Although this week was only four days long due to the extended Memorial Day weekend, we filled it with lots and lots of events and activities. Enjoy!
SWISH basketball game
Congratulations to the teachers for their win against the police in the annual SWISH basketball game. Thank you to all who were able to play, attend, and donate to this great cause. Due to your generosity $6098.28 was raised to support students and their families battling illnesses. WOW!!!
Revolutionary Wrentham Trip
This week our third grade students took a trip around Wrentham visiting various sites. Thank you to the numerous volunteers and chaperones who helped on this trip. In addition, thank you to KPHS for their role in this year's trip. Our students had a fantastic time!
Positive Referrals
Congratulations to the following students who received Positive Referrals this week. Their actions and attitudes are truly exemplary!
Positive Referral Breakfast
On Friday, over 130 Delaney students and their families attended the final Positive Referral breakfast of the 2013-2014 school year. Students were recognized for a variety of great behaviors and thanked for helping to make our school a better place. Thanks to all who were able to attend. It was wonderful to see all of you. I would also like to say a huge thank you to our amazing food service staff for preparing coffee and goodies for all of our guests. We could not have this event without their support. I would also like to thank Mr. Rob Donnelly and the custodial/maintenance staff for setting up the cafeteria and making the building and grounds look amazing!
Students in Mrs. Swartzendruber's class have been watching and waiting as their caterpillars progressed through their life cycle. Late last week they were able to watch as they hatched into beautiful butterflies!
Thank you to Mrs. Sabatini's third graders and Ms. White's sixth grade students for joining forces to clean up the school grounds as part of their community service project.
From Mrs. Mariotti
Here is what we learned during May…
This month’s composer…..Camille Saint Saens
Kindergarten: May just flew by!! We began the month with a story called,
“Tubby the Tuba” by Paul Tripp. In this story, Tubby the tuba is sad because he
wants to play the melody. The melody is the part of the song that you would
sing. He has two friends, Mr. Frog and Pico the piccolo who help Tubby along
the way. Tubby learns that everyone can sing their own special melody no matter
their size or sound. In this story, we reviewed high and low sounds and
listened to the various sounds of the orchestral instruments. We also learned
about a new composer named Camille Saint Saens. Camille was a famous French
composer who learned to write music at a very young age. He wrote a very famous
piece of music called, “The Carnival of the Animals”. It is a collection of
short musical pieces that represent various animals. The music mimics the way
the animals move and behave. We danced to the music, identified the various
characteristics of the music, played with scarves, learned about the various
instruments and watched a puppet show by Jim Gamble. Finally, we worked hard
for our Memorial Day Program. Our song was called, “Three Cheers for the Red,
White and Blue”. We sang beautifully at the program!!
This month’s composer….. Camille Saint Saens
First Grade: First graders had an exciting month in music! We had a special
string presentation! Mrs. Anderson (mom of first grader, Jack) and her mother,
Mrs. Bodley came to teach the children all about the strings! They brought a
violin, viola, cello, double bass and an electric violin. They taught us all
about how the sound is made and played beautiful music for us! It was a very
special treat and the children loved it!! Our new composer this month is Camille
Saint Saens, a famous French composer. He wrote a very famous piece of music
called, “The Carnival of the Animals”. It is a collection of short musical
pieces that represent various animals. The music mimics the way the animals
move and behave. We learned a new vocabulary word called tempo. Tempo is the
speed of the beat. As we listened to the “Carnival of the Animals”, we would
identify the tempo of the song. We also followed a listening map to the “Lion”
section of the music. In this activity, we needed to follow the steady beat by
tapping the paw prints on the paper. Every time the lion would roar, we would
follow the melodic contour of the piano while pointing to the curved line on
the paper. This was a very fun activity and the children enjoyed it greatly! We
got to move, tap and roar like a lion to feel a steady beat and moderato tempo.
Finally, we worked very hard for our Memorial Day song called, “This Land is
Your Land”. We learned how to follow a conductor and the special cues that a
conductor gives to lead the group. Students got to take turns being the conductor
and leading the class in singing. It was a busy but fun month in first grade
music!
This month’s composer….. Camille Saint Saens
Second Grade: This month in music we focused on rhythm and tempo (speed of
the beat). We had a lesson called, Candy Rhythms. Students learned that words
have rhythmic patterns and sounds in them. Each student brainstormed their
favorite candies and identified the rhythm. Then students arranged these
candies into an interesting pattern to make a rhythmic composition. Students
practiced their pieces, added rhythm sticks and performed them for the class!
It was a great introduction to writing music while reinforcing rhythmic
notation. Our new composer was a French composer named Camille Saint Saens. He
wrote a very famous piece of music called, “The Carnival of the Animals”. It is
a collection of short musical pieces that represent various animals. The music
mimics the way the animals move and behave. We completed various activities to
follow his music. We created an original animal that Saint Saens did not choose
for his Carnival. Each child selected an animal, chose an instrument to play
for this animal and identified the correct tempo, dynamic and mood for their
selection. We also followed a listening map to the “Elephant” section on the
song. We read the real music to this song! We added movement to better feel the
rhythm of the song. Finally we learned
our song for the Memorial Day Program. We sang, “You’re a Grand Old Flag”. The
students did a nice job singing together!
Third Grade: Third graders worked so hard this month!! We had to learn our
song, “Freedom” for the Memorial Day Program. This is a special song that Mrs.
Danielson had written with a previous third grade class. This year we added
some harmony with the recorders. Students were given the opportunity to learn
the recorder part and then play during the presentation. I can’t say how proud
I was of them!!! The entire third grade worked so hard to prepare and perform a
beautiful song that has such an honorable meaning too. It was a wonderful
performance. In addition to learning this song, we continued to earn our belts.
Many students have moved on to the red belt, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and
brown belt, “Amazing Grace”. Some students have even achieved their black belts
for the song “Ode to Joy”! This month we reviewed rhythmic notation with a
weekly exercise called, “It All Adds Up”. Students are presented with musical
notation and need to add up the beats like an addition problem. I call this
music math. It was very helpful for many students to think of the notes as a
number. Every week, we had ten problems to complete. It was nice to see the
students’ understanding of rhythmic notation progress each week with more
practice. It was a busy and productive month in music!
From the PTO
As school is winding down, your PTO wants you to remember
the following events.
-Keep a look out next week for your red
"Foodserve" bag for the end of the year food drive benefitting the
Wrentham Food Pantry. Bags with non-perishable donations are due back on Field
Day- Friday, June 6th.
-The PTO is hosting a 6th grade Ice Cream Social and
Yearbook Signing Party on Friday, June 13th. Attention: 6th grade parents-
Don't forget to send in your yearbook payments. A call for ice cream toppings
will be forwarded to you through your HRP.
- Info to start ordering School Supplies for next year
will be in backpacks soon. All orders will be online and supplies are delivered
directly to your home.
Thank you all for your support. A highlights list that outlines what your
contributions supported will be posted in June.
Thank you for reading!
Have a wonderful weekend.
Sincerely,
Melissa D. Peterson
Principal
