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Fairfield Center School

57 Park Street, Fairfield, VT 05455 (get directions)

P: (802) 827-6639 • F: (802) 827-3604 (contact info)

Music

Welcome to the Fairfield Center School Music & Fine Arts page. Please click on the links to view some of our concerts.

Notes From The Common School

Notes from  

The Common School         Spring 2013

 

This has been a great school year!  Our students are happy, enthusiastic, interested, dedicated & focused, are making good use of class & rehearsal time and are following the school’s HR3 expectations of Honesty, Respect, Responsibility & Readiness to Learn.  

All General Music classes began the year focusing on National Standard #5: Reading and notating music.  All classes practiced and demonstrated whole, half, quarter & some classes have even delved into 8^th, 16^th, and 32^nd notes & rests, too!  We have learned a bit about orchestral instruments; I played just about every instrument we have in the school and those from my home to demonstrate the sound and capability of each one, and 5^th graders spent a lot of time exploring & playing these instruments, too, before selecting their course of study.

In addition to music theory exercises & instrument exploration, K-5 General Music classes have been vocalizing, learning educational, expressive & silly songs and performed a variety of these pieces for their December concert.  Special thanks to Michael Malone for his videography expertise.  The two evening Concert footage is posted on the school's website.  It's absolutely excellent! We will begin preparing songs for the June concert soon.  All recommendations are always sincerely welcomed.

Since January the Kindergarten & First Grade classes have learned about Aesop's Fable The Tortoise & the Hare, and The Ugly Ducking by Danish poet Hans Christian Anderson.  The students attended a puppet show of these classics at the Flynn Theater in Burlington and compared that performance to the original stories I read to them in class.  We also viewed animated versions of the tales and listened to music associated with these stories.  We learned about the “morals” to these tales, too!  Now, on to Beethoven.  I read the book “The 39 Apartments of Ludwig van Beethoven” to these classes & we're viewing the children's biography “Beethoven Lives Upstairs”.  We will be listening to his  Pastoral Symphony, too!

The Second Grade is currently learning about the music, art, history, politics, architecture & culture of  Austria & Germany, as well as the von Trapp family of Stowe, Vermont and viewing “The Sound of Music”.  We'll be learning to sing some of the numbers from this show, too, and will be listening to the great-grand children of Maria von Trapp, who sing professionally & flawlessly and who have recorded CDs right here in Fairfield at West Street Digital Recording Studio!  (BTW Our Seventh graders just took a field trip to the Trapp Family Cross Country Ski area in Stowe.  They all knew where they were going & the history of this family!)

The Third Grade is studying African Drumming and Dancing.  We are trying to work out routines to present at their concert in June.  This is a challenging project!  We are using an on-line dance tutorial to learn traditional West African dances and are having a fun time trying to learn the steps.  We sure have some accomplished dancers in this class!!

Fourth & Fifth Graders are getting some music technology under their fingers.  We are learning an open source music notation program called “Noteflight” and getting user names & passwords for everyone.  It is a slow process with a large learning curve, but some very interesting musical composition is underway.  This program can be accessed any time any where there is internet connectivity so students can work on their projects at school, home or away!  Additionally, Fifth Graders have been attending their 30-minute once a week Instrumental Music lessons since late September and are making excellent progress! We have four new flutists, a clarinetist,  a saxophone, three trumpets, one trombone, one tuba player, one percussionist, and a bass guitar. This is an excellent group of dedicated, enthusiastic young players!  Our goal is to have these students play “Party Rock Anthem” with the Middle School Band for the June concert.

Throughout this whole school year, our Middle School students have spent time, sharing their input to help create a music curriculum for the year.  Students have taken surveys, had discussions & debates, made lists of interests, wishes and dreams and then compiled the data to customize their curriculum.  We worked on music theory in September, assessed prior learning, and refreshed knowledge of note names & values.  One request across the Middle School was presentations on composers and their music.  We spent October learning about Leonard Bernstein & William Shakespeare and comparing West Side Story to Romeo & Juliet.  West Side Story is the first “opera” for most of our Middle School students and the response was quite positive. Middle School students spent November & December selecting & learning the music performed in the December 2012 Concert.  The Middle School Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble and Chorus also performed a variety of music that evening.  Middle School classes spent January learning a little more about musical notation and rhythms. The January Music survey results overwhelmingly requested Guitar studies so we have now begun learning to play the Guitar by way of “GarageBand” lessons and tutorials from my Apple devices.  Many students are interested and enthusiastic about learning to play. GarageBand lessons come bundled on Macs and can be purchased very inexpensively for use on iPhones, iPods & iPads for students to practice and learn on their own.  I wish I could loan out Guitars, but we only have 20, in soft cases.     Thank you again & again to Dawn Mulheron & The Wellness Massage Center & Institute in St. Albans, our kind & thoughtful parents, students & teachers & our anonymous Bottle Angels for these lovely instruments!!!!!  We could have never afforded these very nice guitars without your generous support!!!

 

 

Now for the upcoming festivals & concerts.  Middle school students who are members of the Chorus & Band have been invited to participate in the 2013 Northwest District Music Festival at MVU on March 29^th & 30^th.  Permission slips have been distributed and most everyone has returned these signed documents.  Please let me know if you have any questions or comments about this excellent performance experience.  Come to MVU on March 30^th at 2:00PM to hear and see a great Choral & Instrumental Concert comprised of  Middle School students from all the schools in Franklin county!

 

Students wishing to participate in the 2013 Vermont Maple Festival Youth Talent Show during Spring vacation in April need to see me about their act.  Application forms can be obtained from the Music Department and auditions for the show take place in the Band Room at BFA St. Albans on Saturday, April 13^th.  Please let me know what I can do to help…suggestions, CDs, Karaoke, Piano Accompaniment.  Let’s start scheduling rehearsals as soon as possible.

 

     VERMONT MAPLE FESTIVAL PARADE

Looking for Trotters, and banner & flag carriers to join the school Band in this year's parade representing the Fairfield Center School to show school spirit and to support the Maple product makers of Vermont.  

Invitations have been distributed to the students.

Please return these forms, or email/call me before March 21^st!!!

52 Soule Drive, Fairfield’s swingin’ Jazz/Funk/Rock/Soul Band, will perform again this year at Burlington’s Discover Jazz Festival on June 7^th from 12:30 – 1:30pm on the City Hall Stage and at the school’s Spring Concert in June!  This group rehearses only once a week on Wednesdays from 2:00 – 2:40 in the Common School, but we work hard!

That’s it for now.  Please feel free to email me at jscott@fcsuvt.org, call me at school 827-3071, or drop by the Common School any time.

As always, I am

                      Musically yours,

            Miss Scott

 

 

Calendar of Events

     …As of today…subject to change…

 

March 29^th  District Middle School Music Festival Rehearsals @ Missisquoi Valley Union Middle/High School

 

March 30^th District Middle School Music Festival Rehearsals & CONCERT @ MVU

April 13^th Maple Festival Youth Talent Show Auditions @ BFA Band Room St. Albans

 

April  25^th Maple Festival Youth Talent Show Dress Rehearsal @ BFA Performing Arts Auditoium  6pm

 

April  26^th Maple Festival Youth Talent Show

@ BFA Performing Arts Auditorium  7pm

 

April  28^th Maple Festival Parade

@ 1:00 Houghton Park, St. Albans

Band, Trotters, Flag & Banner Carriers  Meet at NOON in Houghton Park

 

May 3^rd Vermont Association of Jazz Education Festival at Johnson State College Fairfield Jazz Ensemble

8:30am-2:30pm

 

June ? Preschool-5 Spring Concert

@ 1:00 in the Gym

 

June  ? Middle School Spring Concert

Band, Chorus & Jazz Ensemble

@ 1:00 in the Gym 

 

June 7 Burlington’s Discover Jazz Festival

Fairfield Jazz Ensemble @ 12:30pm

June ? Eighth Grade Graduation

MS Choral performance

 

 

Please feel free to email me at jscott@fcsuvt.org, call me at school 827-3071, or drop by the Common School any time.