The Candy Man

Mrs. Grimm-Nilsen on Drums!

School of Rock: Day 3

Another fun filled day with our rock teachers!

School of Rock: Day 2

It was another fabulous day making music with The School of Rock Shorewood!

School of Rock at Stormonth: Day 1

What an AMAZING day in the music room!

What Should I Wear?

What Should I Wear to the Concert?

This is a fun and exciting concert, so I would like students to dress comfortably and colorfully!  Please wear dark on the bottom, and a color on the top.

Please don't feel like you need to go and buy a new outfit, just find something close to my description that is in your closet already!  All the colors will look great on stage, and we will truly embody the mood of the 70's! (If you have a 70's costume, that would be great too!)

Another reminder about attire:  It will be VERY hot on the stage and on the risers.  Please make sure to dress accordingly.  Students who get too hot on stage or on the risers may feel faint or dizzy, which could lead to them not having a great time performing, or even getting sick.  I suggest layering on the day of the concert, so that students are warm in their classrooms and outside, but comfortable when they are performing.

Solo Audition Week

I bet a lot of you are wondering how I pick soloist for each concert.  With 500 students, and many of them wanting a chance to sing alone, I try to be as objective as possible.  When a student auditions, they sing in front of their class to practice singing in front of an audience.  Before this happens, we talk about what a person might feel when they are standing in front of their peers and how we can support them by being a great audience.  It takes a lot of bravery to stand in front of your class!!

For each singer I fill out this rubric:

Name: Teacher: Song: Pitch 1   2   3   4 Rhythm 1   2   3   4 Expression 1   2   3   4 Memorization Yes    No Solo Before Yes    No Notes:

The rubric scale is 1-4, with 4 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.  I show this to students before solo auditions and explain what a 4 looks like, and what a 1 looks like.

Pitch - A 4 would sing all the correct notes
Rhythm - A 4 would sing all the correct rhythms
Expression - A 4 uses facial expression and body movements to convey the meaning of a song
Memorization - Can sing without looking at the words

The notes section is where I note if the student showed any other quality not mentioned in the rubric.  Also, I may note the student's behavior patterns in music class.  I do this because I would like a student representing the grade who is a leader of positive behavior!

After I have heard all singers, I then sort my rubrics from highest to lowest score.  Then, I order the rubrics from those who have not had a solo, to those who have had a solo.  From there I pick the soloists for each grade and I will let those students know as soon as possible.  I will also communicate with their parents to make sure that they will be at school on November 23rd and 24th.  If they are not, I will then pick the next student! 

I hope this answers some of your questions!  Have a great week!

Solo Excerpts

If you are interested in auditioning for a solo, here are the different excerpts you can sing for me (remember, this is totally optional!):

4th grade - Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees

Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk,

I'm a woman's man: no time to talk.

Music loud and women warm, I've been kicked around

Since I was born.

And now it's all right. It's OK.

And you may look the other way.

We can try to understand

The New York Times' effect on man.

Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother,

You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive.

Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin',

And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive.

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive.

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive.

3rd Grade - Blame it on the Boogie by The Jackson 5

My baby's always dancin' and it wouldn't be a bad thing

But I don't get no lovin' and that's no lie

We spent the night in Frisco at every kinda disco

From that night I kissed our love goodbye

Don't blame it on the sunshine

Don't blame it on the moonlight

Don't blame it on the good times

Blame it on the boogie

2nd Grade - Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Stevie Wonder

Like a fool I went and stayed too long

Now I'm wondering if your love's still strong

Oo baby, here I am,

Signed, sealed delivered, I'm yours

Then that time I went and said goodbye

Now I'm back and not ashamed to cry

Oo baby, here I am,

Signed, sealed delivered, I'm yours

Here I am baby

Oh, signed, sealed delivered, I'm yours

1st Grade - Dancing Queen by ABBA

You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life

See that girl, watch that scene, digging the Dancing Queen

Friday night and the lights are low

Looking out for the place to go

Where they play the right music, getting in the swing

You come in to look for a king

K5 - ABC by The Jackson 5

*There are a couple options for K5, pick one of the following verses

You went to school to learn girl

Things you never, never knew before

Like "I" before "E" except after "C"

And why 2 plus 2 makes 4

Now, now, now

I'm gonna teach you

(Teach you, teach you)

All about love girl

(All about love)

Sit yourself down, take a seat

All you gotta do is repeat after me

Reading, writing, arithmetic

Are the branches of the learning tree

But without the roots of love everyday girl

Your education ain't complete

Tea-Tea-Teacher's gonna show you

(She's gonna show you)

How to get an "A" (na-na-na-naaaaaa)

How to spell "me", "you", add the two

Listen to me, baby

That's all you got to do

Solo Auditions Next Week!

Next week will be busy in the music room!  We are getting closer to our performance, and even closer to working with our Artist in Residence, School of Rock!  Next week we will have solo auditions during music class for grades K5-4th grade.  Here is the schedule:

Monday:

Van Horne

Cho

Johnson

Ristau

Ahles

Clement

Stotler

Grambow

Tuesday:

Blust

Auerbach

Sentz

Otto

Makinster

Armstrong

Hogue

Rebholz

Wednesday:

Christensen

Story

Gumm

Mullen

Hoffmann

Thursday:

Hirst

Friday:

Fliss