve for next year! Since it was such a hit in Kinder, we decided to play, “Hide Pumba.” and sharpened our musical knowledge.

We are continuing to work hard on our show! I cannot WAIT to show off next Thursday 4/6 at 6 pm. Please join us!

This week we started taking pictures for our headshot wall, fitting costumes, working on the set, running the show, and we even found some time to celebrate St. Patricks Day!

Primary: Learned “Can You Catch A Leprechaun?’ and played a game with each student being the leprechaun.

Pre-K: We began practice for their upcoming Talent Show!

Kinder: We practiced Audience Etiquette while watching Disney’s Concert Piece, Fantasia 200, and caught some Leprechauns.

1st-8th: We are continuing our work on our Spring Musical. We have made so much progress with the music, scenes, costumes, props, and set. We CANNOT wait to show you our hard work!

St. James Day School Presents:

Disney’s The Lion King, Jr.

Thursday, April 6th @ 6 PM

Pleasant Grove High School’s Performing Arts Center

Admission is FREE

In celebration of Black History Month, we explored the world of Jazz. We learned about where it started and about some of the amazing artists who created it. We talked about how music has been shaped by the African-American community and learned about some of popular instruments used in Jazz. We ended by listening to the late, great Louis Armstrong sing, “What a Wonderful World.” My musicians expressed how the music made them feel and were inspired to draw a picture. We had a BLAST!

In choir, we have been working on our Grandparent’s Day musical number, I Just Can’t Wait to Be King!

It takes a village to put a show together. The set design class has been hard at work creating the many sets, props and costume pieces for the Lion King Jr. This week they have been working on the wildebeest makes for the stampede and the lion masks. Thank you so much, Ms. Denise! It’s looking amazing!! I cannot wait!

The Lion King Jr. will be performedat the Pleasant Grove High School Performing Arts Center at 6:30 PM on Thursday, April 6! Admission is free and all are welcome to attend.

We hit the ground running in the New Year! We have had lots of fun learning!

PrImary: We had a lot of fun with our dice activity. There were two dice, one an activity and the other a song. Each student took turns rolling the dice and we performed the song and activity as a group. These activities help them with motor skills and moving as one.

PreK: We began our work on rhythm. Each student learned about one sound on a beat or two. We dug a little deeper with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. We worked together to keep the steady beat and to figure out if each word was one sound or two.

Kindergarten: We learned about quarter notes, quarter rests, and eighth notes. We were remembering what we learned in PreK (above) and saw how it related to these rhythms. While we were learning, the students created the different notes out of play dough. They demonstrated their knowledge by reading rhythms from the board.

1-3: We continued our work on The Lion King music. They have started to learn choreography for, “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King, Hakuna Matata, and Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” One day it was so nice that we decided to learn outside.

4-8: We have started blocking the show as well as continuing our work on the music.

This week in music, we celebrated Christmas!

Primary-PreK: We learned about Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. We talked about how do not treat someone poorly just because they are a little different. We sang, moved, colored and watch the story.

Kindergarten: We learned Jingle Bells on our Boomwhackers and preformed it for their teachers!

1st: We worked on our Candlelight music and learned Jingle Bells on our Boomwhackers!

2nd-8th: We continued our practicing for Candlelight next week. Anyone and everyone is welcome to attend! After we practiced, we played Christmas Music Bingo and had a wonderful time!

Lower School Candlelight: Wednesday, December 14 6pm at St. James Church Downtown

Middle School Candlelight: Thursday, December 15 6pm at St. James Church Downtown

With Thanksgiving being next week, we talked a lot about what we were thankful for. Some said their mommies and daddies, some said their pets, some even said PIZZA! It was fun to think about why we celebrate Thanksgiving.

Primary: We sang, “If You’re Thankful and You Know it” and hid from he farmer in Run, Turkey, Run.

PreK: We were busy working on their Christmas Program that’s coming up December 1st.

Kindergarten: Learned all about Audience Etiquette, played and sang “Run, Turkey, Run.”

1-8th: Continued our work with Candlelight and the Lion King.

This week we had so much fun celebrating Halloween.

Primary: We listened to Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor and busted some Ghosts.

PreK: We went on a virtual filed trip to a Haunted House and had many fun music activities along the way.

Kindergarten: We learned how music can effect our feelings and acted out, “Baby Monsters.”

1-8: We worked on Candlelight and Lion King

This past week we had auditions for Lion King Jr. Our scenic design class is already hard at work creating some of the amazing things you will see on stage.

Primary-K: We talked about the fun things we get to do in the fall. Then, we learned songs about leaves, scarecrows, and pumpkins.

1st-2nd: We learned about tempo, dynamics and pitch. We discussed how a lot of musical words come from Italy. They were very excited to learn some Italian words.

Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15- October 15. We learned that a lot of our favorite music is inspired by the the Hispanic and LatinX culture. We talked about different instruments and listened to amazing music by talented artists.

Primary-Pre K: We talked about nursery rhymes we sing in America. I told them that children in the Spanish speaking countries learn a nursery rhyme called, “Los Pollitos.”It is about three little chicks that hatch and spend a fun day with their mom. We learned the song and some choreography. Then, we listened to music and played our maracas.

Kinder-1st: We listened to some amazing music and did a drum stick routine to, “Proud Corazon,” from the movie Coco.

2nd-4th: We talked about Latin music with a little help from our friends Tim and Moby. Then, we learned a cup and stick routine to, “Turn the Beat Around,” by Gloria Estefan.

5th-8th: We continued our read/sing through of the Lion King and then we practiced our Turn the Beat Around routine.

This week we had a lot of fun with drums.

In Primary and PreK, we worked on steady beat and jammed out to some nursery rhymes and We Don’t Talk About Bruno.

In 2nd grade, we continued work on Music Theory and demonstrated our knowledge with a drum game, Extra Beat, Take a Seat. We even had a spontaneous conga line!

Fourth through eighth was able to read/through our script for The Lion King Jr. to gather a better understanding of the story and what we are undertaking. Each child was able to read a part and had a blast singing through the songs!

I am so happy to see all my students’ smiling faces! I sure did miss them. We had a great first couple of weeks.

In Primary, we dove into Nursery Rhymes.

PreK: We began our unit on steady beat. First with clapping, next with Rhythm Sticks.

K-1: We learned and reviewed all about the Percussion Family.

2-4: We reviewed our note values and rhythms

5-8: We played various rhythms on the Djembes.

One final piece of news! The year our Spring Musical will be Disney’s Lion King Jr.! I am so excited to get started! First through eighth grade will be participating and I cannot wait to see that magic that we create! Mark your calendars, the musical will be on Thursday, April 6 @ 6:30!

This week second though fourth grade participated in a Texarkana Symphony Orchestra concert. This concert was in conjunction with Carnegie Hall called, The Orchestra Moves. Students could play the recorder, dance, play percussion instruments, or sing. We chose to sing and got to participate in four selections, “Come to Play (theme for the program), “The Blue Danube,” “Toreador from the opera Carmen,” and “Un, Dos, Tres.” The kids had a blast and got to be exposed to classical music in a fun and entertaining way. We tried to take pictures but the Perot was a little dark.

Pre-K and Kinder finished their study of Pitch Hill with a hands on activity. They placed their Solfegé friends on their very own music staff.

This week in primary and pre-K, we celebrated Earth Day by doing a scarf routine to, “What a Wonderful World” and colored our very own Earth.

Pre-K through 1st grade continued our study of Pitch Hill where some classes met all eight Solfège people!

2nd through 4th grade worked on their songs for our field trip to see the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra on May 18th. This is special concert in conjunction with Carnegie Hall and our students are lucky enough to participate.

5th and 6th grade began working on learning the Ukulele. We learned about the parts, tuning, and tabs.

7th and 8th grade learned about the djembe and started learning a routine to “The Circle of Life.”

This week in Pre K and Kindergarten we began learning about pitches and solfège (Do,Re,Mi)! We discovered a special hill where all the solfège people live. The first two characters we met were, Scaredy-cat Sol and Flat Head Mi. We learned their homes on Pitch hill, what space or line it was, and their hand signals. We learned songs about them and played played games using their pitches!

This blog will be short and sweet:

As I sit here with my coffee, I am reflecting on last night and the semester as a whole. This show means a lot to me on many levels and I was so happy to bring it to St. James. Last night was a dream come true and I couldn’t be happier. My kids are amazing, fabulous, and extremely talented! I love them so much and I am so grateful to be their director. Thank you to everyone who made this show possible, parent, teachers, administration, STUDENTS, and my incredible team! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! ❤️#blessedandgrateful

We are steadily working on our Spring Musical. This week we began using tracks without vocals, tried on costumes, and had our first all school rehearsal (1-8). It went really well! We can’t wait to show you our hard work! Come out and see Seussical Jr. at the Sullivan PAC on March 25 @6:30! Admission is FREE!

This past week we celebrated Dr. Seuss Day on Wednesday, March 2. What better way to celebrate than having our cast take pictures with their character’s book!

Characters in Horton Hears a Who: Horton the Elephant, Sour Kangaroo, Young Kangaroo, Wickershams, Bird Girls, Jojo, Mr. and Mrs. Mayor, and the, the, the, the Grinch!

Characters in The Cat in the Hat: Cat, Thing 1, Thing 2, and Thing 3!

Characters in Yertle the Turtle & Other Stories: Yertle and Gertrude McFuzz!

Characters in Horton Hatches the Egg: Mayzie La Bird!

We have been working so hard on the spring musical…that I didn’t take pictures…my bad! Costumes have been ordered, set construction is underway, and choreography is being learned.

In primary class, we sang about the London Bridge. The kids became the bridge while we sang. Then, we sang about other buildings supplies and sites.

In pre-k and kinder, we learned about being kind to one another while singing and dancing to Wee Sing In Sillyville. We then dove into the song Down By the Bay and explored rhyming.

This week in the three year old class, we celebrated Winter by doing many different movement and singing activities! We did a scarf routine to Winter by Vivaldi.

In Pre-K and Kindergarten, we worked on steady beat and quarter notes and eighth notes!

First through eighth grade worked on choreography for the opening number of Seussical the Musical Jr.!: Oh The Thinks You Can Think.